When Venus Williams made her professional tennis debut, the OJ Simpson trial was just about to start, Nelson Mandela had recently been elected as president of South Africa and the television series, Friends, was just a few episodes old.
These historical events feel like they happened in the distant past - it was 1994 so this isn’t far from the truth - and puts into perfect context just how long Williams has been a tennis player.
There’s not a pro tennis player on this planet who made their debut as long ago as Williams and isn’t well into retirement.
Indeed, prior to this summer, most observers assumed Williams herself was comfortably retired, even though she’d never formally announced that she was hanging-up her racquet.
Prior to this summer, she’d not set foot on a tennis court (in anger, anyway) in over a year and even before that, her competitive appearances had been so fleeting, it was easy to dismiss them as almost meaningless.
With Williams in her 40s, a millionaire many times over and having cemented her status as one of the greats of the game, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume that the American didn’t need tennis any longer. After all, given what she’s accomplished, why would she want to compete again?
In the past month, Williams has played the Citi DC Open and the Cincinnati Open, with her first round defeat of 35th-ranked Peyton Stearns in the opening round in Washington DC enough to earn her a wildcard for the US Open, which begins today in New York.
Williams will, in all likelihood, make minimal impact in New York this fortnight but what is so significant is that she’s there at all.
At the age of 45 and with absolutely nothing to prove to anyone - she’s a 7-time grand slam singles champion, Olympic singles gold medallist, a former number one and is widely considered to be one of the greatest female tennis players ever - it’s remarkable that she has any inclination to continue playing tennis, particularly given her interests outside of sport are considerable.
But this is exactly why Williams’ entry into this US Open is so fascinating. She is set to become the oldest player to compete in singles at the US Open since 47-year-old Renee Richards in 1981 and this is, surely, one of the last times, perhaps even the very last time, in which we’ll see the Californian in competitive action, although she’s reluctant to get into any talk of a definitive retirement date.
Such appreciation is entirely justified, because it’s not an overstatement to suggest that Williams changed the face of women’s tennis entirely.
Yes, her younger sister, Serena, was more successful on the court. But without Venus, there’d have been no Serena.
Williams has had a remarkable career on the court but off it, she’s been just as impactful.
She’s faced racism, discrimination and sexism and she’s dealt with them all with unflinching grace. She may never have been a fan of the media - more often than not over the past two decades-or-so, her interactions in press conferences have been stilted and awkward - but she’s never shied away from taking a stance. Indeed, Williams has been one of the more outspoken players regarding rights for female players and equal prize money.
Without Williams, women’s tennis would be considerably further behind in equality-terms than is the case currently.
As a tennis player, Williams is still very good, but she’s no longer great. As athletic as she remains, time, as it does with everyone, is beginning to catch up with her and so victories this week will not be nearly as forthcoming as they were in Williams’ younger days.
But irrespective of her results, seeing Williams on a tennis court remains a joy, and it’s one we may not have the opportunity to experience many more times after this week.
AND ANOTHER THING…
Sticking with the US Open, the singles draw may begin today but a part of the tournament has already started, and ended.
You may have missed it, but the US Open mixed doubles has already happened.
In a shake-up of the format, the fourth grand slam of the year decided it’d be a good idea to turn the mixed doubles event upside down, scrapping the traditional tournament format and replacing it with a two-day, 16-pair event, with matches being played in a shortened format in which only four games were needed to win a set.
Emma Raducanu and Carlos Alcaraz were the headline duo but also in the draw were Jack Draper and Jessica Pegula and Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, amongst others.
The outcry over the lack of “real” doubles players was well-justified; there’s little doubt this format made a mockery of the mixed doubles tournament and my feeling ahead of the two-day event was that it was, frankly, a farce.
But having watched it, I didn’t hate it.
It certainly had the feel of an exhibition event far more than the feel of a genuine grand slam tournament but the tennis was exciting and (relatively) high-quality and certainly, the star-studded draw piqued my interest in a way a regular grand sam mixed doubles tournaments rarely manage.
The lack of doubles players still rankles, but the fact the tournament was won by doubles specialist, Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, certainly went some way to reminding observers that excelling in doubles is a niche skill that singles players cannot just expect to possess.
Over the two days of the mixed doubles tournament, I went from being desperate to scrap the new format to not being entirely against the idea of this becoming the new iteration of grand slam mixed doubles.
Yes, a few tweaks are needed, primarily to have a better blend of doubles specialists and singles superstars.
But the concept worked, and I’m certain it won’t be the last time we see it.
