Serena Williams still has a lot of tennis left in her. However, she will sadly exit professional tennis after the US Open. She faced Danka Kovinic in the first round of the tournament and won the match comfortably. The game looked like vintage Serena as the score read 6-3, 6-3 in the end.
During the post-match press conference, Serena was asked why she preferred the term ‘evolution’ over ‘retirement’. To this, the 23-time grand slam winner replied, “I prefer the word evolution because I feel like I’m at a stage of my life where I’m not necessarily retiring. I’m just evolving from tennis.”
She was also asked if her feelings on retirement have changed since she made the announcement. To everyone’s surprise, Serena admitted her feelings have changed since then. Moreover, she said, “I do feel different. I think I was really emotional in Toronto and Cincinnati and it was very difficult.
Serena Williams skeptical yet confident about evolving from tennis
Serena feels she was rusty at the time of the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Masters and felt sure about her retirement. However, she looked in great touch in the first round of the US Open and is getting into her rhythm with every tournament.
Reign on. pic.twitter.com/Mdv15IBbxP
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2022
She said, “I am not saying it’s not difficult now. It’s extremely difficult still because I absolutely love being out there. And the more tournaments I play, I feel like the more I can belong out there and that’s a tough feeling to have. And to um to leave knowing that the more you do it the more you can shine.”
However, Serena is still confident in her decision that it is time for her to evolve. Furthermore, she said, “It’s time for me you know to evolve to the next thing. I think it’s important because there’s so many other things that I want to do.” She wants to do many more things outside tennis like spending time with her family and running her businesses.
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