KEY HIGHLIGHTS:
⬛Serena Williams had hinted that the ongoing season could be her last.
⬛After her first round win at the US Open 2022, Serena refused to confirm if she will retire after the tournament.
⬛When asked about her future, Serena said that she intends to remain vague.
Serena Williams, one of the greatest athletes of all time and a 23-time grand slam singles champion, has announced that she is retiring from professional tennis, indicating she could step away after the upcoming US Open.
In a column for Vogue, the 40-year-old Williams described her intention to finish her playing career as an “evolution” away from tennis. “I have never liked the word retirement,” she wrote. “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.”
Williams has spent much of the past few years off the court preparing for the moment she decided to move on, including by setting up a venture capital company, Serena Ventures, and investing in various organisations. However, she explained that one of her biggest reasons for retirement is her intention to further expand her family. Williams gave birth to her first child, Alexis Olympia, in 2017.
🔎A look at Serena Williams' greatest achievements over the course of her illustrious career:
Born on September 26, 1981, Serena Williams managed to etch her name in tennis folklore as one of the greatest players ever to have walked the earth. With talks of her decision to call time on her career making waves in courts across the world, we look at some of the greatest achievements she recorded during her stint as a professional player.
🔎Grand Slam tournaments :
⬛At the 1999 US Open, became the second African-American woman to win a Grand Slam title at 17 years old
⬛ By winning the 2001 Australian Open doubles championship with Venus Williams, became the fifth pair to complete a Career Doubles Grand Slam and the only pair to win a Career Doubles Golden Slam.
⬛ reaching the final of the 2003 Australian Open, she and sister Venus became the first players to compete in 4 consecutive slam finals.
⬛ By winning the 2005 Australian Open by defeating Mauresmo and Davenport, became the only player in tennis history to win three Grand Slam singles titles (1999 U.S. Opens, 2002 Roland Garros) by beating the top two ranked players.
⬛ By winning the 2007 Australian Open became the first unseeded player since Chris O'Neil (1978) to win a slam, she was ranked #81 in the world.
⬛ Her six-year gap between Wimbledon titles (2003–2009) is second only to Evonne Goolagong Cawley's nine years in the Open Era.
⬛ 6-time US Open singles champion (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014)
⬛ 6-time Australian Open singles champion (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015)
⬛ 3-time French Open singles champion (2002, 2013, 2015)
⬛ 6-time Wimbledon doubles champion (2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016)
🔎AWARDS :
⬛ 1998 - WTA Newcomer of the Year
⬛ Tennis Magazine/Rolex Rookie of the Year-1999
⬛ WTA Most Improved Player of the Year
⬛ Tennis Magazine Player of the Year-2000
⬛ WTA Doubles Team of the Year (with Venus Williams)
⬛ Teen Choice Awards – Extraordinary Achievement Award
⬛ Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.68)
⬛ Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year for team sports (with Venus Williams)-2001
⬛ Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.71)-2002
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