Is Serena Williams, 40, Going to Pull a Tom Brady and Shockingly Un-Retire?

Is tennis legend Serena Williams going to follow in the footsteps of NFL quarterback Tom Brady and return to a professional playing career?

Last month, iconic tennis player Serena Williams announced that she would be stepping away from professional tennis following her performance at the US Open. “I’ve been reluctant to admit that I have to move on from playing tennis,” she wrote in an essay published in Vogue.

“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.”

When the 23-time Grand Slam champion made an appearance on the NBC show, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, host Jimmy Fallon was eager to know if Williams ever plans to return to the court. With a cryptic tone, the mother refused to rule it out.

“There’s no chance of you pulling a Tom Brady and saying, ‘Maybe I’m evolving to coming back,’ ” Fallon questioned. However, instead of telling the host ‘No,’ the 40-year-old athlete responded with the sentiments, “You know what? Tom Brady started an amazing trend. That’s what I want to say.”

Following the end of the 2021-2022 NFL season, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady announced that his days of playing professional football were over. However, within a few weeks, he denounced this statement and is returning to the league for his 23rd season.

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Serena Williams sets the record straight with Jimmy Fallon

But, does this mean Brady has started a trend of athletes retiring and then coming back to their respective sports weeks later? Williams believes the answer is not as easy as it seems. From her perspective, she has other priorities she wants to focus on right now but isn’t permanently closing the door on professional tennis.

“I think retirement is something that’s super-earned, that people work really hard for,” Williams told Fallon. “But I just feel like I’m at an age where I definitely have a lot more to give, there’s a lot more I want to do, and so, I’m not going to be relaxing, there is so much more for me and I feel it’s more like an evolution of Serena.”

She continued and shared, “There are so many things that I’ve been wanting to do for so many years and I have such a passion for tennis for so long that I have never done it but now it’s time for me to, like, try to enjoy those things.”