Serena Williams is winding down her legendary tennis career and announced she will retire in the coming weeks — perhaps after the U.S. Open.
In an Instagram post previewing her appearance on the cover of the September issue of Vogue, the 40-year-old Williams wrote:
“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. 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.”
Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles in her career, one shy of Margaret Court’s all-time mark of 24, yet she is widely considered the greatest female player of all time. Her last major came at the 2017 Australian Open where she beat her sister Venus while pregnant with her daughter Olympia.
“To me, her legacy is already sealed,” ESPN analyst Chris Evert said during the 2021 telecast of Williams’ truncated match at Wimbledon. “If she never wins another Grand Slam, if she never matches Margaret Court, [it] doesn’t matter. She’s still the greatest.”
Breaking News: Serena Williams said she planned to retire from tennis after playing in this year’s U.S. Open.https://t.co/zClGxsuM4k pic.twitter.com/xf8ttYq7IF
— The New York Times (@nytimes) August 9, 2022