Serena Williams Announces Painful 'Evolution' From Tennis: 'I'm Torn'

Serena Williams has admittedly never liked the word retirement, but she is sadly bidding farewell to tennis after multiple years of outstanding resplendence.

Although she spoke about being ready for the day back in February, however, saying goodbye to the court didn't come easy for the Tennis star.

In an exclusive interview with Vogue, the prominent athlete candidly opened up about the pain attached to giving up her life's work.

The mother-of-one noted that it was something she was still trying to come to terms with but without much excitement.

Williams recalled an incident when her daughter Olympia mentioned her wish of being a "big sister," not knowing her mom was listening.

At the time, Olympia was using an educational app she liked, which asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, leading to her earlier wish for a sibling.

The 40-year-old athlete further revealed that the almost five-year-old voiced her wish a lot even when she was not listening and often prayed to "Jehovah" for a baby sister.

Despite being a successful sportswoman, Williams never wanted to have to choose between tennis and family as she never believed it was fair.

She explained that if she were a guy, she would be out there "playing and winning" without feeling so burdened about the responsibilities of motherhood and expanding her family.

Williams believed she would have been more comparable to Tom Brady if she had the opportunity. Nevertheless, she did not regret being a woman and loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia.

She then described her pregnancy days, revealing that she adored being in the family way and worked until the day she had to conceive, though things got "super complicated" during the procedure.

On the other hand, during the second month of her pregnancy, she won the 2017 Australia Open, which not many people may have been aware of.

However, she knows age is not on her side as she turns 41 soon, leading her to confess her reluctance in admitting that she had to "move on from playing tennis."

Anytime the topic comes up, Williams admittedly tears up as she was never a fan of the word "retirement," believing that it did not feel like a modern word to her. She elaborated on the term, saying:

"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 added, "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."

Williams was undoubtedly speaking of her family as she hinted that she wanted to have more kids after referencing the beginning of her journey with Serena Ventures years before starting her family. 

Moving on from tennis is a significant feat for the legendary tennis player, and she hardly ever talked about it, even with her husband Alexis and her parents.

She only ever discussed the matter with her therapist as she always got an "uncomfortable lump" in her throat," causing her to shed tears whenever the subject was broached.

Williams really wished she felt as excited as those who anticipated retirement, but that was not the case for her because there was no happiness in it.

She felt a "great deal of pain" and hated having to end her tennis career; however, while she was torn over not wanting it to be over, she also looked forward to a new chapter in her life.

Williams is consistently full of positivity even with losses, just like she was after this year's Wimbledon, where she lost to Harmony Tran in an intense match.

The Blast reported that she told BBC that she did not want the loss to be her last memory of a court where she has constantly been triumphant in the past.

The defeat comes almost a year after the US Open star limped off in tears from Centre Court, having injured her right ankle in her first-round contest against Aliaksandra Sasnovich.

She released a statement after the match with Tran showing that although that was not the result she wanted, she enjoyed every bit of the game, hoping her fans did as well.

Williams called the match "insane and intense" and later admitted to BBC that she was okay with the loss as she gave all she could.