Fans React To Serena Williams' Cozy 'Moana' Style Retirement Life

Serena Williams is getting some much-needed me-time!

The 40-year-old showed just how keen she was to start enjoying her "new normal" after she played the final game of her tennis career at the US Open following a "goodbye piece" in Vogue in August. She shared a new picture with her 15.6 million followers, and it has been getting immense love from all and sundry. 

In the image, which Williams posted on Instagram, she appeared to be asleep. The bed and pillows are covered in white-checkered sheets, with a gray headboard above them. The picture also included a bedside drawer with two bottles, a lamp, and a landline. While Williams'  head is placed on what looks like a bear, the rest of her body is under a "Moana" duvet. 

Although it is hard to tell what time it was, the mother-of-one captioned the post, "How was your weekend? This was mine." Without further prompting, Williams' fans have liked the post nearly half a million times, with over 5k people stepping into its comments. 

One person wrote, "Lol That is my ministry #restday #restore," and another added, "If there is ANYONE that deserves to rest, it's YOU!!!! Thank you for everything! [goat, tennis ball, and crown emojis]." A third fan saw the philosophical lines and noted, "You see that line where the sky meets the sea? Well, its calling you to greater still! Thank you for your brand of feisty, ferocious, and fierce fight!"

Yet another follower pointed out the possibility of it being the "best rest" the tennis legend has had since she began her career at age 11. "Nigerian Idol" finalist and singer Jemiriye also stopped in the comment section, exclaiming, "Yes!!! A rest well deserved Queen [queen emoji] with a very beautiful blanket [love emojis]." Others just agreed that Williams was getting a “much deserved rest.”

In August, The Blast reported that Williams spoke more honestly about her impact on the game of tennis and the world of sports at large, especially for women of color. After sharing that she believes that her legacy is "confidence and self-belief," the former professional tennis player said, "And teaching other Black kids, in particular Black girls, they can do it too."

While pointing to rising tennis players such as Gauff Cori and Naomi Osaka, Williams stated, "No one has ever been able to tell such an inspiring, authentic story. You live through my mistakes. You live through my ups; you live through my downs. The surgeries and the comebacks." She added that it was also a story of "never letting anyone write your story" because "a lot of people can relate to that."

Although Williams has managed to maintain humility about her track record as a tennis player, she began owning her achievements days before her official retirement. Thus, she was not shy to declare that she and her older sister, Venus, not only changed the game of tennis but also how "people play, period."

The tennis star claimed that before the rise of the Williams sisters, people did not attack, take balls, or serve the way they do after their arrival on the scene. Williams, who is married to Reddit co-founder and tech millionaire Alexis Ohanian, has even revolutionized beauty standards, rebranding what it means to be feminine, especially after most of the world branded her as "masculine." 

The mother-of-one changed it, causing women to refocus and know that loving themselves as they are — regardless of how dark, muscular, or thick they looked— overshadowed what people had to say. According to her:

"Giving them [women] that confidence, that motivation is something that has literally never been done. You don't let the world decide beauty. And me being thicker or whatever, I mean, curves are popular now. Butts are popular. I'm trying to lose mine, and people are trying to get mine."

Williams' belief in what her legacy preaches and holds dear has been corroborated by many stars, including Osaka, who agreed that she changed the sport of tennis in a way no one has ever done.