Serena Williams demonstrated she will back away from her tennis profession soon.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion expounded on her viewpoints in a first-individual paper for Vogue magazine on Tuesday, recommending that the U.S. Open set for Aug. 29 through Sept. 11 in New York could be her last competition.
In an Instagram post sharing her main story for Vogue, Williams referred to a few explanations behind the choice: “I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals, and finally discovering a different, but just exciting Serena.”
Williams examined the trouble in settling on this choice and why she could do without “retirement” saying that it doesn’t feel like she’s retiring, but instead evolving, and getting closer to God
“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,” she said in her Vogue article.
It sounds like she simply wants to live her life to the fullest and she cannot do that if she’s 120% focused on her next big tennis game.
Williams’ declaration comes closely following her first win in quite a while — she is right now playing at the Canadian Open and progressed to the second round on Monday. Williams, 40, is additionally scheduled to play at the Western and Southern Open straightaway, as indicated by ESPN.
As for her personal life, she wants to spend more time with her daughter, Olympia (what an awesome and fitting name by the way), who turns 5 this month, and has been requesting a new member of the family for quite a while.
“In five years, Olympia has only spent one 24-hour period away from me. This past year, while I was recovering from a hamstring injury, I got to pick her up from school four or five days a week, and I always looked forward to seeing her face light up when she walked out of the building and saw me waiting there for her,” she continued. “The fact is that nothing is a sacrifice for me when it comes to Olympia. It all just makes sense. I want to teach her how to tie her shoes, how to read, where babies come from, and about God. Just like my mom taught me. As she grows, it’s something different every month.”
Williams additionally addressed the shamefulness she’s felt in picking either tennis or her loved ones saying that she doesn’t want to choose between her family and tennis and that having to choose isn’t fair to her. Here’s to hoping she takes her well-deserved retirement, and puts the racket down, and picks up her faith-walk and motherhood like never before.
Williams made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open, where she defeated sixth-seeded Irina Spîrlea in the first round, before losing to her sister, Venus who, like Serena, was also trained by her parents, in the second round in the sisters’ first professional match.
Williams also has obtained many achievements during her career from the Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award in multiple years to Best Female Athlete ESPY Award in 2003 and 2013, and the Glamour Award for The Athlete in 2009, among many others including holding the record for a 23-time Grand Slam champion title, which was just one short of Margaret Court’s record which is presently the all-time record.
Her 23 Grand Slam singles titles is an open-period record and only one short of Margaret Court’s unequaled record. She inferred she would contend at the U.S. Open, where she’s brought home six singles championships, with the most recent one being in 2014.
This story syndicated with permission from My Faith News