A champion retires: Serena Williams leaves tennis and explains why

A champion retires: Serena Williams leaves tennis and explains why

Tennis champion Serena Williams announced her retirement from tennis in a very moving letter published in Vogue.

“Perhaps the best word to describe where I am is ‘evolution’. I mean, I’m evolving from tennis to other things that are important to me. “

An unrivaled sportswoman retires: American tennis player Serena Williams has announced that her next US Open tournament will be her last. At the age of 41 he re-engages the racket to devote himself to his family and his future projects. But don’t see it as a retreat, a word that will clearly never be part of his vocabulary.

“If I were a boy, I wouldn’t even write it”

Serena Williams made her announcement in the columns of the rowing United States, to say it persistent double standard depending on whether you are a man or a woman who plays high-level sports:

“Trust me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and have a family. I don’t think it’s normal. If I were a boy, I wouldn’t even write it because I would be out training and winning while my wife did all the physical work necessary to expand our family. Maybe I’d be more like Tom Brady if I had the chance. “

A champion retires: Serena Williams leaves tennis and explains why

Serena Williams, a champion who took a hit

Throughout her career, she has suffered from sexist and racist comments, particularly about her physique. Anonymous comments on social media, from sports commentators, even from the athletes themselves.

He was criticized in 2018 for his Nike suit, deemed not regulatory enough, when it was dedicated to boosting his blood circulation and avoiding a new pulmonary embolism. She has been accused of being an arrogant diva (hi stereotype of theangry black woman) many times. For example, his confrontation with referee Carlos Ramos during the US Open that same year earned him a warning and then a penalty. This incident had captured all the attention of the media, thus obscuring Naomi Osaka’s victory.

Serena Williams will have deeply marked women’s sport, with her tenacity:

“I’ve built a career by channeling anger and negativity and turning it into something good. My sister Venus told me once when someone says you won’t be able to do something, it’s because they can’t. But I did. And you can too. “

She also talks about the difficulties of her pregnancy and childbirth.

“I had the opportunity to return after giving birth. I went from a caesarean section to a second pulmonary embolism to a Grand Slam final. I played while nursing. I performed during my postpartum depression. “

Today her daughter Olympia is approaching her fifth birthday and Serena Williams wants to give herself the opportunity to do sohave a second child. Hanging up is anything but easy and she already knows it, hoping that we will remember what she accomplished, her performances, as well as her feminist commitment to her:

“I’m far from perfect, but I’ve also gotten a lot of criticism and I like to think I’ve had a hard time as a professional tennis player to make things a little easier for the next generation.. Over the years, I hope people say that I symbolize something beyond tennis.

I admire Billie Jean [King, autre grande championne de tennis qui s’est battue pour l’égalité dans le sport, ndlr] because it transcends its sport. I wish she were her: Serena is this and that she and she was a great tennis player and she won those competitions. ”

Photo credit: Rob Keating from Canberra, Australia, Australia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Source: Madmoizelle

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