“It’s like a tsunami” Chris Widmaier reveals Serena Williams’ retirement boomed ticket sales at US Open
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Serena Williams, one of the greatest female athletes in the world and former world number one, hurled the world with a truth bomb announcing her retirement. It came as a shocker as she made the announcement after she advanced into the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto. She paved her way into the second comfortably defeating Nuria Parrizas-Diaz in straight sets.
The American has many accolades to her name, especially with her 23 singles titles, she is the record holder of most women’s singles Grand Slam titles in the Open era. She is known for being a fierce and tough competitor to beat and has inspired millions of young players all over the world. She along with her sister Venus Williams are an undefeated pair in the doubles finals at the Grand Slams. However, Serena Williams last won her singles title at the Australian Open in 2017 and is hopeful of winning the title for the final time at the US Open in 2022.
Serena Williams will bid adieu in front of her home crowd
United States Tennis Association spokesperson Chris Widmaier recently in an interview spoke the retirement of Serena has made a great impact on ticket sales which was something they had not expected of. Along with the ticket sales, the prices have skyrocketed and people are willing to pay any price to see the legend for the final time. He credited it to the impact Serena has created over the years. He said “You talk about the Serena effect, it’s like a tsunami. Since people have learned of the news, we’ve sold, 13,000 tickets to the Open, including 4,500 or thereabouts for opening night.“
Earlier, tickets for 29th August which is the first night of the tournament at Arthur Ashe Stadium were retailing for as low as 35 dollars but after the announcement, no standard tickets were available. Now, the get-in price on Ticketmaster is $81.55 and that’s just to buy a lone ticket. To get in with someone else, you have to shell out at least 123 bucks and people are willing to go to any extent to get hold of a ticket. Widmaier recalled it as one of the best experiences they have experienced and further went on to call the day ‘a spectacular day.‘
The American will play her final Grand Slam event at the US Open starting on 29 August in front of her home crowd and it is the same place where she won her first Grand Slam title way back in the year 1999. She chooses to bid adieu in style and is looking forward to discovering a new life and spending time with her family and daughter Olympia Ohanian.
Currently, she is set to play against Belinda Bencic in the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto followed by a wild-card entry at the Cincinnati Open in Ohio ahead of her final Grand Slam event.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)