Serena Williams’ French Open return wasn’t what she wanted, but it inspired the rest of us

Serena Williams’ much-anticipated return was cut short on Monday after a pectoral injury forced her to withdraw from the French Open. We didn’t get to see her chase a 24th Grand Slam title, and yet her return was captivating. She once again proved herself to be one of the toughest athletes there has ever been — mentally, physically, and in a way unique to her.

Williams showed up to her first match in a catsuit for “all the moms out there who had a tough recovery from pregnancy” and won in two sets — 7-6, 6-4 — over Karolína Plíšková.

In a piece Williams wrote for CNN, she said that she almost died after giving birth to her daughter, Olympia. She was hospitalized for one week and bedridden for six more after the pregnancy. The form-fitting suit, she explained, helped her with blood circulation and preventing blood clots, but during the tournament it also became her statement to mothers that are experiencing difficult pregnancies — they, too, can bounce back.

In her second match against Ashleigh Barty, we were treated to one of those powerful serves that have made opponents look like novices for years. It appropriately forced a third set after she struggled in the first, because Williams almost never stays down. Tennis is often a game of mental challenges, and Williams has proven time and again she is ready for them.

All the while, Williams wore motherhood proudly.

If you follow her on Instagram, you know that Williams is an open and transparent athlete. Before she and sister Venus Williams knocked out Sara Errani and Kristen Flipkens in the third round of doubles, Serena Williams posted a video to her Instagram story saying, “I am on my way to practice, and I’m proudly wearing a little spit up right here. This is mom life, and I love it!”

It felt like we were going to get another storybook Grand Slam from Williams. She suffered a life-threatening pulmonary embolism in 2011 that could have derailed he career, but since then she has won 10 more Grand Slam titles. This year she nearly died (again), returned to the court (again), and was prepared to face Maria Sharapova for a 23rd time after defeating 11th-ranked Julia Görges in straight sets.

For years, people have tried to pin Sharapova as a rival to Serena. Of their 22 matches, Williams has won 19 of them, with Sharapova’s last win coming in 2004. NBA players were still wearing baggy suits back around that time. It has been so long since Sharapova beat Williams that they’re wearing suits with shorts now.

Williams beating Sharapova had become as assumed as Williams inevitably bouncing back from any potential physical setback to her career. We all believed that, if Williams could defy death, she would certainly give Sharapova the work on Monday, too. Williams has been so good throughout the years that we expect everything out of her at this point, no matter how difficult the task would be for any other human.

We’ve seen those incredible moments so many times before. As she explained in her HBO documentary series Being Serena, she said she was hoping just to win a few Australian Open matches — and then she won the whole damn thing while pregnant, anyway. Very few players in the history of tennis have made the game look so simple for such a long stretch.

We didn’t get our Williams-Sharapova moment because of her injury, and that’s OK. We are so used to Williams doing the incredible that it’s easy to take for granted how inspiring it is that she even made it to that point. She might not even tell you that her recovery is an accomplishment because she, and everyone around her, fully expected that she would be in that moment.

Williams’ story isn’t over — it’s far from over. Sitting at 23 Grand Slams, she has made it clear that she wants to pass Margaret Court’s record of 24. Assuming Williams eclipses that record and keeps going, she could also surpass Court and Kim Clijsters’ tied record of three Grand Slam titles each as mothers, too.

There are plenty of reasons to count Williams out, more than enough for anyone, honestly. She is 36, and has had several health complications, as well as a recent child.

But above all there’s one reason that leads you believe that she’ll accomplish all of these things — and that’s simply because she’s Serena Williams.