Following her disappointment at Wimbledon, Serena Williams will compete at The Collector Swedish Open in Bastad this week.
The Swedish Open is a relatively low category event in the tennis calendar; the world number one will be the only competitor present that features in the Top 20 on the WTA Rankings. In addition, it is a clay court event at a time when the clay court season is generally regarded as over for the top professionals, who are gearing up for the hard court season following a brief grass court ‘intermission’ that culminates with Wimbledon.
Many tennis pundits are questioning why Serena is bothering to compete at a level of event she has apparently refused to take seriously throughout her career. Serena has never won or even reached a final at this level of event, largely because she has only bothered to enter five times.
Neither Serena nor her older sister Venus has ever shown enthusiasm for competing at anything but bona fide ranking tournaments. Serena’s 52 titles have all come at premier events or grand slams. Parallel interests, illness, injuries and, perhaps, indifference have conspired to limit opportunities for fans to see her on the small stage.
Despite going out at the quarter final stage at SW19, she is clearly still at the peak of her powers, having won 46 of 49 matches this season and become world number one for a record fourth time. It is doubtful Serena has suddenly decided she needs court time leading up to the hard court season – she arguably enjoys greater supremacy on hard courts, at the moment, than on any other surface.
One can only assume Serena is bored of the dearth of consistent serious competition and has decided, in a manner of speaking, to see the sights instead. I predict she is endeavouring to engrave her name on all the ‘minor’ trophies that have never concerned her before. Just for posterity, and if her social calendar will allow, I predict we could see her name on every trophy professional women’s tennis has to offer before her career ends.
