Say “the countdown has begun”, 23 times in Grand Slam champion Serena Williams announced on Tuesday that she was ready to step away from tennis so she could focus on having another child and her business interests, portends the end of a career that transcended sport.
In an essay published Tuesday by vogue magazine and an article on instagram — the kind of direct-to-fan communication favored these days by celebrities, a category she most certainly fits — Williams wasn’t entirely clear on the timing of her final game, but she gave the impression that it could be U.S. Openwhich begins August 29 in New York.
“There comes a time in life when we have to decide to go in a different direction. That time is always difficult when you love something so much. My God, I love tennis. But now the countdown has begun “Written Williams, who turns 41 next month, on Instagram. “I need to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different but equally exciting Serena. I will savor these next few weeks.
Williams, one of the greatest and most accomplished athletes in the history of her sport – or any other – wrote in the essay that she doesn’t like the word “retirement” and prefers to think of this stage of his life as “moving away from tennis, towards other things that are important to me.
“I feel so much pain. This is the hardest thing I could imagine. I hate it. I hate having to be at this crossroads,” she wrote. I wish it was 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.
That she is publicly contemplating the end of her playing days is not so surprising, given her age – her 10 Grand Slam titles after turning 30 are unmatched – her injury history and her recent record: a victory in one singles match in the past 12 months (that win came Monday in Toronto; she’s due to play again Wednesday).
“Serena Williams is a generational, indeed multi-generational talent who has had a profound impact on the game of tennis, but an even greater influence on women in sport, business and society. At a time when our nation and the world are grappling with core identity issues, Serena has become a singular example of the best in humanity after overcoming countless hurdles to her participation and ultimate success,” said the tournament director of the US Open, Stacey Allaster “She leaves an indelible legacy of grace and courage that will inspire athletes, women and men, for many generations to come. We can’t thank her enough for all she has done for our sport.
Williams’ status as an athlete and trailblazer is obvious to everyone.
She was the first black woman since Althea Gibson in 1958 to win a Grand Slam title; Williams and her older sister, seven-time major singles champion, Venus, helped expand the sport’s audience and attract new players.
“I grew up watching her. I mean, that’s why I play tennis,” Coco Gauff, an 18-year-old African American who was a runner-up at Roland Garros this year, said on Tuesday. “Tennis being a predominantly white sport, it certainly helped a lot because I saw someone who looked like me dominating the game. And that made me believe that I could dominate too.
US Tennis Association spokesman Chris Widmaier said the organization would “operate on the assumption that this will be Serena Williams’ last US Open”.
It’s the last Grand Slam event of the year and one she’s won six times, most recently in 2014, to go with seven titles each at Wimbledon and the Australian Open, plus three at the French Open, during a career notable for its heights and longevity.
She also boasts 14 Grand Slam doubles championships, all won with Venus, part of a remarkable story of two siblings from Compton, Calif., who both grew to be ranked No. 1, winning dozens of trophies and dominating tennis during stretches – a story told in the Oscar-winning film “King Richard”.
Venus, 42 and still competitive, was the first in the family to break through, reaching her first Grand Slam final at the 1997 US Open. But it was Serena who quickly overtook her sister, winning the 1999 US Open at 17, then adding 22 more such triumphs (Venus won seven major singles titles), eventually establishing himself as a one-of-a-kind superstar. , known for much more than her skill with a racquet in her hand.
The young Williams was armed with a serve as efficient as ever, powerful forehands and backhands, instincts and speed that allowed her to cover every inch of a court and to go from defense to attack in the blink of an eye, and an enviable will to win. That unrelenting desire to be the best has helped make her the best – and has also occasionally gotten her into trouble with chair umpires during matches, most infamously in the 2018 US Open final that ‘she lost to Naomi Osaka, a woman over ten years younger who grew up. idolize Williams, like so many players today.
The official Wimbledon Twitter feed posted this message on Tuesday above a photo of Williams: “Some play the game. Others change it.
“I don’t particularly like thinking about my heritage. I get asked a lot of questions about it and I never know exactly what to say. But I’d like to think that with the opportunities I’ve been given, female athletes feel like they can be themselves on the court,” Williams wrote. “They can play aggressive and pump their fists. They can be strong but beautiful. They can wear whatever they want and say whatever they want and kick their ass and be proud of it all.
The American has won more Grand Slam singles titles in the professional era than any other woman or man. Only one player, Margaret Court, has collected more, 24, although the Australian won some of hers in the amateur era.
“I would be lying if I said I didn’t want this record. Of course I do. But day to day, I really don’t think about her. If I’m in a Grand Slam final, then yeah, I’m thinking about that record,” Williams said. “Maybe I thought about it too much, and it didn’t help. From my point of view, I should have had more than 30 Grand Slam tournaments.
But, Williams went on to write, “These days, if I have to choose between building my tennis resume and building my family, I choose the latter.”
She and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, have a daughter, Olympia, who turns 5 on September 1.
“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think that’s fair,” said Williams, who was pregnant when she won the 2017 Australian Open. for his last Grand Slam trophy. “If I were a man, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife did the physical labor to expand our family.”
Williams said she and Ohanian wanted to have a second baby and wrote, “I definitely don’t want to be pregnant again as an athlete. I have to be two feet in tennis or two feet.
She was absent from the tour for about a year after suffering an injury in her first round match at Wimbledon in 2021. She returned to singles competition at the All England Club in June and lost in the first round.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t ready to win Wimbledon this year. And I don’t know if I’ll be ready to win New York,” Williams wrote in her essay. “But I will try.”
Williams hinted in the Vogue essay that the US Open would be her last tournament, but didn’t say so explicitly.
“I’m not looking for a ceremonial, final moment on the court,” Williams wrote. “I suck at goodbyes, the worst in the world.”
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