The U.S. Open tennis tournament ended on Sunday.
Several players were the first to do something new, and Serena Williams, the tennis icon who has been playing tennis for 27 years, played what is likely to be her last match.
However, that is not the only news from the tournament.
Serena Williams Could Bid Farewell
Serena Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, said in August that she might evolve away from tennis after this year’s U.S. Open, but she didn’t outright say she was retiring.
In the third round on September 2, Ajla Tomljanovic beat Serena 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1.
“Clearly, I’m still capable. … (But) I’m ready to be a mom, explore a different version of Serena,” she said. “Technically, in the world, I’m still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I’m still walking.”
Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam champion, has made no secret of her desire to break Margaret Court’s record for the most major titles (24), although she has been unable to achieve so since her comeback from motherhood in 2018.
She responded, “I don’t think so, but you never know,” when asked if she would play again.
Men’s Tennis Ranked 1st To Youngest Man Ever At Age 19
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain beat Casper Rudd 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 in the final round of the U.S. Open on Sunday.
With this win, Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title and became the youngest man in the world to be ranked No. 1 at age 19.
This year’s U.S. Open is Alcaraz’s eighth major tournament appearance.
An American Man Made It To The Semifinals
Frances Tiafoe, from Maryland, is the first American man in 16 years to make it to the semifinals of the U.S. Open.
In the fourth round, he beat Rafael Nadal, and last Wednesday, he beat Andrey Rublev 7-6 (3), 7-6 (0).
Alcaraz beat Tiafoe on Friday.
The last American man to get to the U.S. Open semifinals was Andy Roddick. Roger Federer beat him in 2006. Roddick was also the only man from the United States to win a Grand Slam singles tournament when he won the U.S. Open in 2003.
A Woman From Tunisia Made It To The Finals
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia was the first African and Arab woman to get to the finals of the U.S. Open.
She beat Caroline Garcia 6-1, 6-3, on September 9. This was her second Grand Slam title match in a row. Two months ago, she was also in the finals at Wimbledon.
Automation Could Replace Human Line Judges
Most of the time, humans decide if a ball is inbound or not, but computers may soon be able to do the job.
In some U.S. Open matches, the winner was chosen with the help of optical technology.
Right after the ball hits, a recorded voice yells, “FAULT!” for a bad serve and “OUT!” for a long or wide shot during a rally.
Human line judges may be replaced by an optical system called Hawk-Eye Live.
Doing this will provide players with a fairer playing field with a lot more integrity due to more accurate calling matches.
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References:
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/12/1122304134/us-open-serena-williams-carlos-alcaraz
