Serena Williams has announced her upcoming retirement from tennis as she admitted on Tuesday she is “evolving away” from the sport.
This week, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion upset Nuria Parrizas at the National Bank Open in Toronto in just her second match of the year.
In reference to her spectacular career, she later acknowledged she was “coming near to the light at the end of the tunnel” before extending that statement in a Vogue story in which she hinted at quitting.
Williams stated in an article for Vogue, “I have never liked the word retiring. “To me, it doesn’t seem like a contemporary word. Although I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, I want to be careful how I use that word because it has a very specific and significant meaning to a group of individuals.
“Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.
“I’ve been reluctant to admit that I have to move on from playing tennis. It’s like a taboo topic. It comes up, and I start to cry. I think the only person I’ve really gone there with is my therapist.”
The 40-year-old was knocked out by Harmony Tan at Wimbledon in her first singles match for a year earlier this summer, but has her sights set on the US Open in what could prove her farewell tournament.
“Unfortunately I wasn’t ready to win Wimbledon this year,” she added in the article. “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.
“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.”
Williams’ most recent Grand Slam victory, in 2017, brought her total to 23, leaving her one short of Margaret Court’s record-tying 24th major.
“There are people who say I’m not the GOAT (greatest of all time) because I didn’t pass Court’s record, which she achieved before the ‘Open era’ that began in 1968,” Williams said.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that record. Obviously I do. But day to day, I’m really not thinking about her. If I’m in a Slam final, then yes, I’m thinking about that record. Maybe I thought about it too much, and that didn’t help.”
Williams noted that “the clock has begun” and that she was “relishing” what might be her career’s final few weeks, underscoring her impending retirement.
