Serena Williams says she would finally put down the racket to focus on other passions including her family and her business empire. “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me,” she wrote.
Serena Williams announced her retirement from tennis on Tuesday in an emotional essay reflecting on her unparalleled achievements in a sport she has dominated for nearly three decades., Williams said she would finally put down the racket to focus on other passions including her family and her business empire.
Williams, 40, whose powerful playing style saw her obliterate opponents on her way to a mind-boggling 23 Grand Slam singles titles, confessed that she did not want to have to choose between tennis and her family. Williams added that she’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to surpass Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles—set before the modern “open era” of the sport—but accepted that her own achievements were “extraordinary.”
Williams’ announcement comes after she made a return to singles tennis at Wimbledon in June after a long period being sidelined due to injury. The hiatus led some to speculate that Williams’ retirement could be on the cards; her“Unfortunately I wasn’t ready to win Wimbledon this year,” Williams wrote in theShe also said that encouragement from her friend Tiger Woods had helped her return to competing in tennis professionally this year.