Thirty-four minutes into her first-round match at Wimbledon last year, Serena Williams led 3-1 over Aliaksandra Sasnovich. Despite heavy taping around her right thigh, Williams looked good. She was precise. She was powerful. There was hope.
And then, just like that, her hamstring gave out. Pain and tears quickly washed across her face.
“Heartbroken,” Williams would say.
At 39 years old and without a major championship in over four injury-riddled years, it was fair to wonder if this was, at last, it.
Would Serena, the once wunderkind little sister of Venus, whose family rewrote nearly everything about women’s tennis, eventually retire from competitive tennis with her 23 major championships, just one short of Margaret Court’s record 24?