Less than two weeks after pulling out of the US Open – what many thought would be the final act of her tennis career – Serena Williams has teased her possible return to the sport.
Williams announced before the US Open that she would “evolve away from tennis” after the Grand Slams, where she was ousted in the third round by Ajla Tomljanović.
And on Wednesday, the 23-time Grand Slam champion said “you never know” when it comes to a return to competitive tennis in the future.
Williams said on Good Morning America, “I think Tom Brady started a really good run, you know… the way he did.”
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brady, now 45, said he was retiring from the NFL in February, only to later reverse that decision. He starred in the Bucs’ 19–3 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday.
After a year-long absence, Williams made a brief return to singles tennis this year when she won three matches at Wimbledon, the National Bank Open, the Western & Southern Open and the US Open. She also participated in doubles tennis in several tournaments.
“I think tennis has given me so much and I think there’s no way I don’t want to be involved in tennis in some way in the future,” she said.
“I don’t know what that partnership is, but I do know that I love the game very much.”
During her 27-year tennis career, Williams won 39 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles and 73 WTA Tour singles titles.
Williams stated that she plans to “evolve away from tennis” to focus on her young family, as well as pursue her business interests and charity ambassador role.
She also wrote her first children’s book, “The Adventures of Kai Kai”, which tells the story of a young girl’s travels with her doll and best friend, Kai Kai. It will release at the end of this month.
“It’s very authentic,” Williams said. “It is a story that we came up with during Covid and this special book by Kai Q is really about using your imagination because children have such an amazing imagination.
“We couldn’t leave the house and I was playing with Olympia and our dog, Kai Qi, who has this amazing personality… We really wanted to put in people’s minds that we can’t forget that your imagination How important it is to use and play.”
