Serena Williams has called time on one of the greatest tennis careers in history.
In a move that will surprise few, the 23-time grand-slam winner finally declared she will officially retire from the game that has defined her life, and which in turn she came to define, after her US Open appearance later this month.
In a raw, honest letter published in US Vogue, Williams was upfront about both the pride she felt at her superlative achievements, and the crushing disappointment that even those wins hadn't quite matched the expectations she had set for herself.
“There are people who say I’m not the GOAT because I didn’t pass Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles, which she achieved before the ‘open era’ that began in 1968,” Williams wrote.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that record. Obviously I do. But day to day, I’m really not thinking about her. If I’m in a grand slam final, then yes, I am thinking about that record. Maybe I thought about it too much, and that didn’t help."
Williams also gave a respectful nod to another local tennis player, fellow great and beloved national icon Ash Barty.
Barty announced her own retirement from the game in March this year. Aged just 25, Barty was World No. 1 at the time and had just come from a slew of achievements, including winning the Australian Open and securing her lifelong goal, the Wimbledon Venus Rosewater Dish.
Her American counterpart had nothing but respect for the manner in which the Noongar powerhouse exited the game.
“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. I know it’s not the usual thing to say, but I feel a great deal of pain. It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads. I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it’s not.”
Williams described her exit not as "retirement", but an evolution "away from tennis... toward other things that are important to me”.
