Serena Williams takes on Danka Kovinic in her US Open debut : NPR

Serena Williams practices before the start of the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 25 in New York City.

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Serena Williams practices before the start of the US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 25 in New York City.

Elsa/Getty Images

Serena Williams takes to the court on Monday evening for her first match of what should be her last US Open.

Williams will face Danka Kovinic at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows in New York – the site of Williams’ first US Open victory in 1999, when she was 17.

Earlier this month, Williams, now 40, announced her intention to retire from tennis, after a decades-long career in which she dominated and transformed the women’s game and which includes 23 singles titles of the Grand Slam.

“With her powerful serve, return of serve and athleticism, she really set that standard in the women’s game,” said NPR’s Tom Goldman. morning edition.

“His story of early years in Compton, California, with his sister Venus, under the tutelage of their father, ‘King Richard’, now famous in movies, became part of his legend and paved the way for more young people. of color to pursue what was traditionally a white sport,” Goldman said. “And she brought more people of color into the stands to watch as well.”

As she prepared to take to the field on Monday, Williams received tributes from other athletes and fans, including a spot on the cover of Time magazine.

Williams has won six US Open singles championships, the last in 2014. On paper, she is the heavy favorite on Monday night, going 20-0 in US Open first-round matches – without losing a set since 2001, according to the US Open.

But Williams is currently ranked 605th in singles, only recently returning to action after battling injuries. Her opponent, Kovinic of Montenegro, 27, is ranked 80th.

Williams has only played four games this year and won just one, sports commentator Howard Bryant of Meadowlark Media said. weekend edition.

“She’s really, probably for the first time in her life, an underdog” to win the US Open, Bryant said. “But boy, what a magical fairytale story if she can come to New York and do some magic.”

After retiring from tennis, Williams will continue in her pioneering ways and focus on growing a venture capital firm she started eight years ago.