Famous American tennis legend, Serena Williams has announced that she will retire from tennis following the 2022 US Open at the end of August. The American professional tennis player and 23-time Grand Slam champion said in her Instagram post that while she still loves tennis, she is ready to move on to new things at 40.
In 2017 at age 35, she won Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant with her daughter, but in September she needed an emergency C-section to give birth. She developed a pulmonary embolism following the operation, which kept her in bed for six weeks. There was speculation then that Williams would retire, but she came back, playing through postpartum depression and while breastfeeding. She had chances to win a major but couldn’t get there.
Williams, one of the greatest athletes of all time, indicated that her imminent retirement was imperative to spend more time with her daughter Olympia and her husband, Alexis Ohanian. Serena Williams announcement is coming on heels of her first win of the season, a two-set victory at the National Bank Open.
“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me,” the legendary athlete said in an interview with Vogue. It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next,” she said.
Williams is committed to playing at next week’s Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She wrote, “’Unfortunately I wasn’t ready to win Wimbledon this year. 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.”
The famed Williams thanked fans in her interview and admitted that she’s going to miss the game, as well as the person she once was.
