Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Editor's Picks
Editor's PicksSports

Venus Dumped Out in First Round

Posted byBy ABS Contributor | Published on: CommentsComments (1)

Venus Williams is back to playing tennis, but she does not resemble the Venus Williams who won five Wimbledon championships. An energy-sapping disorder shelved her for a while and has reduced her to less than who she has been in her illustrious 15-year career.

Never was that more evident than in the first round of play at the All England Club today. Williams was eliminated in the first round for the first time of this major, 6-1, 6-3 by Elena Vesnina of Russia at Wimbledon.

A seven-time Grand Slam champion, Williams has fallen to 58th in the world rankings since being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, Sjogren’s syndrome, which does not allow her to  practice or train consistently.

She lost the first five games on Court 2 to the 79th-ranked Russian and, although she picked up her game and fought hard, was never able to turn the match around.
“I have to give credit to her,” Williams said. “She made hardly any errors and served well.”

She added: “I feel like I’m a great player. I am a great player. Unfortunately I have to deal with circumstances people don’t have to. . . There’s no way I’m going just sit down  nd give up just because I have a hard time the first five or six friggin’ tournaments back.”

She does not like to use her disorder as an excuse. To a question about her energy, Williams said: “I did my best. My opponent played well.”

It was the fourth time Williams has lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam and the first at Wimbledon since her debut appearance in 1997.

“I’ve lost before,” Williams said, “so I know how to deal with it.”

Williams said in her press conference saying she always enters tournaments with a positive attitude and doesn’t want to talk about her health.

Williams is still expected to play doubles here with sister Serena, and she is expected to be back in about a month to compete here in the London Olympics.

To repeated questions, direct and indirect, about what is ahead, retirement perhaps, Williams responded: “I absolutely love this sport, and I feel like I can play well. I’m not going to give up on it.”

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top