The Star E-dition

Serena drives US Open ticket sales

DEMAND for tickets to witness tennis great Serena Williams in action at the US Open spiked in the 24 hours following her announcement that she would retire after the hardcourt Grand Slam in New York, ticket retailer StubHub has said.

“We typically see demand spike on StubHub when a player announces their retirement, and this is especially the case when it’s Serena Williams, arguably one of the greatest players to set foot on the tennis court,” spokesman Adam Budelli said.

“Over the past 24 hours, we’ve seen eight times more sales on StubHub for the US Open than the daily average, but the great news for fans is that the average price paid for a ticket has stayed steady, signalling that there is plenty of inventory for people who want to watch this historic moment in sports in person.”

Six of Williams’s 23 Grand Slam titles have come at the US

Open, and she reached the final at Flushing Meadows as recently as 2019.

Serena, now 40, and sister Venus took the tennis world by storm when they emerged from the courts of crimeridden Compton, California, as teenagers, and went on to dominate and change the face of the predominantly white sport.

Williams won her last major in 2017 at the Australian Open, while pregnant with her daughter Olympia.

“I have never liked the word retirement,” Williams, who has played only two matches this year, wrote in a Vogue article released on Tuesday. “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

Williams’s retirement is sure to be a major storyline when the US Open begins later this month.

SPORT

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2022-08-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://thestar.pressreader.com/article/282235194436944

African News Agency