The light of late-career greatness refracted through the Serena prism

The 40-year-old American may not be at the ongoing French Open, but she is still very much a part of the larger tennis conversation. With her now hinting at a return during Wimbledon, it’s a good time to examine whether the last four years merit a revision of her legacy

In the summer of 2012, the terre battue of Court Philippe Chatrier witnessed a spectacular implosion. Serena Williams was bundled out of the first round of Roland Garros by Virginie Razzano, a player who at the time was ranked 106 spots below her. Never before in her Grand Slam history had the American faced such an early exit.

It was a culmination of a stretch of lows that began in 2010 with a freak foot accident and continued as a two-year dry spell with no Major titles. Such was the level of her dispiritedness that she would choose a coach — Patrick Mouratoglou — from outside her family for the first time.

Ten years later, Serena, at 40 and well past her tennis prime, finds herself in a similar yet different situation. It has been four years since she returned to competition after the birth of her daughter, four years in pursuit of an elusive 24th Grand Slam title that will tie her with Margaret Court in the record books. She also finds herself without a coach now after Mouratoglou, with whom she won 10 Majors, moved on to train Romanian Simona Halep.

Serena may not be a part of the ongoing French Open, but she is still very much part of the larger tennis conversation. With her now hinting at a return during Wimbledon, it seems a natural time to examine the last four years and whether they merit a revision of her legacy.

Many attributes make Serena the tennis supernova that she is. She unites power and precision, strength and skill. When she unleashes her scything serve, she absolutely does not expect it to be returned.

But what really set her apart, and what seems to now burn only as faint embers, is a sense of tactical adjustment often married to killer instinct. Serena has won three Grand Slam titles after being down match-point. Her ability to drag herself out of tough situations has often been eclipsed by just how easy she makes winning look.

Paul Annacone, who coached Pete Sampras in the second half of his career and then Roger Federer for a bit, has a theory on how tennis greats age. “You can’t take away greatness,” he tells The Hindu. “Greats don’t stop being great all of a sudden. It just gets harder to sustain the consistent will to do it day in and day out.”