The Power of Serena Williams - The New York Times

Coco Gauff, 15, had her first breakout moment at the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in July. She was the youngest player to ever qualify for the main draw, and she reached the fourth round. Naomi Osaka, 21, was the No. 1 seed and defending U.S. Open champion. They lit up the stadium in the first set as Coco Gauff hung on and fought, despite being outplayed. True to form, the veteran won the third-round match resoundingly, 6-3, 6-0.

But consider what happened at the end of the contest, when the vanquished tends to slink off the stage as the victor preens to the applause of a congratulatory crowd. Instead, the winner and loser shared a touching moment atypical in the often cutthroat world of athletics.

Osaka initiated a sidebar conversation with Gauff, who was in tears. She offered words of praise and encouragement and invited Gauff to participate in the on-court interview usually reserved for the winner. Gauff was reluctant, admitting that she was in no emotional state to speak. Not to mention, this was not her time to shine. But Osaka gently nudged her saying, “These people are here for you.”

Osaka knew that her neophyte opponent had won the hearts of fans during and after her remarkable run at Wimbledon. Osaka’s grace and generosity overrode the conventions of the winner-take-all sports attitude to acknowledge that Coco Gauff had achieved something special by going as far as she did, even if her run ended in defeat.

This flash point of humanity shining through athletics has gone viral on social media as a novel event. But was it?

When Osaka spoke in the post-match interview about their similar routes to becoming professional tennis players, training hard in hopes of being exactly where they are now, it was a knowing recognition of a uniquely shared plight and a gesture of comfort. But it was a sisterly move we have seen before. Serena Williams and Venus Williams have provided many such examples of compassion in the face of competitiveness, and this is part of their legacy.

For much of their early careers, Serena and Venus were each other’s toughest competitors. They met each other in many finals. If only one of them made it to a final, that player had likely prevailed over her sister in the previous round.

Source: The New York Times

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