Serena Williams refused to rule out returning to tennis in the future amid the emotion surrounding her final tournament at the US Open.
Williams announced she would retire after the year's final Grand Slam a few weeks ago. That will bring to a close one of the most legendary sports careers ever. Since turning professional in 1995, she has won 23 major singles titles.
The American delayed her retirement by at least another couple of days by defeating Danka Kovinic on Arthur Ashe Stadium. Williams was not at her blistering best, but she produced a solid match to progress.
Serena will also play doubles alongside her sister and fellow tennis legend Venus Williams after accepting a wild card from the tournament. The pair have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and three gold medals together.
Emotions will run high during her final singles and doubles matches, but Serena did not rule out a return to tennis after her win against Kovinic and prefers using the word evolution to describe the next phase of her life.
“Yeah, I’ve been pretty vague about it, right (smiling)? I’m going to stay vague because you never know.”
"I prefer the word ‘evolution’ because I feel like I’m at a stage of my life where I’m not necessarily retiring, I’m just evolving from tennis. And I do feel different. I think I was really emotional in Toronto and Cincinnati. It was very difficult. I’m not saying it’s not difficult now."
The 23-time Grand Slam winner still loves competing and admits it is tough to leave the sport when she feels like she is getting better on the court with each match.
"It’s extremely difficult still because I absolutely love being out there. The more tournaments I play, I feel like the more I can belong out there. That’s a tough feeling to have, and to leave knowing the more you do it, the more you can shine."
"But it’s time for me, you know, to evolve to the next thing. I think it’s important because there’s so many other things that I want to do, et cetera.”