She's back ~ L. Hamilton

73. | The inevitability of Li

𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕓𝕚𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕠𝕗 𝕃𝕚

By Rachel

Delaney Ricciardo has made no secret of her intention to prevent Nicki Li from overtaking her record. So it must have made the cut that much deeper when Li won yesterday morning.

Some have been dismissive of Ricciardo's attempt at a comeback. But I am among the growing number of those who cannot help but marvel at the attempt.

Many have been quick to forget what Delaney Ricciardo has done for women's tennis. She set the bar for many of the things we now take for granted: incredibly fast serves, brilliant matches that broke multiple records at a time. She changed tennis and women's sports forever, many things that people wouldn't even realise is because of her, such as, female tennis players getting paid to compete, female tennis matches being streamed - and watched, women getting sponsored and more.

And we have all but lost the most exquisite thing she brought to the sport: the grace of the game.
I do not care how hard Nicki Li can hit a ground-stroke or how fast her serve can be-she cannot hold a candle to the beauty with which Delaney Ricciardo has played.

Each shot executed to perfection, every dive for the ball as graceful as a ballet. So I join Ricciardo in mourning her loss.

And yet, we cannot deny that the tide has turned.
Delaney Ricciardo is the past. Nicki Li is the future.

And even though Delaney will fail, and suffer the embarrassment of her loses after talking the game she's talked and tainting her legacy - I won't gloat when it happens.

Because even though she's loud, assertive, brutally and frankly painfully honest -

I can't help but root for her.