The 2018 US Open had its fair share of drama and upset. The final was between Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams. The Japanese was chasing her first singles Grand Slam title against Williams.
It turned out to be a stressful final for Serena Williams, who not only lost the match but was also penalized. Besides, he also lost his cool, breaking her racket. According to the New York Times Goldin Auctions has organized an auction for the racket. Willing buys have up to 7th December to place their bids.
The current price tag is $2,000, but it is bound to go up by the close of the auction. “I think the low end would be $10,000, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes to $25,000 or $50,000,” said the Goldin Auctions founder, Ken Goldin.
A tough outing for Serena Williams
Serena Williams lost 6-2, 6-4 to Naomi Osaka in that final. She also received a code of violation twice, one for illegal coaching and the other one for smashing her racket on the tennis court. Disappointed and furious, she not only called the umpire a “liar” but also a “thief.”
Naomi Osaka managed to maintain her calm, eventually winning the match. She became the first Grand Slam winner from Japan.
“I’m sorry. I know that everyone was cheering for her, and I’m sorry that it had to end like this. I just want to say thank you for watching the match. Thank you,” said Naomi Osaka.
How the Racket reached Goldin Auctions?
Serena Williams gave her broken racket to a US Open ball boy, Justin Arrington-Holmes. Initially, she had put it down before turning around and handing it over to him. The ball boy later sold it for $500 to Brigandi Coins and Collectibles based in Manhattan after producing a letter to authenticate it. The letter stated that he received the racket as a gift from Serena Williams in the post-match session.
From Brigandi Coins and Collectibles, the racket found its way to Goldin Auctions, who have now put it up for sale. However, Goldin Auctions does not contact athletes to confirm the authenticity of items for various pressing reasons. They believe some players never react positively to the items they once owned being sold. Furthermore, the auction house has at least 1,600 items hence posing a severe challenge of accounting for every item.
The auction house got in touch with the American ball boy before the auction. The 22-year-old was surprised by learning about the possible price range of the racket. His only hope is that a portion of the money generated from the sale of the racket can be channeled to charity work.
Serena Williams’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no.10, Serena Williams played her last match on the 7th of September when she capitulated to Bianca Vanessa Andreescu 6-3 7-5 in the final in U.S. Open.
Serena Williams’s best performance of this year was reaching the final in at the U.S. Open, Toronto and in Wimbledon.
Osaka in Shenzhen, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.3, Naomi has a 40-11 win-loss record in 2019. The Japanese is in Shenzhen where she toppled Petra Kvitova 7-61 4-6 6-4.
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka played each other 3 times. The head to head is 2-1 for Osaka.
The last time that they competed against each other, Serena Williams won 6-3 6-4 in the quarter in Toronto on the 09th August 2019.
Here the highlights.
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka |
| Embed from Getty Images |
