Who is Serena Williams' US Open 2022 1R opponent Danka Kovinic? All you need to know about the Montenegrin player

The wait for the US Open draw is finally over and Danka Kovinic will be Serena Williams' first opponent at the last Grand Slam of her career.

It's going to be a historic moment for Williams and her fans, as the 40-year-old will bid adieu to the sport after the tournament. After winning her opening match at the Canadian Open a couple of weeks ago, the American legend announced her decision to retire from professional tennis after having dominated the tour for 27 long years.

Although the 608th-ranked player has played a total of only four matches this year, winning just one, the tennis world can expect to see her dig deep one more time in her last tournament.

This will be the first-ever meeting between Serena Williams and Kovinic on the WTA Tour, and here is everything you need to know about the latter:

Who is Danka Kovinic?

Danka Kovinic was born on November 18, 1994, in Cetinje, Montenegro, FR Yugoslavia. After picking up tennis at the early age of seven, she kept improving at every step and finally turned pro in 2010.

Since she practiced on clay for the larger part of her growing up years, the red dirt was the surface she found her maximum success on. The Montenegrin played her first main draw Grand Slam match at the 2014 French Open, where she bowed out in the first round.

Danka Kovinic got the fans' attention when she reached her first-ever title match at the 2015 Tianjin Open in China, losing to Agnieszka Radwanska. Her other two final appearances came at the 2016 Istanbul Cup in Turkey and the 2021 Charleston Open, a WTA 500 tournament in the US.

The 27-year-old won the gold medal at the 2015 Games of the Small States of Europe, a biennial multi-sport event comprising nine small states from the continent. Her main strengths are her big serve, the heavy topspin that she produces with her forehand, and a flat backhand.

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Although the World No. 80 is yet to win her first singles WTA title, she has already made 19 Grand Slam appearances so far, with the 2022 US Open being her 20th. Earlier this year at the Australian Open, Kovinic secured probably her biggest victory when she downed 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu in three sets in the second round.

"Looking forward to this" - Danka Kovinic on facing Serena Williams in her 2022 US Open opener

Serena Williams is meeting Danka Kovinic for the first time in her WTA career

As soon as the draw was released on Thursday, Danka Kovinic took to social media to express her excitement about the opportunity to face Serena Williams in her opening match. The Montenegrin stated that she was looking forward to sharing the court with Williams.