(Tennis news) 23 time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams has announced her upcoming retirement from tennis, admitting that she is “evolving away” from the sport. The 40 year old said that she is trying for another child and does not wish to play professionally while expecting again. Williams last won a Grand Slam in 2017 and remains one short of equalling Margaret Court's record for most majors. She collected her first Grand Slam title in 1999 at the US Open, defeating Martina Hingis at the age of 17. Along with her sister Venus Williams, the two met in eight of the 13 Grand Slam finals from 2001 to 2009 and inspired future generations with their skill and dominance. The sisters have also fought for racial and gender equality throughout their careers. 

Writing in Vogue, Williams said “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. I've been reluctant to admit that I have to move on from playing tennis. It's like a taboo topic. It comes up, and I start to cry. I think the only person I've really gone there with is my therapist. Unfortunately I wasn't ready to win Wimbledon this year. And I don't know if I will be ready to win New York. But I'm going to try. And the lead-up tournaments will be fun. 

"I know there's a fan fantasy that I might have tied Margaret that day in London, then maybe beat her record in New York, and then at the trophy ceremony say, 'See ya!' I get that. It's a good fantasy. But I'm not looking for some ceremonial, final on-court moment. I'm terrible at goodbyes, the world's worst. There are people who say I'm not the GOAT (greatest of all time) because I didn't pass Court's record, which she achieved before the 'Open era' that began in 1968. 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. If I'm in a Slam final, then yes, I'm thinking about that record. Maybe I thought about it too much, and that didn't help. I don’t particularly like to think about my legacy. But I’d like to think that thanks to opportunities afforded to me, women athletes feel that they can be themselves on the court. They can play with aggression and pump their fists. They can be strong yet beautiful.”

Serena Williams will leave a mark on tennis that will be difficult to surpass. Since 1998, she has topped the rankings 10 times, dropping out of it just thrice. She is also one of the very few tennis players to have won the Golden Slam (all four Grand Slams and the Olympic gold) with the others being Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and Steffi Graf. Moreover, she won the ‘Serena Slam’ (all four Grand Slam titles) twice, the first being in 2003 and the other in 2015. Her retirement will not just be the end of the road for a tennis legend, it will be the end of an icon, an inspiring figure who has helped the next generation of women and people of colour to take up the sport. 

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