Leading up to the BNP Paribas Open, Williams said she had some concerns on what her reception would be, but in the tunnel prior to walking onto the court, she put it out of her mind.
That changed when she did walk on court and heard the ovation.
When she got to her chair, she was tearing up. “I just felt so good to be out there. I felt like I made the right decision and I knew I wanted to do it. I knew I really wanted to do it,
” Williams said. “But up until that moment I didn't really know if it was the right thing for me to do. I feel like that's when I felt it was the right thing.
“And receiving the love from the crowd here, it really meant a lot to me.” Williams said her main goal was to walk back onto the court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and create new memories.
It meant so much that
Williams said, “I feel like I’ve already won…
It feels like the greatest win being at this tournament.” There were two little girls in different parts of the stadium, each wearing a T-shirt that said “Compton” and held different signs that both said, “Straight Outta Compton,” referring to where Williams grew up.
The crowd was clearly pro-Williams, cheering encouragement when she struggled or got in trouble. After Williams won the match, the crowd erupted.
“It feels good; I was overwhelmed by everyone cheering,” Williams said during the on-court interview.
“It was definitely worth it to come back and create new memories.” And Williams got in trouble a lot early against the tricky Niculescu with her array of slices, clips and spins.
If Niculescu was a baseball pitcher, the umpire would be searching her for Vaseline and emery boards. “I never did play anyone like her and she was an unbelievable fighter,
” Williams said on court. “She made me work really hard.”
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