US Open run sparks memories of a juniors loss to Serena Williams

Rhiannon Potkey shared a photo on her Twitter account Friday night after Serena Williams' third-round US Open match that immediately went viral.

It was a film photo of a 9-year-old Williams holding the winner's trophy. She's in an all-white outfit with the biggest smile on her face. Standing next to her and the tournament director is Potkey, 10, with the runner's up trophy. It was December 1990 in a Girls 10s Division juniors tournament in Orange County, California.

Potkey, now a sports journalist who lives in Knoxville, Tennessee, was mad she had lost. It was a straight-set loss at that (she remembers winning a few games, but doesn't remember the final score). But, she had made the finals in the tournament in South California, and her proud father stood on the sidelines snapping photos of his daughter. So, she smiled for the camera.

Potkey had photos with several players from the juniors tournaments which her parents developed periodically. But she saved this one. Why? Her coach asked her to.

«One day that girl will win a lot of Grand Slams,» her coach had said to her.

The coach could not have been more right. Nine years later, when Williams was 18, she won her first Grand Slam trophy at the 1999 US Open. The rest is history.

But, back to that 1990 tournament. It was Potkey's first time playing Williams. Williams usually played in divisions way beyond her age, because she was that good, but that day she was playing in her own age group.

I was pretty disappointed after this loss. But my coach told me to save this photo because «one day that girl will win a lot of Grand Slams.» I am glad I listened. Thank you <a href=«https://twitter.com/hashtag/Serena?src=hash&ref_src=» https:>#Serena

for a lifetime of inspiration.