News & Current Affairs

“I have never liked the word retirement," Tennis Star Serena Williams Announces Plans To Retire

By Angel Nduka-Nwosu | Aug 10, 2022

Award-winning tennis star Serena Williams has announced her plans to retire from playing tennis after the U.S. Open. 

Serena announced her decision to step away from the sport she dominated in an exclusive Vogue essay on Tuesday. Her reasons for retirement include her desire to expand her family.

"I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. 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," Serena wrote.  "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. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family."

Serena added that she had "been reluctant to admit" that she had to move on from playing tennis, noting how unfair it is that women often had to choose between motherhood and careers. 

Since 1998, Serena has topped the rankings 10 times, completing the  career 'Golden Slam' by holding all four majors as well as Olympics singles gold. Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf and Rafael Nadal are the only other tennis players to have achieved such a feat.

Serena became the first woman to win consecutive US Open, Australian Open, and French Open titles since Monica Seles in 1991-92. She completed what has now been named the 'Serena Slam' for the second time after defeating Garbine Muguruza 6-4 6-4 at Wimbledon.

 

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