Tennis legend Serena Williams announced Tuesday that she will put her racket down for good after this year's U.S. Open tournament.
The 40-year-old athlete claimed in a Vogue article that she wants to focus on growing her family.
Williams wrote: "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. 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."
GOAT in Her Own Right
In her piece, Williams also touched on Margaret Court's achievements and the issue of being the "greatest of all time" (GOAT), noting that Court won all of her titles before the professional tennis period, per Yahoo! Sports.
Williams won 23 grand slam titles, one short of Court's record of 24.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't want that record. Obviously, I do. But day to day, I'm really not thinking about her," the former World No.1 said.
She won her 23rd major at the Australian Open in 2017 while pregnant with daughter Alexis Olympia, but has lost four grand slam finals since then.
Williams and her older sister Venus have shared 14 major doubles titles. She also has four Olympic gold medals, dozens of trophies, and earnings worth millions, according to AP News.
In Vogue’s September issue, @serenawilliams prepares to say farewell to tennis on her own terms and in her own words. “It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine,” she says. “I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next” https://t.co/6Zr0UXVTH1 pic.twitter.com/YtGtcc18a9
— Vogue Magazine (@voguemagazine) August 9, 2022
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Life After Tennis
Serena Williams hopes to spend more time pursuing her second interest in start-up investing as she gets ready to leave the sport.
"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 stated.
For almost 10 years, the American tennis champion has supported start-up businesses, as per a report from Inquirer.
She made an early investment in MasterClass, one of Serena Ventures' 16 unicorns-companies with a market value greater than $1 billion.
Williams' venture fund secured $111 million in March with the help of several investors, including Norwest Venture Partners, Capital G at Alphabet Inc., the Kapor Foundation, and LionTree LLC.
"Every morning, I'm so excited to walk downstairs to my office and jump onto Zooms and start reviewing decks of companies we're considering investing in," Williams wrote in the article.
The tennis superstar supports businesses founded by women and people of color, and a female-led team runs her fund. Sheryl Sandberg, who left her position as Facebook's COO on August 1, is recognized by Williams as a mentor.
Anne Wojcicki, co-founder, and CEO of 23andMe is another notable figure from Silicon Valley and a limited partner in the enterprise.
Six individuals work for the venture capital firm in Florida, Texas, and California.
Serena Ventures oversees a portfolio of more than 60 angel ventures, including the consumer goods companies Billie and Daily Harvest and the fintech firms Propel and Cointracker.
Ultimately, Williams thanked her fans for supporting her 27-year professional tennis career.
"I'm terrible at goodbyes, the world's worst. But please know that I am more grateful for you than I can ever express."
The US Open's main draw officially starts on August 29.
