Serena Williams has announced that her legendary career will end after this year's US Open.
The news will come as a shock to fans worldwide. Williams is 40 years old but only returned to the sport at the end of June after nearly a year out, playing doubles with Ons Jabeur at the Eastbourne International and singles at Wimbledon.
After her defeat in the first round of Wimbledon to Harmony Tan, Williams did not indicate she was planning to retire. However, she did acknowledge that other interests, such as entrepreneurship, were starting to become more important to her.
Williams announced the end of her career in a piece for Vogue. The 23-time Grand Slam champion said she did not like using the word "retirement" but wanted to be sensitive about describing it as a transition.
"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,"
The tennis legend then wrote that an evolution away from tennis and onto other things that are important to her might be the best way to describe the end of her professional tennis career.
"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. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family."
Williams said she was terrible at goodbyes and is not seeking a ceremonial on-court moment after her last match. However, she sincerely thanked all the fans who had supported her over the years.
"But I’m not looking for some ceremonial, final on-court moment. I’m terrible at goodbyes, the world’s worst. But please know that I am more grateful for you than I can ever express in words. You have carried me to so many wins and so many trophies. I’m going to miss that version of me, that girl who played tennis. And I’m going to miss you."
Williams is one of the most important figures in tennis history. Hopefully, her extraordinary career gets a fitting ending at her home Grand Slam in a few weeks.