Serena Williams announces retirement: Tennis fans celebrate an icon

Tennis icon Serena Williams, owner of 23 major titles, will step away from the sport after this year’s U.S. Open, per a feature in Vogue.

Williams announced the decision on Tuesday morning in her latest feature piece for Vogue Magazine.

“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people,” she said. “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. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family.”

As much as Williams may not want to use the word ‘retirement’, she most definitely is taking a step back from the game she loves, and for good reason.

Serena Williams retirement: Fans celebrate an icon

At 40 years old, Williams has earned her stripes and then some. She goes down as the best women’s tennis player of all-time, and perhaps the most influential athlete in the sport’s long history.

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Whatever is next for Serena, she will be great at it. And that should come as no surprise to those who know her best.

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It’s the end of an era in tennis, but this is not the last we’ll see of Serena around the game.

Expect this summer’s U.S. Open to be must-see television. Could Williams make magic happen at her home major? Going out on top would be so Serena.