Serena pulls out of the Australian Open.......

[a kennedy]

She said she wasn’t as physically fit as she should be, she’s close, but not there yet. But more power to her for waiting until she can come back.

[Bleacher Creature]

1. Well that sucks.

Physically, if anyone can pull it off together to become elite again on their mid-30s, it's Serena. That said, she's more than earned the right to decide to just be a mom.

[rurallib]

3. just looked up her age - 36

many athletes are long gone in much less demanding sports by that age.
Plus - will the desire return? Her life was fairly well focused before. Now not so much.

It will be quite a feat if she comes all the way back, but as you say she certainly has earned whatever she chooses.

[Bleacher Creature]

4. Thirty is "old" for tennis.

That's when Steffi Graf retires, and she was six years YOUNGER than Serena is now. Bjorn Borg was done at 26.

What Serena and Federer did last year was unprecedented. I'd love to see each of them win at least one more grand slam, but Father Time is ultimately undefeated.

[rurallib]

5. Tennis is a truly grueling sport. They run miles and miles

at top speed and stop on a dime. Extremely hard on knees.

Maybe she could do what Althea Gibson and Babe Didrickson did and switch to golf and become a champ in 2 sports?

[ProfessorGAC]

8. Shoulder And Elbow Too

Especially given how hard pros hit the ball. They even call that tendinitis/bursitis thing "tennis elbow" because it's that common among these players.

The golf thing is a cool idea. Andre Agassi became a very good golfer even before he retired. It's not like hand-eye coordination is an issue for these folks.

[JonLP24]

9. My mom who played tennis said that was more common with wooden rackets

Those were really hard on the elbows.

[ProfessorGAC]

10. I Believe That

They were heavier (first aluminum racket i ever had was the Wilson T3000.) Couldn't believe the difference in weight.

And since the wood torques a bit on imperfect impact (and even pros miss the dead center of the strings) which puts a twisting action on the elbow. That lack of twist made metal or fiber rackets much easier on the arm.

That said, most of us who played never played 6 hours a day and built muscles strictly for the tennis stroke that meant more power, more force and no way to make tendons and bursa stronger.

I played for a couple hours a week in HS and college. Nothing like the wear and tear a professional would experience.

[JonLP24]

11. My grandpa tried to turn her into a tennis pro from a very young age

Last edited Tue Jan 9, 2018, 02:03 AM - Edit history (1)

Fed her unusual diets like blackstrap molasses. He even wanted steroids but he didn't know where to find those she practiced from a very young age. He would enter her in tournaments in the inter mountain region. I think back then they had amateur tournaments named after college football bowls like the Cotton Bowl. He wanted to enter her into the Orange Bowl but couldn't afford it. She also played against Andre Agassi older sister saw him as a little boy practicing with his dad.

She got scholarships to Kansas but when they saw how flat the land is they changed their mind and went with a college in Amarillo but she quit her first year because she was 18 and she also didn't like the team tennis format. She would beat her opponent but the team would still lose.

She played in an era of wooden rackets she said your whole arms would vibrate every time you hit the ball.

[northoftheborder]

2. I'm disappointed to hear that - she's always a star pull for me to watch the tournament

and I'm a big fan of both Williams, but she knows best for herself.

[dhill926]

6. and Murray.....

and Djoker, Rafa and Stan W are all nursing injuries. A tough sport.....think maybe the season can be shortened a bit.

[LenaBaby61]

7. My girl Serena made the RIGHT move.

When she played a much younger top 10/singles slam winner in Jelena Ostapenko this past weekend, she played surprisingly well for a woman who'd "allegedly" had a C-section 4 months ago when she gave birth to AO Jr. She wasn't serving all out (Why should she? Her serve WILL return), but her groundies were hard, sharp, deep and crisp. HAPPY about that She has Osteoarthritis in her left knee, so her movement wasn't there, plus she IS 36. But all in all, a very solid effort considering her change of life AND after having took a year off to become a Wife/Mom.

All in all, I'm HAPPY/relieved that she's taking the time she needs make her come back. Currently, AO Sr. is back to work after he's taken his paternity leave, and Serena's in Miami. All will make their home base California more than likely when Team-Serena returns to the tour, and I see her returning around the time of Indian Wells if she stays health and all stays on track. WHEN Serena's READY

Per Serena's snapchat:

[TBF]

12. Hey a kennedy -

lazy day today so I came back to check out sports

Read an article recently about Serena and blood clots (I have had them myself so it caught my interest). Tough to come back from both childbirth and clots. If anyone can do it she can, but I wasn't surprised to hear about it. She plays well on grass too - so maybe she'll aim for Wimbledon?

[a kennedy]

13. Sorry to hear about your medical situation, hope she'll do what's right for her......

Wimbledon sounds good.