Serena Williams retired from professional tennis at the 2022 US Open, though the American has never uttered the word ‘retirement’ The former number 1 in the world has decided to say goodbye to the women’s circuit in front of her public friend, who gave her a farewell with all the trimmings.
A few weeks later, news also arrived of Roger Federer’s retirement. The Swiss posted a letter on Instagram on September 15, 2022, in which he thanked all his fans for the unceasing support they have given him throughout his career.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion played his last match at the Laver Cup alongside Rafael Nadal, before receiving a moving tribute at London’s O2 Arena. Federer and Serena have had a gigantic impact on tennis and on sport in general, so much so that their absence has had a heavy impact on the ratings of the Australian Open 2023.
In a long interview granted to ‘Essence’ magazine, Williams talked about how ‘his life changed after retiring.
Serena Williams is a true legend
“I am a happy person. I love to laugh, I’m passionate about being happy and I love to crack jokes,” says Serena Williams.
I love bringing that into my life. In such a physically demanding race that requires as much dedication as mine, athletes need time to relax and enjoy themselves”, explained the youngest of the Williams. “As athletes, we do so many things and work so hard, that sometimes I’m guilty of not always enjoying titles and things like that.
Although I will definitely start playing golf when I have time, hopefully very soon! I love to read, but since I got Olympia I don’t think I’ve even been able to read a book. I love going to the movies, it’s what I like the most.
It helps me to disconnect”, confessed Serena Williams. Former doubles World No. 1 Rennae Stubbs has spoken about Serena Williams’ outburst during her defeat to Naomi Osaka in the 2018 US Open final. “Everybody coaches, every player looks to their coaches for advice, and every coach gives it when they can, when the umpire is not looking at them or when the linespeople are not looking at them.
It was always a part of the tennis world, always,” Stubbs said. “The situation, it really got changed, let’s be honest, when the s*** hit the fan with Serena at the (2018) US Open because a lot of people were like, ‘Well he gave a very innocuous signal which was like these two hands together moving forward. What does even that mean?'” she added.
