Serena Williams Deflects On Donald Trump Questions: ‘Not Going There’

Retired tennis superstar and former women's world number one Serena Williams clearly has no interest in talking politics.

Williams appeared in an interview with the New York Times podcast, "The Interview," which was released on Saturday. And during that appearance, she purposefully avoided a question about her connection to former President Donald Trump. 

That apparent connection was revealed in May, when the Times reported that a former Trump aide had testified that Williams and Trump "spoke frequently." "The Interview" co-host David Marchese asked her if the two did, in fact, speak frequently.

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"I mean, is this what this interview is about?" Williams responded laughingly. "Really?" She continued by telling Marchese that she's spoken to all of the recent presidents, taking politics out of it. "I talk to a lot of presidents. I spoke to Barack [Obama], I spoke to the Clintons. I spoke to every president since I’ve been alive, including Ronald Reagan, I’ll have you know." 

When asked in the interview what she believes those politicians were hoping to get out of their conversations with her, Williams demurred again.

"I don’t know, I’m not going to go there," she said, laughing again.

Flushing, N.Y. - Serena Williams gestures to the crowd after her match at the 2022 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center. Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Serena Williams Stays Out Of Politics When Discussing Trump

Williams could have taken the opportunity to attack Trump or praise Obama, and while she almost certainly doesn't align politically with Trump and the Times' interviewer definitely doesn't, she at least kept it nonpolitical.

She spent the rest of the interview discussing what it has meant for her to be retired from tennis and putting her focus on something else.

"It’s a life I’ve never experienced," she said. "You have to understand: For my entire life, since I can remember, it’s been about one thing. I don’t know anything else. And so this is all new to me. It’s like a whole new career. And of course, I prefer playing tennis, but that’s because I’ve done it my whole life." 

She also said she has a nostalgia for tennis, now that she's out of it. In a time when every conversation with an athlete turns political, it was a refreshingly simple answer.