Serena Williams, one of the most impressive figures in tennis in recent decades, has decided to turn her life around and will hang up her racket once she finishes her participation in the last Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, a tournament she won for the first time. once in 1999. With 23 Grand Slam titles and 41 years old, the youngest of the Williams sisters has expressed that she will begin, among other things, to dedicate more time to her family.
After being eliminated in the first round of the Wimbledon Open in June 2022, the future of Serena Williams, the youngest of the Williams sisters, seemed uncertain.
Receiving a wild card to participate in the Toronto Masters 1000, an invitation that came after the announcement that the list of participants for the next US Open was in the list, gave tennis fans, and their followers in particular, the hope of that the second woman with the most Grand Slam titles grace the courts of the world for one more period.
But like his shocking breakthrough into elite tennis in the 1990s, his departure was not otherwise expected. One day after winning her first match at the Canadian Open, where she beat the Spanish Nuria Párrizas in two sets, the 40-year-old American revealed, through a publication in ‘Vogue’ magazine and a text on the social network Instagram, his plan to leave the courts.
“There comes a time in life when we have to decide to move in a different direction. That moment is always difficult when you love something so much. My God, I like tennis. But now the countdown has begun,” read part of the text written by Williams.
In said publication, the tennis player, who is about to turn 41, has made it clear that she has never liked the word retirement associated with retirement and prefers, at this stage of her life, to face a “transition” towards other aspects beyond tennis and that are important to her.
“I have to focus on being a mother, my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different Serena, but just as exciting. I am going to enjoy these next few weeks,” she added.
In this sense, he already marked the place and time of his retirement. Serena, who debuted at the US Open in 1998 and won the same one a year later, has chosen that tournament to lower the curtain on her career, a decision for which, and according to the letter, she has been preparing for more than a decade. .
The beginnings of Serena Williams on the circuit
In the 1990s women’s tennis was very competitive. At the time of making the leap to professional, in 1995 at just 14 years old, few specialists predicted the success she would have on the women’s circuit (WTA) like her sister, Venus, had in her beginnings.
In those days, women’s tennis was dominated by Monica Seles, Steffi Graf or Conchita Martínez, among others, players with different characteristics from each other and who gave the division a lot of competitiveness.
But, for the Williams, who had to fight against discrimination and racism in the sport, that did not matter and in a short period they had already made a name for themselves within the circuit and among tennis fans.
As for Serena, her first steps in professional tennis were taken in 1995, but it would be in 1997 when she began to make her mark on the main courts of the circuit by defeating Mary Pierce and Monica Seles, top players, at the ITF tournament in Scottsdale. 10 at the time, until falling in the semifinal against Lindsay Davenport.
But his leap in quality was made in 1999 when, in the middle of a season in which he won several titles such as Paris (WTA 500) and Palm Springs (WTA 1000), he established himself at the US Open that year, defeating the number one in the final. one of the world, the Swiss Martina Hingis, with whom, like her sister, she would have a great rivalry.
Few years passed from that moment to become number one in the world. This feat came after beating his sister Venus in two straight sets in the final of the Wimbledon Open, which at that time meant his third Grand Slam.
Since then, his career has been one of success after success, managing to win the main tournaments on several occasions. However, since the late 2010s, winning has not been so easy, in part because of the complexity of performing other familiar tasks.
Her last Grand Slam title came in 2017, a tournament in which she participated while two months pregnant. Her difficulty in winning games, and even more her titles, had led the specialists to expect her retirement years ago, especially after falling in the 2018 US Open final against the Japanese Naomi Osaka.
Serena, dedicated part of her career to charity
Serena and Venus grew up in the Californian town of Compton, United States, far from the main tennis centers of the state and the country. There they were trained by their father Richard.
With 23 Grand Slam titles won, Serena and her sister have not forgotten their beginnings and for this reason they have collaborated with their community with the creation of the Yetunde Price Resource Center, which directs attention to people affected by violence and carries the name of his older sister, murdered in 2003.
Additionally, through the Serena Williams Fund, it has collaborated in the construction of schools in Kenya, Uganda and Jamaica. She too, as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, has supported the mission to offer quality education to the most vulnerable children.
What will be the future of Serena after leaving tennis?
Regarding what Serena’s life will be like beyond tennis, the player has expressed that she has prepared for that moment.
“These days, if I have to choose between building my tennis resume and building my family, I choose the latter,” he added in his text.
She and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, have a daughter, Olympia, who turns five in September.
Additionally, Serena is in charge of a venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, which has invested resources in more than 30 startups since 2014.
With EFE, Reuters and AP
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