In an article in Vogue, the 23-time Grand Slam winner said that although she would try to win the US Open, it was time to go “in a different direction”.
“There comes a time in life when we have to decide to go in a different direction,” Williams posted on Instagram with a photo of herself on the Vogue cover with the caption: “Serena goodbye…I’m terrible at goodbyes.”
“Times are always hard when you love something so much. God, I like tennis. But now the countdown has begun. I need to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals, and finally finding a different, but just as exciting, Serena. I’m going to enjoy the next few weeks.”
She played her first singles match in over a year at Wimbledon in June, losing to France’s Harmony Tan. She then hinted that she could play on home soil at the US Open, which starts on August 29.
In the article, however, Williams said, “I’ve never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t seem like a modern word to me. I thought of it as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how you use this word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Perhaps the best word to describe what I do is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis to other things that are important to me.”
She continued: “Unfortunately, I wasn’t ready to win Wimbledon this year. And I don’t know if I’ll be ready to win New York. But I will try.”
After losing her professional debut in September 1995, Williams has become the most dominant force in women’s tennis for the past 30 years.
Along with their older sister Venus, the Williams sisters transformed the sport, making a regular habit of winning Grand Slams in both singles and doubles.
At the time of writing, Serena has won 73 career singles titles, 23 doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles, which includes 39 Grand Slam titles – 23 singles titles, 14 doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles. She is one Grand Slam singles title behind the all-time record held by Australia’s Margaret Court.
Asked by CNN’s Christiane Amanpour earlier this year if she still wanted to beat Court’s record, she replied: “I should have had it, I really should have – I had a lot of opportunities to have it. But I’m not giving up to answer your question.”
She addressed this later in Vogue, saying: “I know there’s a fan fantasy that maybe I tied Margaret that day in London, then maybe I’d break her record in New York and then at the awards ceremony to say, “I’ll see you!” I understand that. It’s a good fantasy. But I’m not looking for some ceremonial, final moment on the court. I’m terrible at saying goodbye, the worst in the world.”
The four-time Olympic gold medalist has earned more than $94.5 million in prize money in her career, more than any other female athlete.
Away from court, Williams announced her engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in 2016, giving birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.
And focusing on her young family, as well as her interests away from tennis, is why she has decided to retire from the game she changed forever.
“Believe me, I never wanted to choose between tennis and family. I don’t think it’s fair,” Williams explained. “If I were a man, I wouldn’t be writing this because I would be playing and winning while my wife did the physical labor to expand our family.
“Maybe I would be more like Tom Brady if I had the opportunity. Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia. I was one of those pesky women who adored being pregnant and working until the day I had to report to the hospital — even though on the other side things got super complicated AND I almost did the impossible: a lot of people don’t realize I was pregnant on the second the month I won the Australian Open in 2017. But I’m turning 41 this month and something has to give.”
The star also admitted that she doesn’t like to think about her legacy.
“I get asked about this a lot and I never know exactly what to say. But I’d like to think that because of the opportunities I’ve been given, female athletes feel like they can be themselves on the court. They can play with aggression They can be strong but beautiful They can wear what they want and say what they want, kick it and be proud of it all.
“As the years go by, I hope people think of me as a symbol of something bigger than tennis.
CNN’s Amy Woodyatt contributed to this report.
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