Serena Williams, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, has hinted that she is considering retirement after the upcoming US Open competition.
Writing in Vogue, the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion said that she is “evolving away” from tennis and looking toward “other things that are important” to her.
She added that she did not like to use the word “retirement”, while suggesting in a separate social media post that she would “relish these next few weeks” and that “the countdown has begun”.
Before her possibly imminent exit from the sport, Williams will compete at the US Open later in August.
Williams returned to action at Wimbledon back in June after a lengthy period out of the game due to injury, but was eliminated in the first round at the All England Club by Frenchwoman, Harmony Tan.
Williams said: “Unfortunately, I wasn't ready to win Wimbledon this year. And I don't know if I will be ready to win New York. But I'm going to try.”
Williams’ injury woes had fuelled speculation that she may retire, and in her piece for Vogue she revealed that she had been “reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis.”
Reflecting on her inner turmoil, she said: “It’s like a taboo topic.
“I can't even have this conversation with my mom and dad. It's like it's not real until you say it out loud. It comes up, I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat, and I start to cry.
“I know that a lot of people are excited about and look forward to retiring, and I really wish I felt that way.”
She added that there is “no happiness” in the prospect of leaving the sport and that she felt a “great deal of pain”.
Williams continued: “It's the hardest thing that I could ever imagine.
“I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads. I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it's not. I'm torn: I don't want it to be over, but at the same time I'm ready for what's next.”
Williams’ last Grand Slam title came in 2017, when she triumphed in the Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant.
After the traumatic birth of her daughter, Olympia, during which Williams almost perished, she has since reached four major finals but failed to win any.
Reflecting on her pregnancy, Williams has also dismissed the prospect of having more children while professionally competing, saying that she needs “to be two feet into tennis or two feet out.”
Should Williams bow out of the sport at the US Open, it would be fitting to do so at her home competition which has yielded six of her major singles titles. This includes her maiden major singles triumph in 1999, when she was the tender age of 17.
Williams 23 titles to date also include seven triumphs each at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, and three successes at Roland Garros (the French Open). These have helped cement her status as the second most decorated female tennis player in terms of women’s major singles titles, with Australian Margaret Court having won just one more.
Reflecting on Wimbledon, Williams wrote: “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. But please know that I am more grateful for you than I can ever express in words.”
If Williams is to succeed in the upcoming major and conjure the perfect farewell, it is unlikely to prove a straightforward journey. On August 8, 2022, she saw off the challenge of Spaniard Nuria Parrizas Diaz to progress to the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada, which was her first win in a tennis singles match in over a year.
The 2022 US Open commences on August 29.
Photo by Edwin Martinez from The Bronx, uploaded by Flickrworker, on Wikimedia Commons
