Serena Williams Calls U.S. Open Loss 'Worst Match': 'I Could Have Just Been More Serena'
Serena Williams felt very disappointed by her loss to Bianca Andreescu.
Following Saturday’s U.S. Women’s final, which the veteran tennis star lost 6-3, 7-5, Williams was critical of her own performance.
“I love Bianca, I think she’s a great girl, but I think this is the worst match I’ve played all tournament. And it’s hard to know that you could do better,” she told reporters after the match. “It’s inexcusable for me to play at that level.”
Williams added that she was having a difficult time taking in her performance and telling herself “ ‘you did okay’ because I don’t I did.”
“I could have just been more Serena today,” the mother of one reflected. “I honestly don’t think Serena showed up and I have to figure out how to get her to show up.”
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Although Williams has continued to play tennis at a high level, she has not earned a Grand Slam title since 2017, when she won the Australian Open while pregnant with daughter Alexis Olympia.
Last month, Williams was defeated by Andreescu, 19, during the 2019 Rogers Cup finals when the veteran player was forced to retire due to back spasms.
“I’m so close, so close, so close and yet so far away,” Williams told reporters. “I don’t know what to say, I guess I gotta keep going if I wanna be a professional tennis player. I gotta keep fighting through it.”
Williams’ sassy side also came through following the match, when she was asked whether at this point, losing big games was starting to have less of an impact on her.
Pausing for a moment, Williams went on to give the reporter major side-eye, causing the rest of the room to burst out into laughter.
“Absolutely not,” she replied. “I’m not really happy but I have to take it one moment at a time. I honestly didn’t play my best today. I could have played better and that’s the only solace that I can take right now.”
The tournament ends with the men’s singles final on Sunday, Sept. 8, at 4 p.m. EST.
