Serena Williams Tries To Channel Muhammad Ali After Losing French Open 2016

It looks like getting that 22nd title is proving to be much more challenging for Serena Williams. She lost to Gabine Muguruza in the final match of French Open 2016, showing that she is no longer the unbeatable tennis player of the modern era. To overcome yet another upset, Serena tried to channel Muhammad Ali’s energy via Instagram, but it looks like she has some healing to do.

“Many players dream of winning grand slam titles but in an era dominated by Serena Williams few women have had a look in,” reports The Guardian. “Garbiñe Muguruza’s stunning 7-5, 6-4 victory against the American in the French Open final on Saturday not only gave the women’s game a new champion but someone who at 22 may just be the heir apparent to Williams’s throne.”

Many publications and magazines are calling this a shift in women’s tennis, as Serena shows signs of slowing down as the dominator of the game.

But what she is looking for is that all-time greatness, and she desires to go down in history as the best tennis player in the open era. That explains why she commemorated the career and life of Muhammad Ali with such enthusiasm, despite the fact that she lost one of the most important matches of her life at French Open 2016.

Check out her Instagram post about Muhammad Ali.

On the other hand, winning this year’s French Open may have opened up possibilities for Garbine Muguruza. The 22-year-old Venezuelan Spanish player has the world’s eyes on her after defeating the world number one.

“There are many tournaments [to win],” Garbine said in an interview according to The Guardian. “Of course the grand slams – for instance, I almost won at Wimbledon [where she lost to Williams]. I remember this final. I hope I’ll have another final, to win another grand slam final and not to let it slip away. Everybody’s dreaming about being No1. All the players want to be the No1 player. I’m not thinking this way, I decided to keep my focus and win matches and tournaments, but of course I would be very happy to be No1.”

Sounds like the young tennis player has a healthy attitude towards winning, playing her best and making sure that she stays mentally and physically sane.

For a while now, Serena has been trying to get that elusive 22nd title, only getting close to it, but never securing it. When she does, she will surpass Steffi Graff’s world record.

But right now, it looks like her attempt to become more mainstream and well known in the popular media is taking some tolls on her athletic performance.

Most recently, she appeared in Beyoncé’s widely lauded concept video of Lemonade, showing the world that she knows how to twerk as well as have a massive serve. Check out the world number one next to Queen Bey.

This is a coupling that can possibly take on the greatness of Muhammad Ali himself.

On top of her increased public exposure, the African-American tennis player has been getting serious in the dating game. She has been seeing Alexis Ohanian for a while now and it looks like her relationship may be jeopardizing her ability to concentrate on her game.

“They’ve been keeping their romance under wraps, but Serena Williams and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian are going strong,” reports Page Six. “We’re told the private tennis star took her techie beau along to a Web video shoot in Florida over the weekend.”

IS THE TENNIS QUEEN, SERENA WILLIAMS DATING ALEXIS OHANIAN? https://t.co/opwldbmGsc pic.twitter.com/mNI85P7HAg

— Viewers Corner News (@viewers_Cnews) October 30, 2015

Together, they are quite the power couple, with Serena definitely being the major breadwinner of the two.

“His net worth, according to a reliable source I’ll call ‘the Internet,’ is in the neighborhood of $4.5 million, or approximately 3 percent of Williams’ own,” reports Slate Magazine. “That’s because he and co-founder Steve Huffman sold Reddit to Conde Nast in 2006, just a year after they launched it, and long before it blew up and became ‘the front page of the Internet.'”

Do you think Serena Williams will be able to recover from her loss at French Open 2016 and go on to snatch her 22nd title at this year’s Wimbledon?

[Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images]