Serena Williams lamented that she would not be retiring from tennis to give more time to building a family if she “were a guy.”
In a Vogue article transcribed by Rob Haskell, Williams, who will soon be turning 41, announced her retirement will come after the U.S. Open in late August. She, however, did not characterize it as retirement but rather, an “evolution.”
“I have never liked the word retirement,” Williams wrote. “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
Williams said she would be leaving tennis primarily out of a desire to expand her family, begrudgingly admitting that a man would not have to make the same choice.
“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 labor of expanding our family.”
Serena Williams of the USA celebrates with daughter Alexis Olympia after winning the final match against Jessica Pegula of the USA at ASB Tennis Centre on January 12, 2020, in Auckland, New Zealand. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
Williams referenced Tom Brady, who recently decided to play professional football for another season at 45.
“Maybe I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity,” Williams added. “Don’t get me wrong: I love being a woman, and I loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia.”
Reflecting on her overall career and the impact it could have on women, she hoped that others who come after her will have it easier thanks to the “hard times” she faced as a professional athlete.
Serena Williams reacts after her National Bank Open tennis tournament second-round match on August 10, 2022, at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
“They can play with aggression and pump their fists. They can be strong yet beautiful,” she wrote. “They can wear what they want and say what they want and kick butt and be proud of it all.”
“Over the years, I hope that people come to think of me as symbolizing something bigger than tennis,” Williams added. “I’d like it to be: Serena is this and she’s that and she was a great tennis player and she won those slams.”
Serena Williams has made no public statement on the controversy of biological men competing in women’s sports.
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