Australian Open: Is It Time For Serena Williams To Pass The Torch To Naomi Osaka?

Serena Williams’s legacy in tennis is untouchable.

Considered by many as the greatest of all time in the sport of tennis, Williams has 23 career championships to her name and has spent an incredible 319 total weeks as the world’s number one.

Throughout her career, Williams has bested the likes of legends such as Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Maria Sharapova and Viktoria Azarenka.

Lately, however, it seems that Williams has met her match in up-and-coming rising star Naomi Osaka.

The 23-year old Japanese-American burst onto the scene in 2018 when she bested Williams in the Miami Open, sweeping the tennis icon in two sets.

Later that year, Osaka would defeat Williams again, this time in the finals of the US Open, to win her first Grand Slam tournament.

Osaka’s career would take off after that as she went on to win the Australian Open in 2019 and then the US Open again in 2020.

In early 2019, Osaka was ranked as the world’s number one.

Along with her success, her celebrity status has continued to rise as well. One of the most marketable athletes today, Osaka has endorsements with Nike, Nissan, Yonex and most recently Louis Vuitton.

While Osaka’s star continues to soar, Williams appears to have slowly waned. She has not won a Grand Slam title since 2017 but has made the finals of the US Open and Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019.

The latest chapter of the Osaka-Williams rivalry unfolded at the 2021 Australian Open semi-finals, and once again, the young lioness came out on top.

Osaka bested the tennis legend in two sets, 6-3 and 6-4, to advance to the finals. Williams, meanwhile, has exited in the semis for her second-straight Grand Slam tournament.

As it stands, Osaka leads her head-to-head against Williams, 3-1.

The question on the minds of many now is: At 39 years of age, is it time for Serena Williams to pass the torch to Naomi Osaka?

At this point in her career, Williams may no longer return to the form that saw her reign as the No. 1 player in the world for a record-tying 186 weeks.

Judging from her recent performances, Williams still has some gas left in the tank and should be a strong contender if she chooses to participate in forthcoming tournaments.

Osaka, however, will only continue to get better and is now just one win away from her fourth Grand Slam trophy.

From the way things are going, she has a lot more trophies in her future.

While Williams doesn’t need to pass the torch just yet, it’s highly likely that the two meet down the road once again. At some point, passing the torch will be inevitable.