Vogue Cover Story: Serena Williams to Retire from Tennis After the 2022 US Open
After winning 23 grand slams, Serena Williams said in Vogue magazine’s September 2022’s cover story that she will retire from tennis after the upcoming US Open.
The 40-year-old ‘Seven-time Wimbledon champion’ expressed, “I have never liked the word retirement. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution.”
Serena Williams covers the September 2022 issue of Vogue magazine photographed by Luis Alberto Rodriguez
She added, “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family.”
Williams described, “Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. 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 labor of expanding our family. Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity.”
She added, “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. I can’t even have this conversation with my mom and dad. It’s like it’s not real until you say it out loud. It comes up, I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat, and I start to cry.”
Serena is styled by Gabriella Karefa-Johnson in various stunning outfits from designer brands like Balenciaga, Bulgari, Sergio Hudson, Fernando Jorge, Ralph Lauren, Danielle Frankel, Wales Bonner and Gucci.
Read the full story here on Vogue.
Images: Luis Alberto Rodriguez & Vogue
