Serena Williams Announces Her Retirement From Pro Tennis

Serena Williams started as a tennis pro in October 1995 at the age of 14. Williams’ career has been characterized by her ability to return from serious injury or prioritize her mental health before returning to her best form. Each time she returned, she established herself as one of the game’s all-time greats. After 27 years in the game, the elite tennis player has decided to retire.

The greatest of all time has announced her farewell. Serena Williams, who has won a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles, is retiring from tennis after a 27-year professional career. She made her revelation in a first-person article published in Vogue.

“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.”

Serena Williams recently demonstrated she still has the ability to win at the Canadian Open. Williams defeated Spain’s Nuria Párrizas Daz in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4, in the tournament’s opening round in Toronto on Monday. Williams hadn’t won a singles match in 430 days.

Her previous singles victory came during her 2021 French Open run against Danielle Collins. Monday’s match was just Williams’ second singles match of 2022, and while her win proved that she can still compete, the veteran athlete referred to her career’s twilight hours as she celebrated the victory.

“I guess there’s just a light at the end of the tunnel, I’m getting closer to the light, so lately that’s been it for me, can’t wait to get to that light. I love playing though, it’s amazing but I can’t do this forever so sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments and do the best that you can.”

Williams stated after her loss at Wimbledon that she would have performed better if she had competed more frequently. Williams entered the Canadian Open unranked and fended off Párrisas Daz’s attempts to take the match to three sets on Monday, lending credence to that notion. The game was not easy to win, with the second set alone lasting 76 minutes.

“It’s just one win, you know. It takes a lot. But I was happy to have a win, it’s been a very long time. I forgot what it felt like.”

Williams will face the winner of Tuesday’s match between world No. 12 Belinda Bencic and Tereza Martincova of the Czech Republic. If Williams advances into the second round, she might face one of the sport’s most promising young players in Naomi Osaka in the future. It will be a great experience for her before she retires. So, hopefully the tennis legend can go out on a high note. To get the latest updates, keep an eye on Thirsty.

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