Serena Williams admittedly “never liked the word retirement,” so when she teased a return to tennis during the recent TechCrunch Disrupt conference, this didn’t come as a surprise.
“I’m not retired … The chances are very high [of playing again]. You come to my house, I’ve got a court,” said Williams, 41, while promoting her investment company, Serena Ventures.
Playing tennis casually has been “weird” for her, especially considering she’s one of the greatest athletes of all time and has been playing professionally since the late ’90s. “I did wake up the other day and I went on the court and I went ‘Oh.’ For the first time in my life, I’m not playing for a competition and it felt really weird,” she reflected. “It was like the first day of the rest of my life and I’m enjoying it, but I’m still tryna find that balance.”
When the mother of one announced she’d “evolve away from tennis” after this year’s US Open, she explained in Vogue, “There comes a time in life when we have to decide to move in a different direction. That time is always hard when you love something so much. My goodness do I enjoy tennis. But now, the countdown has begun. I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different, but just exciting Serena.”
Coincidentally, the 23-time grand slam champion told Good Morning America last month, “you never know” when speaking on a potential return to tennis using NFL quarterback Tom Brady—who reversed his retirement decision—as an example.
Watch her full discussion on life post-tennis above.