It appears as though one of the most dominant professional athletes of all time, Serena Williams, may be retiring from tennis.
She said in a Vogue magazine article this morning that she was “evolving away from tennis,” and looking to pursue other ventures.
She said:
“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.
A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family.”
Williams added that her last tournament would be the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows at the end of August, and will be her last grand slam event ever.
The near 40-year-old has had one helluva career, to say the least, racking up 23 grand slam titles, the most in the Open Era, and one short of Margaret Court’s all-time record.
She continued:
“Unfortunately I wasn’t ready to win Wimbledon this year.”
She lost to Harmony Tan in the first round of the All England Club at this year’s Wimbledon:
“And I don’t know if I will be ready to win New York. But I’m going to try. And the lead-up tournaments will be fun.
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. You have carried me to so many wins and so many trophies. I’m going to miss that version of me, that girl who played tennis. And I’m going to miss you.”
The end of an era.
During her incredible career, she has won a whopping 73 singles titles, 23 doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles, of which, 39 are Grand Slam titles. She has been ranked as the number one female tennis player in the world seven times, including a co-record 186 consecutive weeks. And finally, she’s a four-time Olympic gold medalist.
A true legend of the game.
