For years, Serena Williams has dominated the tennis world, often referred to as the GOAT. Now she has plans to “evolve” into the next phase of her life.
“I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me,” Williams said in a first-person Vogue essay, sharing that she has “never liked the word retirement.”
Mixed feelings about her next chapter
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who won her first U.S. Open in 1999, admitted that the idea of leaving tennis has brought up some mixed feelings.
“I’ve been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis. Alexis [Ohanian], my husband, and I have hardly talked about it; it’s like a taboo topic. I can’t even have this conversation with my mom and dad. It’s like it’s not real until you say it out loud,” Williams wrote. “It comes up, I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat, and I start to cry. The only person I’ve really gone there with is my therapist! One thing I’m not going to do is sugarcoat this. I know that a lot of people are excited about and look forward to retiring, and I really wish I felt that way.”
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The 40-year-old is currently playing at the Canadian Open. On Monday, she advanced to the second round after winning her first match in 14 months, according to ESPN.
Next week, she will play at the Western & Southern Open. From there, she has plans to play at the US Open as her final tournament later this month before evolving into her next chapter. This will be her final attempt to tie Margaret Court’s record of 24 major titles.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t ready to win Wimbledon this year. And I don’t know if I will be ready to win New York. But I’m going to try. And the lead-up tournaments will be fun,” Williams, who lost to Harmony Tan in June said. “I know there’s a fan fantasy that I might have tied Margaret that day in London, then maybe beat her record in New York, and then at the trophy ceremony say, ‘See ya!’ I get that. It’s a good fantasy. But I’m not looking for some ceremonial, final on-court moment. I’m terrible at goodbyes, the world’s worst.”
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This isn’t the first time Williams has entertained the idea of retiring.
In 2021, the tennis superstar wasn’t sure she would return to tennis after tearing the hamstring in her right leg at Wimbledon. However, a call from Tiger Woods encouraged her to make a comeback at Eastbourne in June before returning in singles at Wimbledon the following week.
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The legacy she will be leaving behind
Williams first began her 27-year professional career in 1995 as a 14-year-old. With 73 career singles titles, four Olympic gold medals and 319 weeks at No. 1 under her belt, she is arguably the greatest player to play the sport of tennis. Alongside her older sister Venus Williams, the pair have 14 major doubles titles.
Despite a limited schedule on tour, Williams remained the second-highest paid female athlete in the world in 2021, according to ESPN. She also has ventures that transcend tennis, which include many lucrative partnerships and sponsorships, as well as several companies of her own.
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What’s next for the tennis superstar?
Williams says after moving away from tennis, she plans on working with her venture capital firm and growing her family. The last time she won a Grand Slam title was at the Australian Open in 2017. At the time she was pregnant with her daughter, Olympia, who will be 5 next month and has been asking for a sibling for some time, according to Williams.
In her essay, Williams opened up about the unfairness placed on women to choose between their careers and having a family.
“If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family,” Williams said. “Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity. Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia. … But I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to give.”
In an Elle interview, Williams spoke about being content with being a mother first.
“(W)inning is now a desire and no longer a need,” she said. “I have a beautiful daughter at home. I still want the titles, the success, and the esteem, but it’s not my reason for waking up in the morning.”
In the essay, she also revealed her near-death experience after giving birth to her daughter, which required four surgeries, including a C-section. Like most Black women, Williams had to fight for her life and advocate for herself.
“Being heard and appropriately treated was the difference between life or death for me,” she wrote, calling attention to a chilling statistic. “In the U.S., Black women are nearly three times more likely to die during or after childbirth than their white counterparts,” Williams added. “Many of these deaths are considered by experts to be preventable.”
Next up for Williams is her second-round match in Toronto on Wednesday, in which she’ll face the winner of Tuesday’s clash between Belinda Bencic and Tereza Martincova.
With the countdown to her farewell officially started, Williams has plans to relish in the next few weeks. No matter what the next chapter holds for Williams, we have no doubt that she will dominate it much like she did tennis!
