Thief

Serena Williams lost the final match of her career. But it was one loss too special it felt like she won. No one talked about the winner. Everyone talked about the loser. Serena didn’t have to steal the thunder from the Australian woman who beat her. She is the thunder and lightning herself who stormed barriers.

It was not about the loss, it was about the end of an era of probably the greatest woman who ever played the game. Serena spoke in tears to a home crowd that stood witness to her decades of dominance, not because she lost but because she’s done, grateful to all for all that she has won and lost, and more.

For almost three decades Serena raised the power level of women’s tennis. Just as pioneer Billie Jean King did, and Martina Navratilova who may have won lesser slams than Serena but is the other woman who may be greater than her. Or Steffi Graf.

While the younger Serena decided to call it a career, Venus has not. She doesn’t need to. She already did without saying it. The older sister has seen better days, and is now seen losing first round matches in grand slams she used to dominate. But the big sister holds the biggest head-to-head record against the 23-time grand slam champion. Although recently she has been beaten head-to-toe by younger women including those whom she inspired to pick up the racket.

Serena retired without tying the all-time record of 24 slams held by Margaret Court for so long, probably even forever. But it is not the best-time record. The Australian tennis legend won more than half of her majors before the open era when the opposition was soft and limited, as opposed to Serena who faced different women from all over the world. On paper, Court is the best, but not on court.

But now she resents her fading lights, hurting that the world tennis community seems to have forgotten about her. It’s now all about Serena. No, they have not. They vividly remember her livid, no longer for her untouchable record, but because she touched and botched touchy issues. Before it was apartheid she supported and now it is same-sex marriage she despises, even urging gay men and women to undergo conversion therapy like sexual preference is a disease.

Such penchant for segregation rather than union is because her religion says so. Hers. What about the religion of others, or those without religion? No matter the belief your faith is the only way to salvation, it is arrogantly invasive to impose your religion or morality on other people. If their personal choices are sinful according to your religion, leave them alone. Even if they go to hell, the one place many people fear await them in the great beyond but the one place some of them create for the living here and now.

Not all religions preach heaven as reward for goodness, or hell as punishment for sins. Some are nameless, but practice kindness to create heaven on earth, especially for the millions who lived and died with nothing, not because there was nothing to live for, but because everything they were meant for was taken away from them. Even before they were born.