Serena Williams says she plans to retire from tennis

Serena Williams doesn’t like the word “retirement”.

But, as she wrote in a column published by Vogue on Tuesday morning, “something has got to give way.”

In this column, the 23-time Grand Slam champion announced that her tennis career will soon come to an end.

“Perhaps the best word to describe what I intend to do is evolution. I’m here to tell you I’m evolving away from tennis and into other things that are important to me,” Williams wrote, as he told Rob Haskell. “A few years ago, I quietly founded Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Shortly thereafter I started a family. I want to enlarge this family.”

Williams didn’t say exactly when her retirement would begin, but wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday, “I’m going to enjoy these next few weeks.” She’s playing at an event in Toronto this week and said she’ll be with the US later this month Wanting to play Open in New York.

“There comes a time in life when we must choose to go in a different direction,” she said on Instagram. “This time is always tough when you love something so much. Gosh, do I enjoy tennis. But now the countdown has started. I need to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different but just plain exciting Serena.”

Williams grew up in Compton. She and her older sister Venus learned to play tennis on public courts with their father Richard as their coach. She has won Wimbledon and the Australian Open seven times each, along with six US Open titles and three at the French Open. No one has won more Grand Slams in the Open era, and only Margaret Court has won more (24).

She won her last Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open, beating her sister in the final. Serena Williams later revealed that she was 20 weeks pregnant at the time. After giving birth to Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. in September of that year, Williams returned to Grand Slam tennis at the 2018 French Open and finished runners-up at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018 and 2019.

“I’ll be honest. There is no happiness for me in this subject,” Williams wrote in Vogue. “I know it’s not customary to say this, but I feel a lot of pain. It’s the hardest thing I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads. I keep telling myself I wish it was easy for me, but it’s not. I’m torn: I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.”

She added: “I’m not looking for a ceremonial, final moment on the pitch. I’m terrible at goodbyes, the worst in the world. But please know that I am more grateful to you than I can ever put into words. You have carried me to so many wins and so many trophies. I will miss that version of me, that girl who played tennis. And I will miss you.”