In a column for Vogue, the 40-year-old described her intention to finish her playing career as an “evolution” away from tennis. “I have never liked the word retirement,” she wrote. “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.”
Williams has spent much of the past few years off the court preparing for the moment she decided to move on, including by setting up a venture capitalist company, Serena Ventures, and investing in various organisations. However, she explained that one of her biggest reasons for retirement was her intention to expand her family. Williams gave birth to her first child, Alexis Olympia, in 2017.
“I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair,” she wrote. “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.”
Over the course of a historic career that has spanned nearly three decades since its beginnings on the public courts of Compton, California, Williams has won an Open era record of 23 grand slam singles titles, earning a total of $94 .5m (£78 m) in prize money and much more in endorsements. Williams fell short of the all-time record of 24 grand slams set by Margaret Court.
This story is from the August 10, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the August 10, 2022 edition of The Guardian.
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