Serena Williams is announcing her retirement from tennis. Following the 2022 U.S. Open, Williams is gearing up to say her farewell to her career. The pro athlete confirmed her decision in a recent chat with Vogue as she gives her best as the cover girl for the outlet’s September 2022 edition while Williams talks about being at crossroads with her career and her family.
Williams told the magazine, “Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair. 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 labour of expanding our family.” She continued, “Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia…. A lot of people don’t realize that I was two months pregnant when I won the Australian Open in 2017. But I’m turning 41 this month [on September 26], and something’s got to give,” per ET Canada.
Williams noted that she “never liked the word ‘retirement’” and would rather prefer to describe her parting ways from the sport as an “evolution.” She added, “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. 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,” as she revealed that she and her husband Alexis with whom she shares a four-year-old daughter have been trying to have another child.
Williams remarked, “There is no happiness in this topic for me…. I feel a great deal of pain. It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads. I’m torn: I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.”
