Venus Williams admits what motivates her to continue competing

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The numbers are so impressive that it's hard to grasp them. We're talking about 94 appearances in Grand Slam tournaments, 25 visits to the main draw of the US Open, and 45 years on the ID card. Only one person can embrace these data we're putting on the table, the eternal Venus Williams, defeated this early morning in the first round against Karolina Muchova. It wasn't meant to be for the American, although it seems that at this stage of her career she's not here just for a simple triumph. Her sports career transcends any result, so we must enjoy her presence because, evidently, the end seems imminent. These were her words in the press conference after bidding farewell to New York.

Match analysis

“Definitely, I had a bit of a slow start, but it's not actually a bad thing. I just haven't played many matches in the last few months, so I'm still trying to find everything a bit. I think I had a game at 0-40 and was regretting a potential double break, but thankfully I avoided it, although it didn't help me much for that set. It was from the second set that I was able to start imposing my game […] Today I couldn't win, but I'm very proud of how I played”.

Support from the fans

“The lights are very bright out there; I don't think I've had so many people on my side before. When I lost those first two games, they were still there with me on every point. It didn't matter if I was losing or starting a bit slower to find my rhythm, they were always there with me, which feels great. Upon entering the stadium, I knew the people would be there, especially the people from the United States, those who really support me, so it was fantastic. It's great when you feel that kind of support”.

No more playing in 2025

Are there any more tournaments in the United States until the end of the season? Can anyone move a tournament here? I'm not sure I'm willing to travel so far to play at this stage of my career. I love to compete, my level of play has improved a lot since Washington, I worked hard to shake off the success I had on me, but at the end of the day, there's much more to achieve than to win three or four matches. If I lost today, it was due to bad decisions at certain moments, in addition to the lack of training; these things are hard to avoid right now. For example, I couldn't return as I would like, although I tried to do my best, but I couldn't”.

What motivates her to continue?

“My goal is to do what I want to do. I wanted to be here this summer, so I'm very grateful to the people who gave me this invitation. They could've said, ‘Hey, you've been away for a long time, you haven't won many matches in recent years’. The truth is, I wasn't lucky with my health and injuries, but there are still people who believe in me at the tournaments. I'm grateful to have this opportunity to hit the ball again. Tennis is still very exciting; it's so much fun to go out there and hit as hard as you can. I'm happiest when I hit harder. In Washington and Cincinnati, I still didn't know how to control this; I think today I measured it much better, playing smarter and not just with force. You never stop learning; I'm still learning, I still remember the match I played against her in 2020. It was very uncomfortable, I felt a lot of pain; today I felt much better”.

Unconditional love for competition

“My team and I worked as hard as we could, we didn't take a single day off, I didn't go out to dinner, not even to see friends. I did nothing but train for these three months. From every match I didn't win, then I tried to come back and learn from it, tried to improve. For me, returning once again to the court is about giving myself the chance to play healthier. When you play while being unhealthy, it ends up messing with your mind. It's not just about how you feel; it's about whether your mind is stuck or not. So… let's say it was very nice to feel free again”.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Venus Williams admite qué es lo que le motiva a seguir compitiendo