Serena Williams, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, announced that she would “evolve away from tennis” after this year’s US Open.
“There comes a time in life when we have to decide to move in a different direction,” Williams posted on Instagram with a picture of herself on the cover of Vogue with the title “Serena’s Farewell.”
Williams, who is now 40 years old, dominated women’s tennis for much of her career. She holds 23 grand slam singles titles, the most in the Open era and just one title behind the all-time record held by Margaret Court. Furthermore, she won four Olympic gold medals and earned over $94.5 million in prize money.
She and her older sister, Venus, transformed the sport by becoming professional players at a young age. They have collaborated on numerous grand slam doubles titles while also facing each other in grand slam finals.
“My goodness do I enjoy tennis,” Serena stated on Instagram in August. “However, the countdown has begun. I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals, and finally discovering a different but just as exciting Serena. I’m going to relish these next few weeks.”
Williams advanced to the third round of the US Open before being eliminated by Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović.
Williams’ father, Richard, coached her and her older sister, Venus, to play tennis at an early age. From left are Venus, Richard, Serena and mother Brandy. Art Seitz/Gamma-Rapho/Getty ImagesSerena plays tennis in 1992. She and her sister spent their early years playing tennis in Compton, California, just outside of Los Angeles. They later moved to a tennis academy in Florida. Ken Levine/Getty ImagesSerena sits with her father and sister Venus as Venus answers questions from the press in 1994. Venus turned professional at the age of 14. Her sister followed one year later when she was the same age. Al Bello/Getty ImagesThe Williams sisters and the Jensen brothers, Luke and Murphy, play an exhibition in New York’s Times Square in 1997. It was part of the lead-up to the US Open.
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Serena, left, walks past Venus as they played against each other in the second round of the Australian Open in 1998. It was Serena’s first grand slam tournament. Venus won the match 7-6, 6-1.
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Serena plays at the French Open in 1998. She made it to the fourth round. Tony Marshall/EMPICS/Getty ImagesSerena won her first grand slam singles title in 1999, when she defeated Martina Hingis to win the US Open. She was the first Black woman to win a grand slam singles title since Althea Gibson in 1958.
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The sisters teamed up in doubles to win Olympic gold at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. They would also win doubles gold at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
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Serena, left, and Venus stand with tennis great Billie Jean King after Venus defeated Serena to win the US Open final in 2001. It was Venus’ fourth grand slam singles title.
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Serena plays against Janette Husarova at the French Open in 2002. Serena would go on to win the tournament for her second grand slam singles title, and she followed it up with three straight titles at Wimbledon, the US Open and then the Australian Open in 2003. It became known as the ‘Serena Slam.’ Bob Martin/Sports Illustrated/Getty ImagesSerena poses with the trophy after winning her first Wimbledon title in 2002. She was No. 1 in the world at the age of 20.
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Serena serves during the Australian Open in 2003. She defeated her sister Venus in the final that year.
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Serena signs autographs after a match in Key Biscayne, Florida, in 2004.
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Venus and Serena sit with Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley and Anna Wintour at a New York fashion show in 2008. Serena once studied fashion design at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.
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Serena cuts a ribbon at the opening of the Serena Williams Secondary School in Matooni, Kenya, in 2008. That year, she established the Serena Williams Foundation to help underprivileged children around the world. Simon Maina/AFP/Getty ImagesSerena plays at Wimbledon in 2008. Dubreuil Corinne/Abaca Press/ReutersWilliams is honored in 2009 as one of Glamour magazine’s Women of the Year. Larry Busacca/Getty ImagesWilliams screams at a line judge who called her for a foot fault during a semifinal match at the US Open in 2009. Williams lost the match and was fined a record $82,500. She was also placed on probation for two years. John Angelillo/UPI/ShutterstockWilliams laughs as women from the Kamba tribe dress her in traditional regalia to inaugurate a school she funded in Kenya’s Wee village in 2010.
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Williams demonstrates a proper backhand during a clinic held in Washington, DC, in 2011. That year, she underwent emergency treatment for a hematoma related to a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in her lungs. Toni L. Sandys/Washington Post/Getty ImagesWilliams plays against Victoria Azarenka at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 2013.
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Williams celebrates after winning the US Open in 2013. It was her fifth US Open title and her 17th grand slam singles title.
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Williams jumps with the trophy after winning the US Open in 2014.
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Williams dances with men’s champion Novak Djokovic at the Wimbledon champions dinner in 2015.
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Williams celebrates her Wimbledon title in 2016. It was her seventh win at Wimbledon, and her 22nd grand slam title. That tied her with Steffi Graf for the most singles titles in the Open era of professional tennis. Julian Finney/Getty ImagesWilliams is congratulated by her sister Venus after she defeated her at the Australian Open to win her 23rd grand slam singles title in 2017.
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Williams and her fiance, Alexis Ohanian, attend the Met Gala in New York in 2017. Williams, who was pregnant with their first child, has spoken candidly about the complications she experienced following childbirth. Benjamin Norman/The New York TimesWilliams serves during a French Open match in 2018. A controversy erupted at the tournament when Williams wore a catsuit in her first grand slam match since becoming a mother. Shortly after the tournament, the French Tennis Federation instituted a dress code that critics denounced as racist and sexist. Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesWilliams waits for the trophy ceremony after she lost to Naomi Osaka in the US Open final in 2018.
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Williams consoles Osaka, who was in tears after her US Open win in 2018. Osaka had denied her idol of a 24th grand slam title, and fans were booing after Williams had clashed with the chair umpire during the match. Chang W. Lee/The New York Times/ReduxWilliams plays at the US Open in 2019. Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times/ReduxWilliams walks the runway with her daughter, Alexis Ohanian Jr., during a fashion show launching her clothing line S by Serena in 2019.
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Williams won the 2020 ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand. It was her first title since becoming a mother in 2017. She donated her $43,000 prize money to Australian bushfire relief. Hannah Peters/Getty ImagesWilliams plays Osaka in the Australian Open semifinals in 2021. Darrian Traynor/Getty ImagesWilliams wears custom Nike sneakers at the French Open in 2021. Williams partnered with Nike to launch a collection of athleisure wear created by emerging designers. Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesWilliams winces in pain during a first-round Wimbledon match in 2021. She was forced to retire from the match due to the injury.
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Williams poses with her daughter and husband at a premiere of the film ‘King Richard’ in 2021. The film is based on Williams’ father and how he raised his girls to become tennis champions. Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/Getty ImagesWilliams walks the runway during an Off-White fashion show in Paris in February. It was shortly after the death of the brand’s founder, Virgil Abloh.
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Williams is joined by her sister Venus and ‘King Richard’ star Will Smith at the Producers Guild Awards in March.
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The Williams sisters take a selfie backstage at the Academy Awards in March. Al Seib/A.M.P.A.S./Getty ImagesSerena reacts during her first-round Wimbledon loss to Harmony Tan in June. Takuya Matsumoto/The Yomiuri Shimbun via APSerena waves to the crowd after losing in the first round of the Canadian Open on August 10. It was her first match since she announced that she would be retiring soon.
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Fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium hold up signs showing their love for Williams after her first-round win at the US Open on August 29.
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Williams waves to the crowd after losing to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanović in the third round of the US Open on September 2. ‘Thank you so much. You guys were amazing today,’ she told the crowd in an on-court interview after the match. ‘It’s been a fun ride.’
