Serena Williams has announced that she plans to retire from professional tennis, telling her fans 'I’m going to miss you'.
The 40-year-old wrote a piece for Vogue in which she says ‘farewell’ to tennis, saying that she isn’t keen on the word ‘retirement’ and would rather call it an ‘evolution’.
Williams, who is currently competing at the Canadian Open and is set to play in the US Open later this month, is planning to hang up her racket once these events are over.
The tennis ace, who is mum to four-year-old Olympia, admitted that it would be hard to give up the sport she'd dedicated her life to, but that she wants to grow her family.
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“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” she wrote.
“I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labour of expanding our family.”
She went on to say that even talking about the concept of retirement was difficult, writing: “But I’ve been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis. Alexis, my husband, and I have hardly talked about it; it’s like a taboo topic.”
However, she explained that if she had 'to choose between building my tennis résumé and building my family, I choose the latter'.
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Williams said she’d visited her doctor, who told her that the couple can try and grow their family whenever they’re ready, but this time around she doesn’t want to be playing professionally when she’s pregnant.
She ended the piece by telling fans she was the 'world's worst at goodbye' before writing: "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."
Earlier today (9 August), Williams dropped a fairly large hint that she’d be retiring in the not-too-distant future.
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Speaking after she defeated Nuria Párrizas-Díaz at the Canadian Open yesterday (8 August), Williams was asked how she remained motivated after so many years playing the sport to which she replied: “I guess there’s just a light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t know, I’m getting closer to the light. Lately that’s been it for me. I can’t wait to get to that light.”
Asked what the light represented, she added: “Freedom. I love playing, though, so it’s amazing. But I can’t do this forever. So sometimes you just want to try your best to enjoy the moments and do the best that you can.”
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Claire Reid