In a beautiful essay published in Vogue Magazine, Serena Williams announced her departure from tennis, with the upcoming U.S. Open being her swan song. Williams, who many believe to be the greatest female tennis player of all time, voices in the Vogue essay that she is “evolving away from tennis, toward other things more important…”. Turning 41 at the end of September, Serena Williams has cited her desire to grow her family as a primary reason for this decision, already having given birth to her daughter Olympia in 2017.
With more Grand Slam singles titles (23) than any other player during the open era, male or female, the sport of tennis will deeply miss Williams’ excellence. Now, I don’t follow professional tennis too closely, but for my entire life, it seemed as though every other week ESPN would send out a notification that Serena had won yet another major tournament. I think I speak for sports fans across the world when I say we all want Serena to continue playing and break Margaret Court’s record for most major wins. Maybe she can still expand her family while continuing to build her already-outstanding legacy, after all, she did win the Australian Open while two months pregnant. But, I’ve never given birth, so what do I know? Regardless, Williams’ prowess will be missed. Enjoy retirement, champ.
*Information for this article was obtained from Vogue Magazine*
