Williams says there is “no happiness in this subject for me,” adding, “I feel a lot of pain. It’s the hardest thing I can imagine. I hate it.”
By Andy Hayes, journalist
Thursday September 1, 2022 00:43, United Kingdom
Serena Williams has said she is “stepping away from tennis” and looking to “expand her family” as she announced plans to retire.
Unlike her friend Caroline Wozniacki, who “felt a sense of relief when she retired in 2020,” Williams admitted there was “no happiness in this topic for me.”
She wrote in Vogue magazine: “I feel a lot of pain. It’s the hardest thing I can imagine. I hate it.”
She continues: “I’m torn: I don’t want this to end. I like to win. I like to fight. I like to entertain.”
But she knows that “this is it, the end of a story that began in Compton, California, with a little black girl who just wanted to play tennis.”
And it looks like the US Open – which begins in New York on August 29 – could be his last tournament.
The American sports star remembers “feeling the energy of the crowd,” “night matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows” and “hitting an ace in the set.”
Family is clearly a major consideration as the winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles considers her future.
Her daughter, Olympia, wants “to be a big sister,” she writes.
Williams “never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” adding: “I don’t think it’s fair.”
She explains: “If I were a man, I wouldn’t be writing this because I would be playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical work of growing our family.
“But I’ll be 41 this month, and something has to give.
“Last year, Alexis (her husband) and I tried for another child, and we recently received information from my doctor that reassured me and made me feel that when we are ready, we can add to our family.
“I definitely don’t want to be pregnant again as an athlete. I have to be two feet in or two feet out of tennis.”
To illustrate her thoughts, she adds: “I never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t seem like a modern word to me.
“Perhaps the best word to describe what I’m doing is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving from tennis to other things that are important to me.”
She continues: “I don’t want it to end, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.
“I started a family. I want to expand this family.”
Williams says retirement has been a difficult subject to negotiate, writing: “I have been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I need to stop playing tennis.
“Alexis and I have barely talked about it; it’s like a taboo subject. 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 happens, I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat and I start crying.”
Williams says she’s “horrible at goodbyes, the worst in the world.”
Thanking fans, she added: “You carried me to so many victories and so many trophies. I’m going to miss this version of me, this girl who played tennis. And I’m going to miss you.”
