Tennis legend Serena Williams recently clarified where her professional career currently stands. According to the 23-time Grand Slam champion, retirement isn’t the appropriate word to describe her career status.
“I am not retired,” the 41-year-old said during her appearance at a tech conference in San Francisco earlier this week while she was promoting her investment company. She proceeded to add the sentiments, “The chances (of a return) are very high. You can come to my house, I have a court.”
The statement comes roughly two months after she initially announced that she was going to take a step back from professional tennis to focus on her family. When reflecting on the essay Williams published for Vogue, she was explicitly clear that the word retirement doesn’t accurately describe her thoughts and feelings toward her career.
“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me,” the tennis star wrote in her personal essay. “I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people.”
Elaborating on what exactly that means for her career, Williams described her relationship with tennis as an evolution. She relayed, “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
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Serena Williams discussing entering the next phase of her life
Within the contents of her essay, the 41-year-old mother explained that she wishes to expand her family. During this time, prioritizing being a mother is more important than continuing her professional career. “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, Williams added. “Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity.”
Emphasizing that she still has a deep love for the sport, the legend noted that she is entering a new phase of her life that requires more of her attention. “There comes a time in life when we have to decide to move in a different direction. That time is always hard when you love something so much. My goodness do I enjoy tennis,” Williams added.
She concluded her essay with the information, “But now, the countdown has begun. I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals, and finally discovering a different, but just exciting Serena. I’m gonna relish these next few weeks.”
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