Serena Williams' life now: Author, investor, mum - and eyeing a comeback?
The tennis legend played her last match at the US Open this year - or did she? Regardless, there's been no slowing down for the four-time Olympic champion in life away from the pro circuit.
Tennis
Did anyone think Serena Williams was going to slow down?
When the tennis legend said she’d be “evolving away” from professional tennis earlier this year, she never promised she was retiring from the sport for good.
But she also never said that she wasn’t going to be as active as ever away from the court, lending her name and expertise to a collection of projects.
Whether or not she returns to the women’s tour (more on that below), Williams hasn’t missed a beat since that final match at the US Open, releasing a new children’s book, continuing her corporate investing via her company, Serena Ventures, and crisscrossing the globe to appear as a speaker and special guest at a variety of events.
And yes, it looks like she’s getting plenty of time with daughter Olympia, too.
Here, we check in on “the new life” of Serena Williams – and look for any hints that the queen of the court might be eyeing a 2023 return.
Serena Williams: Making a comeback?
Let’s start with that potential return. To be clear, the hints are there and the possibilities are endless, but only Serena and her inner circle are the ones who truly know if and when we might see her again in a competitive match.
Last month, she teased fans in an Instagram story, writing “I’m a little bored” with a photo of a freshly strung tennis racket. A day later (25 November), former Top 30 player Urszula Radwanska (sister to Aga) posted a photo on court with both Serena and Venus Williams, the three clad in tennis gear.
The “bored” post came a month after Williams made headlines by saying “I am not retired” during an interview at a TechCrunch conference in San Francisco in October. Adding that the chances of her making a return are “very high.”
It was older sister Venus, however, who made waves earlier this week when the Australian Open – set for the last two weeks of January – awarded the 42-year-old a wild card into its main draw.
Will Serena be heading to Melbourne, too? That’s unclear – as is the status of a return as a whole. But as she’s done throughout her entire career, Serena has always been surprising us.
Author, soccer mum and more: Keeping busy
Since she walked out of Arthur Ashe Stadium following an epic third-round loss to Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open, it seems as though Williams, now 41, hasn’t stopped.
In the days following the Open, as she promoted her kid’s book, The Adventures of Qai Qai, she told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show: “I’m not gonna be relaxing. There’s so much more for me. I feel like this is an evolution of [me]. There are so many other things that I want to do.”
Serena Ventures, her investment company, has been a focus, with nearly 80 percent of her investments going to companies started by women and people of colour. She has continued to design for her S by Serena clothing line, while also diving into the jewelry world, as well.
One of her new ventures is a performance recovery line of products for everyday athletes, melding her on-court experience with her business acumen.
Williams had a portrait of her unveiled at the American National Portrait Gallery along with Venus, saying, "To have a picture in the Smithsonian alongside so many historical icons? Mind officially blown," adding that she felt it's important to have historical Black women smiling as they are often portrayed as "serious."
She also has taken on the role of assistant soccer coach – for Olympia. She shared a story on social media of her five-year-old being too nervous to go to her first practice without her, so Serena was tapped as a volunteer coach. How about that for the team?
Venus and Serena: Tennis legends
Certainly Serena has already cemented her legacy, having 23 major singles titles to her name – the most of any player (male or female) in the Open Era.
She has four Olympic gold medals (three in doubles with sister Venus and one in singles at London 2012) to her name, 319 weeks at world No.1 and some 96 titles overall – in singles and doubles.
While some of those accolades – including Olympic gold – are shared with sister Venus, it’s her elder sister that might keep Serena keenly interested in an aforementioned comeback. With Venus set to play at next month’s Australian Open some 25 years since she and Serena played against one another for the first time ever in 1998, it does ask the question: Will we see Serena on court in Melbourne, too?
No doubt they’ve changed the tennis, sporting and cultural fabrics since that first meeting, not only as leaders for young Black women in the U.S. but on a global scale in that way - and so many more.
The incredible thing – either off court, on it or both – Serena is still far from done.