October 25, 2022
‘I Am Not Retired’: Serena Williams Says There’s a Big Chance She Will Return to Tennis
Serena Williams revealed that she has not retired from tennis and that there is a big chance that she will be returning to the court.
During a conference in San Francisco on Monday, Williams revealed her thoughts about retirement while promoting her brand, Serena Ventures.
“I am not retired,” Williams said.
According to NBC News, the U.S. Open was not the tennis star’s farewell. She shared that the gap of time following the match felt unnatural.
“I still haven’t really thought about [retirement],” Williams said.
“But I did wake up the other day and go on the court and [considered] for the first time in my life that I’m not playing for a competition, and it felt really weird,” she continued.
“It was like the first day of the rest of my life and I’m enjoying it, but I’m still trying to find that balance.”
The 41-year-old revealed to Vogue in an essay published in August that she was evolving away from the sport.
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“[There’s] no happiness in this topic for me,” she wrote.
“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.”
However, even after receiving heartfelt tributes and waving goodbye at the end of the third round of what the world thought would be her final match, the top-ranking athlete has other plans for the future that involve stepping on the court once again.
“I have never liked the word retirement,” said Williams. “It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me.”
Williams is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, ranking #1 by the Women’s Tennis Association and a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion.