At 45, tennis legend Venus Williams holds back tears, discusses future plans after early US Open exit - Watch

Tennis legend Venus Williams faced an emotional first-round defeat at the US Open on Monday, leaving uncertainty about her future in tennis. The former world number one put up a strong fight before losing to Czech 11th seed Karolina Muchova with a score of 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.Williams made her return to competitive tennis in July after a 16-month break, receiving a wild card entry into the main draw at Flushing Meadows despite some criticism.The 45-year-old American showed impressive form against her 29-year-old opponent, who was born after Williams began her professional career in 1994.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!She indicated no plans to compete for the remainder of the year due to travel concerns, and remained uncertain about participating in the Australian Open.
"That's kind of far too," an emotional Williams, the US Open champion in 2000 and 2001, said when asked about the Australian Open."My goal is to do what I want to do. I'm so grateful for all the folks who gave me a wild card. They could have said, 'Hey, listen, you've been gone too long, you haven't won a lot of matches in the last few years.' I wasn't lucky with my health and with injuries."But there were a lot of people who believed in me in these tournaments. I'm very grateful to have had that chance and that opportunity to make good on it and have a chance to really strike the ball."I play an exciting brand of tennis. It's a lot of fun to go literally hog wild out there and hit as hard as I can. I'm happiest when I can just hit hard."The seven-time major singles champion noted significant improvement from her 2020 US Open match against Muchova, where she lost in straight sets."When I think about the match I played against her in 2020, I was so uncomfortable," she added. "I wasn't well. I was in so much pain. Today it's night and day how much better I felt, so I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to play in feeling better, and at that rate, have a real chance."Williams became emotional while discussing her improved physical condition and playing without pain."What did I prove to myself? I think for me getting back on the court was about giving myself a chance to play more healthy," she explained. "When you play unhealthy, it's in your mind. It's not just how you feel. You get stuck in your mind too. It was nice to be freer."