Williams confirmed that her legendary career would soon be coming to an end in a Vogue interview, with many speculating that the upcoming US Open could be her final tournament despite the 40-year-old not giving a date for her retirement. The former world No 1 had only just made her return to singles tennis at Wimbledon but admitted that she didn’t even know whether she would come back for her last few tournaments, and turned to Tiger Woods for advice.
“This spring, I had the itch to get back on the court for the first time in seven months. I was talking to Tiger Woods, who’s a friend, and I told him I needed his advice on my tennis career,” she explained in the Vogue article. “I said, ‘I don’t know what to do: I think I’m over it, but maybe I’m not over it.’ He’s Tiger, and he was adamant that I be a beast the same way he is!
“He said, ‘Serena, what if you just gave it two weeks? You don’t have to commit to anything. You just go out on the court every day for two weeks and give it your all and see what happens.’” Despite going to the 48-year-old for guidance, Williams admitted that she waited a while to take his advice, and eventually decided to compete at Wimbledon and the US Open.
JUST IN: Roddick has Murray fear as Brit attempts to address poor American form
She continued: “I said, ‘All right, I think I can do that.’ And I didn’t do it. But a month later, I gave it a try. And it felt magical to pick up a racket again. And I was good. I was really good. I went back and forth about whether to play Wimbledon, and the US Open after that.” It seems Woods’ words did help, as the 73-time title winner announced earlier this summer that she would be returning to singles competition at Wimbledon, playing the doubles in Eastbourne alongside Ons Jabeur the week before.
Williams fell to Harmony Tan in the opening round at the All England Club but notched her first win in 430 days on Monday before announcing her impending retirement. As well as the five-time Masters champion, Williams also looked to Ash Barty, who was world No 1 and the reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion when she announced the end of her career in March, and Caroline Wozniacki, as she admitted she struggled with retirement in comparison.
DON’T MISS
Medvedev fires warning to Nadal and Kyrgios ahead of US Open
Medvedev, Djokovic, Nadal warned of Kyrgios threat at US Open
Federer doesn’t want Wimbledon haunting retirement as plans discussed
“I know that a lot of people are excited about and look forward to retiring, and I really wish I felt that way,” she confessed. “Ashleigh Barty was number one in the world when she left the sport this March, and I believe she really felt ready to move on. Caroline Wozniacki, who is one of my best friends, felt a sense of relief when she retired in 2020. Praise to these people, but I’m going to be honest. There is no happiness in this topic for me.”
For now, the woman often regarded as the GOAT of tennis, and one of the greatest overall athletes of all time is “having fun” at the warm-up tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati before the US Open, her home Grand Slam which is expected to be her last hurrah.