At-peace Serena Williams walks away from being Tom Brady of tennis

Serena Williams has transcended the sport of tennis, becoming an icon in tennis, sport, business, motherhood, and humanity. In her own words, she determines her lasting legacy and story.

Serena Williams has been the face of women’s tennis for so long, it’s difficult to imagine the sport without her. As she’s done throughout her illustrious career (and life), she penned a poignantly moving essay on her retirement on her own terms, in her own words.

And you really should read the forthright, eloquent statement in its entirety.

I’ve written a lot about Serena Williams throughout the years. She’s set the standard for women’s tennis for decades. We’re not just talking about the athletic greatness, but also how women are valued in the sport, how she’s elevated that very valuation to even greater heights, and how she’s impacted the importance of women’s tennis globally.

To talk about Serena Williams is to talk about the trailblazer, who outsold men’s finals, who translated her incredible presence into a billion-dollar business empire and venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, and of course who pushed the narrative forward for women’s equity in the sport. Most of the following quotes come directly from Serena’s stirring personal essay.

"“I started playing tennis with the goal of winning the U.S. Open. I didn’t think past that. And then I just kept winning. I remember when I passed Martina Hingis’s grand slam count. Then Seles’s. And then I tied Billie Jean King, who is such an inspiration for me because of how she has pioneered gender equality in all sports. Then it was climbing over the Chris Evert–Martina Navratilova mountain.”"

In addition to her incredible athletic gifts, Serena’s journey as a mother has also been completely inspiring. In all aspects of motherhood, she has once again set a high benchmark, and just like her retirement announcement, she has raised five-year-old Olympia (along with husband Alexis Ohanian) in a way that further demonstrates her greatness and self-determination. The fact that she has maintained the highest of standards in both (you could vote her mother of the year and player of the year at the same time!) makes her even more awe-inspiring.

Serena Williams could’ve been the Tom Brady of tennis, but forged her own path by her own rules.

Serena Williams could have simply become the Tom Brady of tennis, having babies or leaving the baby-carrying to others (surrogacy could have easily been an option), and continued climbing the mountain of tennis prowess until Infinitum. If she hadn’t given birth to baby Olympia, who knows where the 40-year-old would be sitting in the majors tally? The 23-time slam champion reflected as much.

"“The way I see it, I should have had 30-plus grand slams. I had my chances after coming back from giving birth. I went from a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism to a grand slam final. I played while breastfeeding. I played through postpartum depression. But I didn’t get there. Shoulda, woulda, coulda. I didn’t show up the way I should have or could have. But I showed up 23 times, and that’s fine. Actually it’s extraordinary.”"

Serena’s icon status has been earned in part by her astonishing ability to remain true to herself and her honest reflection of how motherhood transformed her life is testament to her humanity. A great person is great because they choose to be, not because of anyone else’s directive.

"“Earlier in my career, I never thought about having kids. There were times when I’ve wondered if I should ever bring kids into this world, with all its problems… I figured that if I ever did have a baby, I would have people taking care of it 24/7. I’m not going to lie—I definitely have a lot of support. But I’m also an incredibly hands-on mother. My husband will tell you I am too hands-on. In five years, Olympia has only spent one 24-hour period away from me. This past year, while I was recovering from a hamstring injury, I got to pick her up from school four or five days a week, and I always looked forward to seeing her face light up when she walked out of the building and saw me waiting there for her. The fact is that nothing is a sacrifice for me when it comes to Olympia. It all just makes sense.”"

https://twitter.com/Olly_2022/status/1557001546059104257

When you’re great, everyone wants to share a piece of what they perceive equals your significance. Earlier calls by legendary peers Billie Jean King and Chris Evert—who penned an “open letter” to the effect—tried to motivate Serena to only focus on tennis and her race for majors—are but a few examples of others seeing only a small part of who she genuinely is.

“Still, a question lingers — do you ever consider your place in history? Is it something you care about? In the short term you may be happy with the various things going on in your life, but I wonder whether 20 years from now you might reflect on your career and regret not putting 100 percent of yourself into tennis,” wrote Evert in 2006. “Because whether you want to admit it or not, these distractions are tarnishing your legacy.”

But Serena has always been more than just the sport she conquered: a rare, beautiful person who is determining her second act that includes inspiring the next generation within her own family as well as the global populace.

“But these days, if I have to choose between building my tennis résumé and building my family, I choose the latter.”

She may be retiring from one aspect of her extraordinary, iconic life, but she is continuing to fuel her love, generosity and hope for the future through her philanthropy and expansion of her fulfilling family.

"“In my own life, the balance has been slowly shifting toward Serena Ventures. I always say that I’m a sponge: At night I go to bed and I squeeze myself out so that the next day I can take up as much new information as I can. Every morning, I’m so excited to walk downstairs to my office and jump onto Zooms and start reviewing decks of companies we’re considering investing in…. This year we raised $111 million of outside financing, from banks, private individuals, and family offices. Seventy-​eight percent of our portfolio happens to be companies started by women and people of color, because that’s who we are.”"

Serena Williams’ record will remain an astonishing bastion of excellence. And to put things in perspective, her long list of tennis accomplishments includes:

• Owns 23 grand slam singles trophies (which is the record for the Open Era)
• Only tennis player—male or female—to win three of the four Grand Slams at least 6 times.
• Won the WTA Tour Championships five times.
• Along with her sister, Venus, Serena owns the third most doubles majors.
• She shares the record with Venus with the most Olympic Gold medals which include three doubles and one in singles (for EACH of them, which is absolutely incredible), and the only women in the Open Era to win Gold in both categories.
• Oldest player to reach world No. 1 (April 2017) at age 35 years, six months.
• Oldest player to win a grand slam title at 35 years, four months, when she achieved her last major at the 2017 Australian Open (when she was two months pregnant!).
• Won 14 women’s doubles majors
• Became world’s highest paid female athlete in 2016, with earnings of almost $29 million.
• Was awarded the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year award four times (2003, 2010, 2016, 2018).
• Was named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated in December 2015.
• Highest earning female athlete of all time (another GOAT stats to add to the stack).
• Owns 73 WTA titles.
• Won one Fed Cup team title (1999)
• Won two Hopman Cup mixed team titles (2003, 2008).

All those amazing stats aside, on the day she puts down her racquet for the last time—to occur at this year’s U.S. Open — she will remain one of the greatest champions the world has ever seen.

But the loss of tennis will be one part of a complex, remarkable person who will continue to add to her impressive legacy. We will watch her future endeavors with rapt attention.