Serena Williams took time to praise Tiger Woods as the 23-time Grand Slam champion revealed how the golf legend inspired her to return to the tennis court for a final US Open run
Serena Williams has praised the influence of Tiger Woods as she revealed the golf icon persuaded her to return to action before retiring – and he was in attendance during her second round win at the US Open.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion will walk away from the sport after the US Open, the fourth and final major tournament of the season. Many have hailed Williams as the ‘Greatest Of All Time’ and hoped to see her perhaps match Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Williams has been in scintillating form at the tournament so far, and she defeated second-seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-2 to reach the third round. She is hoping to end her career with a dream seventh US Open title ahead of her retirement – or ‘evolution’, as she wrote in Vogue.
In her retirement announcement, Williams revealed Woods had offered advice on whether to contest a final tournament. On Wednesday, the 40-year-old said: “He’s one of the reasons I’m here, one of the main reasons I’m still playing. We talked a lot. He was really trying to get me motivated.
“There’s a few people, but we were like, ‘OK, we can do this together’. It was good, because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was just lost, so many questions.
“When you can rely on someone like that – I mean, my goodness, he’s Tiger Woods – it was really helpful to get clarity.”
It appears her return to the sport was a particularly wise idea, as Williams has performed spectacularly in front of a sold-out attendance. The partisan crowd have proudly supported the iconic American thus far and she will be back in action against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic tomorrow.