Tennis legend Serena Williams introduced her retirement in a Vogue article revealed Tuesday.
“I’ve by no means appreciated the phrase ‘retirement,‘” Williams wrote. “Possibly the perfect phrase to explain what I’m as much as is ‘evolution.’ I’m right here to let you know that I’m evolving away from tennis, towards different issues which can be vital to me.”
Williams, who turns 41 subsequent month, has 73 profession singles titles, 23 profession doubles titles and over $94 million in profession winnings.
Williams is extensively hailed as one of many biggest athletes of all time. In her Vogue piece, she famous that a few of her detractors level out that she hasn’t received essentially the most Grand Slam titles in girls’s tennis historical past, nevertheless.
“There are individuals who say I’m not the GOAT as a result of I didn’t move Margaret Courtroom’s document of 24 grand slam titles, which she achieved earlier than the ‘open period’ that started in 1968,” Williams wrote. “I’d be mendacity if I stated I didn’t need that document.”
She stated she is going to retire after the U.S. Open, which can run from late August into September. A victory there would tie her with Courtroom’s Grand Slam document.
“I don’t know if I might be able to win New York. However I’m going to strive,” Williams wrote concerning the event, which is performed in Queens.
She has counted sponsorships from firms together with Nike, Audemars Piguet, Away, Beats, Bumble, Gatorade, Gucci, Lincoln, Michelob, Nintendo, Wilson Sporting Items, and Procter and Gamble.
“I by no means needed to have to decide on between tennis and a household. I don’t suppose it’s honest,” Williams wrote. “If I had been a man, I wouldn’t be penning this as a result of I’d be on the market enjoying and successful whereas my spouse was doing the bodily labor of increasing our household.”
Williams centered on her household within the announcement, writing that her almost five-year-old daughter desires to be an older sister. Williams is married to Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian.
“I’ve to give attention to being a mother, my religious objectives and at last discovering a distinct, however simply thrilling Serena. I’m gonna relish these subsequent few weeks,” Williams wrote in an Instagram submit Tuesday.
Professionally, she seems to broaden Serena Ventures, a small funding agency of six folks that was one of many first buyers in MasterClass. Her agency raised $111 million in exterior financing this 12 months.
Williams wrote that solely 2% of enterprise capital goes to girls and that “to ensure that us to vary that, extra individuals who appear to be me have to be in that place, giving a reimbursement to themselves.”
