Serena Williams announces she is retiring from tennis with a personal essay
Tennis icon Serena Williams, who holds more Grand Slam titles than any other current player since the inception of the Open Era (and even won her 23rd Grand Slam title while pregnant), is hanging up her tennis shoes.
For Vogue’s September issue, the powerhouse athlete and owner of Serena Ventures sat down with the outlet amid her preparation to say farewell to tennis—on her own terms.
“I have never liked the word retirement,” Serena wrote in her personal essay. “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
“It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine,” she continued. “I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.”
Noting that she’s almost 41, and wants to expand her family with Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, she says in the essay that something’s gotta give, and for her, it feels like this is the moment to walk away, despite how difficult the decision has been.
“I’ve been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis,” she says. “Alexis, my husband, and I have hardly talked about it; it’s like a taboo topic. I can’t even have this conversation with my mom and dad. It’s like it’s not real until you say it out loud.”
She continues, “It comes up, I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat, and I start to cry. The only person I’ve really gone there with is my therapist! One thing I’m not going to do is sugarcoat this. I know that a lot of people are excited about and look forward to retiring, and I really wish I felt that way.”
Serena being Serena, she also doesn’t shy away from the blatant reality that, if she was a man, this wouldn’t have to be a choice she’d be facing. Instead, she could “Tom Brady” her way through it.
“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” she says. “I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family. Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity.”
She then reveals where her focus is pulled to right now: “In my own life, the balance has been slowly shifting toward Serena Ventures.” She even makes a cheeky joke that the company, which used to be entirely run by women, has just hired its first man, which she calls “a diversity hire!”
Serena gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., in 2017 but that hasn’t stopped her from following her goals outside of tennis. She and her sister Venus were executive producers on the film about their father, King Richard, which won Will Smith an Oscar for his portrayal. The sisters are also minority owners of the Miami Dolphins (the first black women owners of an NFL team ever), and Serena herself is also one of the owners of the soccer club, Angel City FC.
This isn’t the first time the tennis champ and entrepreneur has been faced with the end of her tennis career. In 2021, after she lost the Australian Open to Naomi Osaka, she tearfully responded to reporters during the post-game press conference, “if I ever say farewell, I wouldn't tell anyone." She then abruptly walked out of the conference, putting an end to the questions.
Later that year, she had to tearfully withdraw from Wimbledon after suffering a dramatic injury while on the court.
Now that she has revealed her retirement will go into effect after the US Open, she leaves her fans with the knowledge that while she may miss that “version” of her on the court, she’s going to miss her fans even more.
“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,” she says. “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.”
