Serena Williams has announced plans to retire from tennis, but she admitted the decision was difficult after winning 23 Grand Slam singles crowns, Vogue said.
The legendary tennis player had brushed off talks of retirement after the opening-round Wimbledon loss to Harmony Tan in June.
She said, “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. It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine.
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“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
Williams had her first victory in 430 days after defeating Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 6-3, 6-4 at the women’s National Bank Open in Canada.
The 40-year-old had last won when she beat Danielle Rose Collins in the 2021 French Open.
Williams added, “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 labor of expanding our family.
“Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia. I was one of those annoying women who adored being pregnant and was working until the day I had to report to the hospital—although things got super complicated on the other side. And I almost did the impossible. A lot of people don’t realize that I was two months pregnant when I won the Australian Open.”
