“Retirement is such a big word for someone at my age” – Serena Williams

The 41-year-old has not played a match since the US Open in but has more than once given mixed signals whether she would play another tournament.

Serena Williams at the 2023 US Open Image Credit: AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Haresh Ramchandani

February 1, 2023

Let’s just say “It’s complicated!! That’s perhaps the best way to describe Serena Williams‘ status as a player. The 41-year-old has not played a match since the US Open in September but has more than once given mixed signals whether she would play another tournament.

In her latest interview to “CBS Mornings”, Williams, a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, spoke about her retirement and said she feels the term does not fit her.

“I definitely am evolving,” Williams said. “Because I feel like when you retire, it’s different. You put up your gloves or your club or your racket or whatever that is, or your computer, and then you just relax. And you go and you just basically take life in. And that’s not what I’m doing.”

“I just feel like, for me, retirement is such a big word for someone at my age,” she added. “And I was just like, ‘Um I don’t think … that really fits me. I never really fit in a box anyway. Never. I just need to be out of that. I just need an arm out of the box, or a leg. Something.”

The interview with co-host Gayle King is scheduled to air on Wednesday, February 1.

Williams, who also won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and two mixed doubles Majors, continues to focus on her family and her expanding business empire, through her fund Serena Ventures, while she has stepped away from the world of pro tennis.

You might also like this