Serena Williams thanks the fans after her women's singles third-round match against Ajla Tomlijanovic (Australia) at the 2022 U.S. Open on Sept. 2, 2022 in New York City.
The cover story of this month’s Vogue magazine came as a surprise to tennis fans, even if the news itself wasn’t all that unexpected.
Serena Williams, the winner of 23 Grand Slam singles titles and an undisputed icon in sports history, was offering her initial farewell — if not exactly announcing her retirement.
“I have never liked the word retirement,” she wrote. “It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me.”
Instead, in a colorful as-told-to essay, the 40-year-old Williams shared that she was beginning her “evolution” away from tennis, a decision spurred in part by her desire grow her family.
She shared an anecdote of her 4-year-old daughter, Olympia, answering a prompt for what she wants to be when she grows up.
“I want to be a big sister,” Olympia responded.
So with that, this year’s U.S. Open became Williams’ swan song.
Williams' Grand Slam singles career came to an end on Friday, Sept. 2. After defeating both Montenegro’s Danka Kovinić and No. 2 seed Annett Kontaveit of Estonia in the first and second rounds, respectively, Williams officially bowed out with a 7-5, 6-7, 1-6 loss to Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia in the third round. Williams was also playing in the women’s doubles tournament with older sister Venus, but lost in straight sets to Linda Nosková and Lucie Hradecká of the Czech Republic within the first round.
Retiring, she said, will be one of the toughest things she’s ever had to do after 27 years in professional tennis.
Since growing up in Compton, California, as a right-handed teenage tennis phenom with Venus, she has always been the one to beat. Williams turned pro at age 14 and won her first major title at 17.
The youngest of five sisters has revolutionized women’s tennis with her powerful style of play. She won her first major singles title at the 1999 U.S. Open and has played in 20 more editions of the event since then. She has spent more than 300 weeks at world No. 1 and is one Grand Slam victory short of Margaret Court’s long-standing record for the most major titles. She has also won four Olympic gold medals and has nearly $100 million in prize money to her name, more than any other female athlete.
A “Serena Slam” was even named after her: a non-calendar year Grand Slam, winning all four major championships.
“I always play everyone at their greatest, so I have to be greater,” Williams told reporters after losing the 2018 Wimbledon final to Angelique Kerber.
