The tennis dominator of the past two decades is resigning to the inevitable. Instead of talking about retirement, Serena Williams preferred to talk about her evolution away from tennis, but that may just be to ease the pain of her now-announced departure
In a cover story for the September issue of Vogue magazine, the most successful player of the professional era announced that it will be over in a few weeks. And the long-awaited step hurts her: “I feel great pain. It’s the hardest thing I could ever imagine,” explained the soon-to-be 41-year-old American. The US Open in New York in three weeks’ time should be a fitting stage for the last match of a magnificent career.
“Now the countdown has begun “
“My God, how I love tennis. But now the countdown has started. I will enjoy these coming weeks,” she added on Instagram. After that, she said, she will focus on her role as a mother and her spiritual goals, and discover a different but exciting Serena.
Just the day before, after 14 months and a lengthy injury layoff, she won another match at the Toronto tournament – 6-3, 6-4 over Nuria Parrizas Diaz of Spain after just under two hours. Afterwards she was somewhat cryptic about a light at the end of the tunnel, now she provided clarity. “The sport has given me so much. I love to win. I love the fight. I love to entertain,” she said – and that’s best one week do the other.
This was rarely achieved recently, partly because of long injury breaks. Her comeback at Wimbledon a month ago was already over in the first round. There are more preparation tournaments until the US Open. “I don’t know if I will be ready to win New York. But I will try,” she announced. But she said she didn’t necessarily want a ceremony, a final moment on the court. “I’m terrible at goodbyes, the worst in the world,” she said.
“I had my chances “
Serena Williams won a total of 23 Grand Slam titles, one more than German idol Steffi Graf. After a baby break, the mother of soon-to-be five-year-old daughter Olympia has so far been chasing in vain the all-time record of Australian Margaret Court, who celebrated 24 singles triumphs at the four most important tournaments.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that record,” she admitted to Vogue. “Maybe I thought about it too much and it didn’t help. The way I look at it, I should have more than 30 Grand Slam titles. I had my chances after I became a mother,” she explained. “But I’ve been there 23 times and that’s fine.”
The four-time Olympic champion achieved her first triumph in 1999 – who was also very successful in doubles with her sister Venus, who is just over a year older – at the US Open in New York. There she also caused controversy – as in the 2018 Open final against Japan’s Naomi Osaka, when she loudly accused the umpire of stealing from her.
Several protracted ailments over the course of her career slowed Serena Williams down, she kept coming back, but she is currently only number 407 in the world rankings. In her time away from tennis, she has been busy with fashion and using her celebrity status in the fight for equal rights.
When Serena Williams won the Australian Open final against her sister Venus in early 2017, she was already pregnant. Now she revealed that she and her husband – entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian – were already trying to become parents for the second time last year. As an active athlete, Serena Williams never wants to be pregnant again.
