Injured Serena Williams as inspiring as Tiger Woods. RORY MCILROY

Rory can see a comparison between Serena Williams and Tiger Woods

Serena Williams and Tiger Woods

Serena Williams is doing everything she can to finally win her first slam after her complicated pregnancy. The American legend was extremely close to eventually win another major on 3 occasions when she reached the final twice in Wimbledon (2018 and 2019) and at the US Open (2018).

Even if Serena didn’t manage yet to achieve her goal, the tennis legend has inspired both her colleagues and athletes competing in other sports. It was Tiger Woods to be open from the fact the Serena inspired him to come back after he had spinal fusion surgery.

What McIlroy said about Serena

During a recent interview with the New York Times, the Rory McIlroy explained why he can see a similarity between Serena Williams and Tiger Wood to comment:

“I think they put themselves through it because they don’t want to let people down. You get what you give, and I think Tiger and Serena over the years have given people so much joy by playing their sport the best they can. They want to be able to keep doing that, but it’s hard. Time catches up.”

Serena’s injury making her closer to fans

Serena burst into tears when she had to withdraw during her recent final in Toronto where she was facing the new Canadian sensation Bianca Andreescu. Unfortunately, the American had to withdraw when trailing 1-3 in the first set because of a problem to her back.

According to Rory, Williams’ struggle is making her even closer to her fans to comment:

“People can relate to vulnerability. Serena and Tiger didn’t show any vulnerability for 20 years. Now people see that side of them and it humanizes them, and it makes them more endearing.”

Will Serena Williams play the US Open?

Even if Serena was initially positive about coming back to competitions in Cincinnati, the American had to withdraw also from the tournament in Ohio just a few hours before she had to face Zarina Diyas in the opener.

The 23-slam champion revealed that usually, it takes up to 36 hours for her to recover from that specific injury. For this reason, it is plausible that she will be back to play the last slam of the year.