NEW YORK — One of the joys of Grand Slam tournaments, among many others, is the incredible opportunity to hear from so many different players.<\/p>\n
And with that comes memorable, hilarious, insightful quotes that bring players to life and give you a window into how they see the game and the world.<\/p>\n
It wasn’t easy to choose — there are so many magnetic personalities on the Hologic WTA Tour — but here are our 10 favorite quotes of the US Open (and why we love them).<\/p>\n
“I always tell people, I’m not good at doubles. No one believes me.” – Venus Williams<\/p>\n
Sure, whatever you say, Venus. You’ve only won 14 doubles majors, two mixed doubles Slams, 22 doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals.<\/p>\n
Oh, and at 45, she made the quarterfinals of the doubles draw this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So yeah, we don’t believe you.<\/p>\n
“I was like a kid on Christmas day, just jumping around.” – Leylah Fernandez<\/p>\n
Venus won three doubles matches this week with her new partner, Leylah Fernandez, who was delightfully overjoyed upon hearing that the five-time Wimbledon champion wanted to partner with her.<\/p>\n
“I would love to have a sweaty towel of Rafa’s when I was a kid.” – Iga Swiatek<\/p>\n
You’ve gotta appreciate the honesty from the Wimbledon champ, a Rafa superfan, who was asked if she finds it strange that fans might want one of her sweaty towels. The topic came up after a grown man at the Open snagged a hat intended for a young fan, to the dismay of pretty much everyone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“These nerves, it’s something you can’t imagine. I think I did have it for one exam in the school, and then every match.” – Petra Kvitova<\/p>\n
The two-time Wimbledon champion was speaking of nerves, something she says she won’t miss in retirement. Kvitova played the final match of her career at the US Open last week, a 6-1, 6-0 defeat to Diane Parry.<\/p>\n
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a crowd that much on my side.” – Venus Williams<\/p>\n
This is a striking quote because Venus turned pro in 1994, and has played in front of a gazillion raucous crowds throughout her illustrious 31-year career. If this is the loudest and most energized crowd she remembers, that says something about this audience — and about Venus.<\/p>\n
Williams said this after her first-round loss to Karolina Muchova. Little did the fans know, they’d have many more opportunities to cheer Venus on this tournament. (And they did so, in full force.)<\/p>\n
“Honestly, when I didn’t know him, I thought he was very scary. Because he’s very tall and he didn’t smile.” – Naomi Osaka\u00a0<\/p>\n
Osaka said this about her new coach, Tomasz Wiktorowski, who replaced Patrick Mouratoglou right before Montreal in late July.<\/p>\n
For the record, the four-time Grand Slam champion no longer thinks Wiktorowski is scary. He is, in fact, very nice. He’s also doing a hell of a job: Osaka is into the US Open quarterfinals, her first major quarterfinal since the 2021 Australian Open, and looks as dangerous as any player left in the field.<\/p>\n
“I was in the cooldown area, and he was like, ‘Hey, mom, let’s work out together.’ I’m like, ‘Sir, I just played three hours. I don’t want to work out.'” – Taylor Townsend<\/p>\n
Taylor Townsend relayed this sweet story about her son, 4-year-old A.J., who was supportive and comforting after the 29-year-old’s painful fourth-round loss to Barbora Krejcikova. (No one can put a smile on your face like your child.)<\/p>\n
“It’s so funny with the Czechs. They just kind of like pop in, and they’re just like, ‘Yeah, we’re just going to, like, go deep this week.’ Then you don’t see them for months, and then they come back.” – Jessica Pegula<\/p>\n
So true. They stay under the radar, and then come virtually out of nowhere and inflict serious damage on the rest of the field. That’s been the story this week, as three Czech players — Muchova, Krejcikova and Marketa Vondrousova — reached the US Open quarterfinals for the first time in the Open Era.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pegula ousted one of them, Krejcikova, on Tuesday to advance to her second career semifinal in New York. Later that day, Vondrousova withdrew from her match against Aryna Sabalenka with a knee injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We’d force her to hit, even though she doesn’t hit often. It’s probably best she doesn’t come, because we’d probably bully her.” – Venus Williams<\/p>\n
OK, we didn’t intend to load this piece up with Venus quotes, but really, can you blame us? Her one-liners are unmatched, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t include them.<\/p>\n
This was in reference to Serena Williams, who Venus invited to Queens to coach her and Fernandez and sit in their box. Venus says Serena doesn’t hit much anymore, but we’re willing to bet that the 23-time Grand Slam singles champ can still handle a racquet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Maybe sometimes someone needs to annoy me, and then I play great tennis. Can you annoy me? My team annoys me all the time. It doesn’t work. Kidding.” – Aryna Sabalenka<\/p>\n
The World No. 1 admitted that sometimes she plays better when she’s mad, or annoyed. Well the defending champ has looked positively happy and relaxed all tournament and has yet to drop a set. Happy, sad, angry, frustrated, relaxed — doesn’t matter. She’s always a force.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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