“They are definitely not ready to retire” – Coach on Venus & Serena Williams

If anyone is wondering how close Venus Williams & Serena Williams are to retiring, their coach Eric Hechtman shared some interesting insights in a recent interview with The New York Times . Hechtman has been working with 42-year-old Venus since 2019 and recently took on coaching duties for Serena a couple of months ago.

In the interview, the 38-year-old American coach says both the sisters are not ready to retire. “I don’t want to necessarily speak for their plans, but they are definitely not ready to retire,” Hechtman said. “Look, they both love the game. They are both champions. They both love working hard and putting in the work. So, as long as you’ve got that, who’s to say you can set parameters on things, right?”

40-year-old Serena Williams returned to the courts last week in the Eastbourne doubles event – her first tournament since Wimbledon in 2021. The 23-time Grand Slam winner returns to singles competition at Wimbledon this fortnight and opens her campaign on Centre Court on Thursday against Harmony Tan. 42-year-old Venus was not expected to play at SW19 this year, but she has requested a last-minute wildcard into the mixed doubles draw with Jamie Murray.

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“You can just see it in their eyes, the passion for it” – Coach Eric Hechtman on Venus & Serena Williams

Hechtman says the sisters, who have combined to win 14 women’s doubles Grand Slam titles, still have the passion for the game and called his time with them as the best experience of his career so far.

“You can just see it in their eyes, the passion for it,” Hechtman said. “I’ve been on the court with any type of person you can imagine from kids that don’t want to be out there to kids that are motivated to adult recreational tennis players. This is the best experience so far, and you can take what they’ve accomplished out of the equation. It’s about their attitude and how a practice goes. If you’re a tennis nerd, it’s as good as it gets.”

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