After ending her 16-month absence from the Tour in late July, Williams received a singles wildcard for the US Open. Also, the seven-time Grand Slam champion found herself on the receiving end of a mixed doubles wildcard with Reilly Opelka.
In singles and women’s doubles, Williams has played finals across all Grand Slams. In mixed doubles, the 45-year-old is a winner at Melbourne Park and Roland Garros – a Wimbledon runner-up – but has never played a title match at Flushing Meadows. However, she has only once played mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows – it came in 1998 – when she made the quarterfinal with Justin Gimelstob.
Williams: A US Open mixed doubles final is the only major final I’m missing
“Usually, I don’t play much after the US Open, so you probably won’t see me after the tournament this year. But for next year, don’t count me out too much! The only major final I’ve never played is the mixed doubles final at the US. So, it’s kind of a priority for me to play it, because it’s the only thing I’ve never accomplished in tennis. I’ve always been very close to the winner’s circle in everything I’ve done throughout my career,” the seven-time Grand Slam winner in singles said.
Williams and Opelka have had a strong relationship for years and they are good friends. But while they will certainly enjoy playing alongside each other, they are about to face an incredibly tough competition.
Taylor Swift Unveils Glamorous New Album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ Featuring Sabrina Carpenter, Max Martin Collab, and Exclusive Vinyl—Out This October
Taylor Swift has revealed her new album “The Life of a Showgirl” will be released on October 3, and unveiled the cover art and a tracklist that features Sabrina Carpenter on the title song.
Swift made the big reveal on her social media and during the Wednesday episode of the “New Heights Show” podcast, co-hosted by her Super Bowl Champion beau, Travis Kelce, and his brother Jason. Her website is offering variants including “The Life of a Showgirl: Sweat and Vanilla Perfume” in glitter orange vinyl, deluxe CD and cassette. While the podcast aired, she debuted the deluxe album covers on her site.
In a post on Instagram, she confirmed that she produced the album with Max Martin and Shellback. “And, baby, that’s show business for you. New album The Life of a Showgirl. Out October 3,” she wrote.
On the podcast, she said that “The Life of a Showgirl” was inspired by the joy that being on the Eras Tour brought her. “This album is about what was going on behind the scenes of my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberant and electric and vibrant,” she said. “It just comes from the most infectiously joyful, wild, dramatic place I was in in my life, and so that effervesence has come through on this record. And like you said, bangers.
She also confirmed that the 12 songs on the tracklist will be it for this era — in other words, “there’s no other songs coming.”
“With ‘Tortured Poets Department,’ I was like here’s a data dump of everything I thought, felt, experienced in two or three years. Here’s 31 songs. This is 12,” she said. “There’s not a thirteenth, there’s not other ones coming. This is the record I’ve been wanting to make for a very long time. I also wanted it to be every single song is on this album for hundreds of reasons, and you couldn’t take one out and it be the same album, you couldn’t add one and be… It’s just right.
“That focus and that kind of discipline with creating an album and keeping the bar really high is something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time,” she continued. “I tend to write lots and lots of music, so it’s a temptation to release lots of music. But oftentimes, I wanted to do an album that was so focused on quality and on the theme and everything fitting together like a perfect puzzle that these 12 songs for my 12th album, I feel like we achieved that and I’m really happy about that.”
Leading up to the release of the podcast, fans noticed a countdown on her official website that was counting down to 7 p.m. ET. Her landing page featured an image of a door that was featured during the Eras Tour, and as the hours ticked by, four different boxes gradually appeared in different colors and with locks on them. Some fans surmised that each box could represent a different-colored vinyl variant.
The 14-time Grammy winner announced “The Life of a Showgirl” early Tuesday, after a mysterious countdown clock appeared on her website. Fans speculated that her 12th album was in the works, given that the clock was set to run out on the 12th day of the month at 12:12 a.m. ET. The project was then revealed in a sneak peek clip from her “New Heights Show” appearance shared on social media.
Spotify billboards began popping up around the country following the album reveal, sharing a code to a playlist entitled “And, baby, that’s show business for you.” The playlist, comprised of 22 Swift songs, likely contains clues and Easter Eggs about what to expect from “The Life of a Showgirl.” Some Swifties already pointed out that all the songs on the playlist were produced by Max Martin and Shellback, which suggested their return for the new album.
Check out the tracklist for “The Life of a Showgirl” below:
The Fate of Ophelia
Elizabeth Taylor
Opalite
Father Figure
Eldest Daughter
Ruin the Friendship
Actually Romantic
Wi$h Li$t
Wood
Cancelled!
Honey
The Life of a Showgirl featuring Sabrina Carpenter
