Serena Williams revealed in a first-person story in Vogue that she is nearing the end of her career, with all signs pointing toward the US Open, which is slated to begin on Aug. 29, being the final tournament of her career.
“I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next,” Williams wrote. “I don’t know how I’m going to be able to look at this magazine when it comes out, knowing that this is it, the end of a story that started in Compton, California, with a little Black girl who just wanted to play tennis.”
Williams’ 23 Grand Slam titles are the most of any tennis player — men or women — in the Open Era, and the second-most all-time behind only the 24 won by Margaret Court.
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Is Serena Williams retiring?
Williams has not officially said the US Open will be her final tournament, but it is clear the end is near. And as the last Grand Slam until 2023, the US Open would certainly appear to be the end for her.
The biggest driver behind Williams’ decision to retire is, as she wrote, her family. She explained she’s never liked the word “retirement,” and considers her decision to be an “evolution,” moving away from tennis and toward the next phase of her life.
“A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family,” Williams wrote.
Williams said she considers retirement to be a sensitive and taboo topic, one that her and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, rarely discuss. She said while some tennis players can find happiness in the decision to walk away from the sport, “there is no happiness in this topic for me.”
“I know it’s not the usual thing to say, but I feel a great deal of pain,” Williams wrote. “It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads. I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it’s not.”
Williams discussed how her competitiveness has driven her in her career, and what it was like to continue winning and moving up the all-time Grand Slam singles charts.
She said there are people who won’t consider her the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) because she didn’t pass Court’s record.
Williams explained how she has felt her life begin to move toward life with her family and her company. She wrote about what being there for her daughter, Olympia, has meant, and how she wants to be a constant presence in her life. She wrote about her company, Serena Ventures, and how she has learned the process of running a venture capital firm.
And she discussed how she and Ohanian recently learned they can have another child, and how she does not want to be a pregnant as an athlete again.
“I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out,” Williams wrote.
This past spring, Williams said she spoke with golfer Tiger Woods about whether to continue her tennis career, and he advised her to play for the next two weeks and see how she felt. She described the experience as “magical to pick up a racket again,” and said she went “back and forth” over whether to play in both Wimbledon and the US Open.
She said she doesn’t like to think about her legacy, but she said she hopes people will think of her as more than just tennis.
“I admire Billie Jean [King] because she transcended her sport. I’d like it to be: Serena is this and she’s that and she was a great tennis player and she won those slams,” Williams wrote.
How old is Serena Williams?
Williams will turn 41 on Sept. 26, and she explained her age is a driving factor in the decision. While she never wanted to have to choose between tennis and family, she said “something’s got to give” as she wants to grow the 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. Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity,” Williams wrote. “Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia.”
