Serena Williams Announces Pending Retirement

Tennis' Serena Williams era is drawing to a close.

The highly-decorated star has announced her retirement from competitive tennis via an article in Vogue.

While the article effectively announced her retirement, Williams made it abundantly clear that she's not particularly fond of using the word. She instead preferred to use the far more grandiose word "evolution."

"I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. 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," she wrote.

"I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me."

Whatever Williams would like to call it, she's bringing her remarkable on-court career to a close. Williams racked up 23 grand slam singles titles including seven at Wimbledon and six at the U.S, Open.

Williams cited seeing fellow tennis players Ashleigh Barty and her close friend Caroline Wozniacki opting to retire and starting a family as some of the many factors that led to her decision.

TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 08: Serena Williams serves the ball during her National Bank Open tennis tournament first round match on August 8, 2022, at Sobeys Stadium in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images via Getty Images)

It seems Williams will turn her attention toward the business world

In her retirement announcement, Williams mentioned her venture capital firm Serena Ventures, which she started a few years ago. Williams said that that aspect of her life has started to take more of her attention.

"In my own life, the balance has been slowly shifting toward Serena Ventures," Willaims wrote. Her firm has been involved in funding an array of companies like MasterClass, Tonal, Impossible Foods, and more.

"This year we raised $111 million of outside financing, from banks, private individuals, and family offices," Williams said about the firm's recent success.

Williams' announcement comes as she had been dealing with injuries. She injured her right leg at Wimbledon in 2021, and made her return at the same tournament in 2022 as a wildcard. She was eliminated in the first round by France's Harmony Tan.

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