For at least another day, 37-year-old American tennis star Venus Williams turned back the clock and turned in a dominating performance in the semifinals at Wimbledon, defeating Johanna Konta in straight sets 6-4, 6-2:
Make that 87 #Wimbledon singles wins for @Venuseswilliams – the most by any active female player… pic.twitter.com/e8sKU8e4PO
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2017
She becomes the oldest woman to make the Wimbledon final since Martina Navratilova in 1994.
It will be Williams’ ninth trip to the final at the All England Club and remarkably, it’ll be her first time back since 2009. However, this will be her second trip to a Grand Slam final this season after making it all the way to the last two of the Australian Open before losing to her sister, Serena.
While Serena is on maternity leave, Venus has taken full advantage, playing at a high level under some difficult circumstances.
In early June, Williams was involved in a car accident in Palm Beach, FL that killed a 78-year-old man. It was later discovered that she was not at fault for the incident. However, it was clearly a lot for her to process even at the beginning of the competition:
Venus Williams got emotional in her Wimbledon press conference when asked about her car accident pic.twitter.com/ROra21j8KY
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 3, 2017
Under such an emotional weight, Williams has shined at Wimbledon having lost just one set in her first six matches.
She will meet Spain’s Garbine Muguruza, who won Wimbledon in 2015, in the final on Saturday.
