\u201cI mean, [tennis] is obviously number one right now,\u201d said Williams. \u201cEverything else is on the back burner, so, I\u2019ve got a few more weeks left Downunder, and I\u2019m going to take it very seriously as [the] number one priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the effort, sacrifice and sheer hard work it takes to get back to WTA level, the enjoyment is still there. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s so much fun, you know, and playing well and playing at a super high level and with more matches, I\u2019ll just get better, said Williams. \u201dSo the sky\u2019s always a limit, no matter, as long as you give the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams was clearly disappointed with the 4-6 6-4 2-6 defeat but also philosophical, especially as she had chances, with a couple of break points for a 3-1 lead in the final set. She couldn\u2019t convert them and Linette then reeled off four consecutive games to take the match. The world No 55 was a tough draw for the wildcard, who might have preferred someone less experienced. Williams showed her level was still there \u2013 with some punishing groundstrokes off both wings \u2013 but wasn\u2019t consistent enough and struggled at times with her movement. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy opponent, she played amazing, definitely deserved the win,\u201d said Williams. <\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely felt like I had opportunities, which is great news for me. I need the matches, I need the experience, so it\u2019s great news that I have an opportunity to play next week too [in Hobart].\u201c<\/p>\n
It was only her fifth singles match since last July when she returned in Washington and that competition is what she needs the most. <\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the biggest disadvantages for me is that everybody\u2019s played more matches than I have,\u201d said Williams. \u201cSo when the season starts like it does in tennis and the first thing is a Grand Slam, then you got to come out hot, and I did come out hot.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like my game is rocket fuel, so I have to figure out how not to do too much and then not to do too little. It\u2019s not always easy, but I\u2019m happy with a lot of the things that I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Williams will prolong her stay in Auckland with some sightseeing on Wednesday, after an intense training bloc. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve been working every day,\u201d said Williams. \u201cWe played six days in a row already, so on Wednesday I\u2019m actually going to go see something and take a day off before I get back to work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve played so many matches here and been so busy here. I never really got to see anything, so this will be the first time that I really take advantage of it and I guess be a tourist.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Tuesday evening, top seed Elina Svitolina made an impressive start to her campaign here, dispatching France\u2019s Varvara Gracheva 6-3 6-1 in 76 minutes. The first set was tight \u2013 with a single break of serve \u2013 before the world No 14 found her rhythm, which meant Gracheva was constantly under pressure. After a prolonged break \u2013 following her decision to end the 2025 season early last September \u2013 Svitolina was delighted with her form. <\/p>\n
\u201cMy fighting spirit, I would say it\u2019s back,\u201d said Svitolina. \u201cAnd I would say it\u2019s nice to be refreshed and hungry again, to work hard, to face these tough moments. So the period of time at the end of the season that I took off, it really helped me to find again, this spirit and fighting experience that I\u2019ve been having for many years.\u201d<\/p>\n
The final match on Tuesday was the best of the tournament so far, with fourth seed Alexandre Eala outlasting Croatian Donna Vekic in a classic. It was an epic contest, with the Filipino fighting back to win 4-6 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 40 minutes. <\/p>\n
Eala was cheered on by feverish support from the local Filipino community, creating an atmosphere rarely seen at Stanley St down the years. The world No 50 enjoyed a breakthrough year on the WTA tour in 2025 and showed that the hype is justified, with some brilliant shot-making and impressive defence. Vekic wasn\u2019t far behind but will rue late lapses in each of the final two sets, in a match of extremely fine margins. <\/p>\n
Michael Burgess<\/a> has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America\u2019s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI mean, [tennis] is obviously number one right now,\u201d said Williams. \u201cEverything else is on the back burner,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":220324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[18516,21230,25286,51,4915,18205,132586,8231,3273,78,111,139,69,1527,24684,213,131140,5495,13971,129771],"class_list":["post-220323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-18516","tag-advance","tag-asb","tag-auckland","tag-classic","tag-considers","tag-eala","tag-event","tag-future","tag-in","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-return","tag-ruled","tag-sports","tag-svitolina","tag-venus","tag-williams","tag-wta"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}