United States tennis star, Serena Williams has announced her upcoming retirement from the sport.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion made her second appearance of the year this week as she defeated Nuria Parrizas at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
The tennis star, on Tuesday, said she was “getting close to the light at the end of the tunnel” with regard to her remarkable career, before furthering the statement with a Vogue article in which she alluded towards walking away.
Williams said: “I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me.
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“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. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.
“I’ve been reluctant to admit that I have to move on from playing tennis. It’s like a taboo topic. It comes up, and I start to cry. I think the only person I’ve really gone there with is my therapist,” Serena Williams stated.
The 40-year-old superstar was knocked out by Harmony Tan at Wimbledon in her first singles match for a year earlier this summer, but has her sights set on the US Open in what could prove her farewell tournament.
Williams’ last Grand Slam title came in 2017 to take her tally to 23, leaving her one shy of a 24th that would bring her level with Margaret Court’s record for most majors.
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