She “never liked the word” retirement, preferring the word “evolution”.
Serena Williams, however, announced in the September edition of
Vogue US
that she was about to bow out.
"I'm here to tell you that I'm about to distance myself from tennis, to focus on things that are important to me," she said in a forum that the magazine offered her.
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“Two feet in tennis, or two feet out”
The tennis champion, who has won 23 Grand Slam titles, said she wanted to spend more time with her husband Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of the Reddit platform, and Olympia, their 5-year-old daughter.
But also that she intended to give birth to a second child.
“This year, Alexis and I tried to have another child, and my doctor recently gave us reassuring information, which made me realize that we can have a baby when we are ready,” she said. revealed.
Before adding: “But I really don't want to be pregnant again as an athlete.
I need to have both feet in the world of tennis, or both feet outside.
A decision that the professional sportswoman did not take lightly.
"Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and my family," she explained.
I don't think that's fair."
The one who won her match against Nuria Parrizas-Diaz, Monday August 8, at the US Open in Toronto, thus drew up a bitter observation.
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“If I was a guy, I wouldn't write this”
"If I was a guy, I wouldn't be writing this, because I'd be out playing tennis and winning tournaments, while my wife was doing this physical work of expanding our family," she said. underline.
Maybe I would be more of a sort of Tom Brady (the husband of Gisele Bündchen, American football player and father of their two children, editor's
note
) if I had the opportunity.
Serena Williams also recalled that she "was two months pregnant" when she won the Australian Open in 2017. "But I'm 41 this month, and something has to change", she continued.
Speaking about not breaking Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slams, Serena Williams said she "should have won more than 30".
"I had my chances after giving birth," she said.
I went from a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism, then to a Grand Slam final.
I played while breastfeeding.
I performed despite having postpartum depression.
But I didn't make it."
This did not prevent the sportswoman from becoming a legend.