Serena Williams advanced to the second round of the US Open tennis tournament after straight-sets win against Danka Kovinic on Tuesday.
Williams, 407th in world rankings, secured a straight set win with the sets of 6-3 and 6-3 at New York’s Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The victory over the 80th-ranked Kovinic, just her second this year, will be a confidence boost for Williams, but the path to a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam now gets treacherous.
She will face No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit from Estonia in the next stage.
The 40-year-old Williams has clinched 23 Grand Slam titles, including six US Open singles championships.
Williams indicated her intention to retire in a Vogue article in early August, saying she was “evolving away from tennis” but never confirming the U.S. Open as her final event.
For tennis fans, however, the message was clear, the U.S. Open would be where she would take her final bow.
The former world number one has played coy, even refusing to rule out next year’s Australia Open. But in a strange post-match ceremony celebrating her career, which was not yet finished, Williams gave the clearest sign that the U.S. Open would indeed be her last tournament.
She expanded on that later in her press conference.
“It’s extremely difficult still because I absolutely love being out there. The more tournaments I play, I feel like the more I can belong out there. But it’s time for me, you know, to evolve to the next thing,” said Williams.
Pressed if the U.S. Open was her last event, Williams again stepped back from the brink.
“I’ve been pretty vague about it, right? I’m going to stay vague because you never know,” smiled Williams.
Leylah Fernandez, Ons Jabeur, Madison Keys, and Harriet Dart have qualified for the second round after beating their opponents.
In men’s singles, Daniel Elahi Galan, ranked 94th in the world, defeated fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-1 to advance to the next stage.
Dominic Thiem faltered in a surprise defeat to Pablo Carreno-Busta as he lost the game with the sets of 7-5, 6-1, 5-7, 6-3.
Brandon Holt, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alex De Minaur, and Nick Kyrgios have also qualified for the men’s singles second round.