Venus ponders retirement after being killed by weeds at Wimbledon Open

Venus ponders retirement after being killed by weeds at  Wimbledon Open

Tennis Superstar Venus Williams has expressed her frustration after her loss to Elina Svitolina in the first round of Wimbledon, and the player is considering her future. Among the various options, there is also the definitive retirement from tennis: an announcement that, depending on the type of physical problem, could also arrive shortly.

The American player immediately got the break, but an unfortunate slip gave her strong knee pain.

The problem didn't improve as the minutes went by and, only immense willpower pushed Williams to continue until the end.

In the press conference after the match, Venus explained: "I'm not sure what happened. I'll have to check. I was in pain and it was difficult to concentrate on the match. The grass is always slippery. It was just bad luck. I started perfectly, then I was killed by weed. I felt in great shape, but that's the sport. Now I have to figure out what my next plans are.

 I'm a bit in shock right now. I just can't believe this happened. It's bizarre. I do not know. I still have to elaborate. I've had so many injuries, so it's not easy to process what happened. This is not what I want for myself. I didn't do anything wrong, I just tried to hit the ball. Emotionally it's really hard.

I never thought about retiring before the end: I tried to fight and looked for another way to win."

Venus finally talked about the equal pay achieved in the world of tennis in Grand Slam tournaments: "I think no woman should worry about being paid as much as men.

I am very happy that no woman has to worry about this in Grand Slams and can only think about playing tennis."

Now, Venus' retirement from tennis can obviously come at any moment. In the imaginary and best-case scenario that she has projected and profiled, she would like to try to play again next year. It's not necessarily a utopia: Venus can do everything if she wants.

In the first two games, before slipping and getting hurt, she already seemed to be in total control of the match. Then the injury, which at 43 can weigh like a boulder in a match on grass, even for an expert tennis player like Venus. The hope is that she can have a retirement worthy of her legendary name or at this year's US Open, at Wimbledon 2024, but much will depend on the severity of the injury.