"A loud message to a lot of people"—Serena commits to a unique US Open

Amid extensive conjecture about who will play the 2020 US Open, a superstar known to the world on a first-name basis has emphatically committed.

“I really cannot wait to return to New York and play the US Open 2020,” said Serena Williams on Wednesday, as the tournament was made official. “I feel like the USTA is going to do a really good job of ensuring everything is amazing and everything is perfect and everyone is safe. It’s going to be exciting.”

“Serena coming to New York is a loud message to a lot of people,” says longstanding coach Nick Bollettieri, who worked with Williams and her sister Venus earlier in their careers. “The US Open’s going to be different, and if you don’t have a couple of big-name players, it will be difficult. But Serena being there, baby, that’s big.”

David Newman, a longstanding New York City-based marketing and communications executive who has worked for the NFL, USTA and the New York Mets, echoes Bollettieri.

“It’s a major statement as related to the buoyancy of the tournament even in these challenging and uncertain times,” says Newman. “To have one of the marquee people in all of sports will cast a halo effect. It’s a very, very big deal that she’s committed to play so early.”

Once upon a time, Serena said, “I was always one to say, ‘I want to win the US Open. I want it.’ Venus always wanted Wimbledon.” That comment came in 1999, shortly after Serena won her first US Open title as a 17-year-old. Yet as much as she dreamed of success at her homeland Slam, even Serena couldn’t imagine how epic her New York journey would be.

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Since that first victory more than 20 years ago, Serena has won the title five more times, raising the champion’s trophy in the ‘90s, ‘00s and ‘10s. This year she could become the first player in tennis history to win a Grand Slam singles title in four different decades, as well as tie Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24 singles majors—all in the same month she turns 39.

Not since the days of Jimmy Connors more than 25 years ago has there been a player so vividly identified with the US Open. In victory and defeat, amid triumphant matches and controversial moments, Serena has become the tournament’s most popular player.

“I'll certainly miss the fans, don't get me wrong,” she says. “Just being out there in that New York crowd and hear everyone cheer, I'll really miss that in getting me through some of those tough matches.”

Serena’s last two years in New York have been concurrently gratifying and frustrating. Returning to the US Open in 2018 after giving birth to her daughter Alexis a year earlier, Serena said, “I feel like everything is just different in terms of I'm living a different life, I'm playing the US Open as a mom. It's just new and it's fresh.”

Upon reaching the finals, she remained elated. “Honestly, it is remarkable,” said Serena. “I couldn't have predicted this at all. Just been working really hard. Like I said, this is just the beginning of my return. I'm still on the way up. There's still much more that I plan on doing.”

There followed the highly controversial final against Naomi Osaka. A year Serena again advanced to the finals, only to lose that match as well, to Bianca Andreescu. Since becoming a mother, she has impressively reached four Grand Slam finals—but, alas, come up empty each time.

But amid all that has taken place in 2020, those prior events are likely far back in her rear-view mirror. Instead, as each of us occupies a very vivid present, Serena and tennis make their ways towards a world that will blend the familiarity of the game with the uncertainty of distance.

“Let me tell you something,” says Bollettieri. “A great player, once they get out on the court, they find a way to compete.”

Speaking for the millions who’ll be watching, Newman says, “She’s a rock star, she’s a hip-hop star, she’s a movie star who also happens to play tennis. It will be must-see TV when Serena hits the court.”