Serena Williams Walks Back On Her Previous Retirement Plans

Serena Williams has just hinted at a major comeback. The legendary tennis player made a bombshell announcement in August that she would be taking a step back from the sport. "I have never liked the word retirement," she wrote in a Vogue essay. Williams expressed that she would be transitioning into other outlets and made the decision to "evolve away from tennis." The Grand Slam champion explained that she wanted to focus on expanding her family and put more time into her latest business Serena Ventures. "I've been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis," she added. 

Williams doubled down on her plans to retire at the U.S. Open and gave fans a heartfelt speech about her departure. "It's been a joy playing in front of you guys all these years, so thank you," she said with tears in her eyes (via NowThis News). She continued, "I'm terrible at goodbyes, but goodbye." Although fans were saddened by the news, they were aware the time would eventually come. The four-time Olympic gold medalist has cemented her greatness in history, and throughout her 20-plus-year career she has won 73 single titles and 23 double titles, per CNN. 

However, just as the world started to come to terms with Williams' decision, she followed in Tom Brady's footsteps and revealed she's not quite ready to give it all up. 

Although Serena Williams has nothing left to prove, the professional tennis player announced that we may be seeing her return to the court. "The chances of me returning are very high," she said during the TechCrunch Disrupt (via People). "You can come to my house and [see], I have a court." Williams admitted she dove into her other business ventures rather quickly and didn't have time to process her initial decision. "I didn't even think about the whole retirement," she added. While she still loves the sport, she revealed she "felt very weird" coming to the realization that she would no longer be competing if she chose to walk away completely. 

Despite having nothing left to prove, Williams expressed during a September appearance on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" that there was still more she wanted to accomplish. "I think retirement is something that's super earned and that people work really hard for and maybe I haven't worked hard enough," she joked. "I just feel like I'm at an age where I definitely have a lot more to give." Ironically, Fallon asked if there was any chance of her "pulling a Tom Brady" by announcing a return to the sport, to which Williams responded, "You know what, Tom Brady started an amazing trend."