'I Miss The Champion's Trophy': Serena Williams' Trophy Story
WTA
Former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli told an amusing story about Serena Williams not wanting to take the runner-up trophy home after the 2019 Wimbledon final.
23-time Grand Slam champion Williams, who will retire at this year's US Open, had several opportunities to equal or surpass Margaret Court's record of 24 major titles. But she has lost her last four finals in straight sets.
Williams can no longer move ahead of Court. The American will equal the Australian if she wins this year's US Open. However, it would be an extraordinary achievement if Williams did this at the age of 40 and after recently returning from a long injury.
Marion Bartoli, whose sole Grand Slam title came at the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, played Williams many times, meaning the Italian knows what a fearsome Williams competitor was, especially at her peak.
The Italian now works as a commentator and analyst. She revealed Williams had no interest in taking the runner-up trophy and actually left it behind, demonstrating how little coming second means to the tennis legend.
"It happened in 2019, when she lost the final to Simona. In the dressing room, after the match, she told me: ‘I don't want to take the finalist trophy, I miss the champion's trophy, if you want, I'll give it to you to you (laughs)."
"We had a lot of fun, but the saddest thing is that she wasn't kidding, she actually left the trophy there. The lady in charge of organizing the Wimbledon tournament was pale when she saw this. I'm a player who would kill her mother and father to see that trophy, and Serena left it there like some kind of cookie and appetizer tray."
It would have been impossible for Williams to become one of the best athletes ever without an incredible mentality. Her pain when losing is part of that, as she showed in Bartoli's story.
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