Serena Williams reveals why she is retiring from tennis

Serena Williams, 23 times Grand Slam champion, she officially says goodbye to tennis.

The 40-year-old tennis player has revealed her decision in her own words in the cover story of the September issue of Vogue, in which she explains that, ultimately, she wants to have more children, and that doing so is not compatible with the continuation of his historic career. “If I were a man, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife is doing the physical work of expanding our family,” she tells Rob Haskell in his interview. “Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family.”

Serena Williams and her husband, the Reddit co-founder and tech investor alexis ohanian, they gave welcoming daughter Olympia in 2017. Williams She has previously explained that following her emergency C-section delivery, she suffered complications, including a pulmonary embolism and bleeding at the C-section site.

“I have resisted admitting that I have to stop playing tennis,” She continues, “It’s like a taboo subject. It comes up and I start to cry. I think the only person I’ve really talked to is my therapist.”

She goes on to say that she finds no joy in leaving tennis, no relief, as other players have said they feel: “I’m going to be honest,” she says. Serena Williams, “There is no happiness in this subject for me. I know it is not the usual, but I feel great pain. It is the hardest thing I could imagine. I hate it. I hate having to be at this crossroads.”

Williams adds that he prefers to refer to this period of his life not as a “retirement” but as one “evolution”, a word that seems more modern to him and more in keeping with his way of seeing this next chapter. However, that does not mean that the competitiveness has disappeared from his body. In fact, he keeps thinking about the few records he had left to break: “The way I see it, there should be won more than 30 grand slamss,” she explains. “I had my chances after I came back from giving birth. I went from a cesarean section to a second pulmonary embolism already a grand slam final. I played while breastfeeding. He went on to say: “I didn’t apply like I should or could. But I applied 23 times, and that’s fine. In fact, it’s extraordinary. But today, if I have to choose between building my tennis resume and building my family, I choose the latter.”

Although the decision of Williams This is sad news for the tennis community, there is one person who is excited: Olympia. The almost five-year-old girl seems to really like the idea of ​​having a little brother: “I want to be a big sister,” she often tells her mother. We are sure that she will do very well.

Article originally published in Glamor US, glamour.com, adapted by Paola Juárez.