Serena Williams’ priorities are changing and it means she’s on the path to retirement – or to use her own words, “evolving away from tennis.”
Writing a powerful essay in Vogue, the tennis superstar and mum to 4-year-old Olympia shares that she’s now ready to focus on “other things that are important” to her including her venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, which invests in ideas and startups by women of colour, as well as expanding her family.
“If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labour of expanding our family,” she writes, revealing she and husband Alexis Ohanian have been trying for a second child.
“But I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to give.”
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Serena adds that talking about giving up tennis has been a “taboo topic” in her house and while she wishes she could look forward to retiring like fellow tennis stars Ash Barty and Caroline Wozniacki, “there is no happiness in this topic” for her.
“It’s the hardest thing that I could ever image. I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next.”
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Sharing her Vogue cover on Instagram, she captions the post, “There comes a time in life when we have to decide to movie in a different direction. That time is always hard when you love something so much. My goodness do I enjoy tennis. But now the countdown has begun. I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different but just as exciting Serena. I’m gonna relish these next few weeks.”
You can read her full essay here.
(Feature Image Credit: Jimmie48 Photography/ Shutterstock)