Anett Kontaveit said her match against Serena Williams was one of the hardest emotionally (Image: Getty)
Serena Williams’ retirement at the US Open has been chronicled in new episodes of Break Point released on Netflix on Wednesday. Two of the tennis icon’s opponents were profiled as the American hung up her racket – including Anett Kontaveit. The second seed in Flushing Meadows, Kontaveit became the last player to lose to Williams and could be seen in tears after, saying she “never wanted to do it again”.
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Part two of Netflix’s tennis series Break Point has been released and viewers will get to see part of Serena Williams’ last hurrah at the US Open. The 23-time Grand Slam champion announced that she would be “evolving away from tennis” last year and had her last dance at her home Grand Slam tournament.
The 41-year-old reached the third round in her farewell tournament – impressively beating second seed Kontaveit en route. While it was a fairytale for Williams and her fans, a new episode of Break Point shows the reality for the Estonian – who was in tears after the match.
“I’ve never seen so many people on Arthur Ashe before,” the 27-year-old narrates. “It’s super loud, they’re all cheering for her. I am at her home, playing her in her house.”
Kontaveit dropped a tight opening set to Wiliams in a tiebreak but stormed back to take the second 6-2. But the former world No 1 pounced back again and dropped just two games in the third and final set to dispatch her opponent.
“She just suddenly changes gears and starts playing better. The crowd goes crazy. It’s difficult to handle,” Kontaveit added as she lost 7-6 2-6 6-2. With the American fans knowing they could be seeing Williams for the final time, they cheered Kontaveit’s errors – something the current world No 78 struggled with.
“The whole match was emotionally one of the hardest things that I’ve gone through on court,” she said. Kontaveit is then seen crying in the cool-down room as she watches Williams’ on-court interview.
Aryna Sabalenka almost quit tennis after war as Belarusian faced ‘dying in jail’ She then explained why she was in tears and said: “It’s not about me losing to Serena. It was just super overwhelming, like… I never want to do this again.” And Kontaveit’s post-match press conference is also shown, as she walked out half-way through while holding back more sobs.
Kontaveit has since struggled with a back injury and ended her 2022 season after the Ostrava Open. On Tuesday, the Estonian announced that she would be retiring at Wimbledon after being diagnosed with lumbar disc degeneration in her back – something that won’t let her train or compete properly.
