IsSerena Williamsthinking about pulling aTom Bradyand returning to tennis after her “retirement” from the sport?
That’s the questionJimmy Fallonhad on Tuesday night, when the 23-time Grand Slam champ made a visit to his NBC show,The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
After discussing what led to her decision to leave tennis, and the relief she felt after announcing that, Williams, 40, opened up about the prospect that she might change her mind and “unretire” from the sport.
“That’s what I want to say,” she laughed.
Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty
Before the US Open, Williams made headlines in aVogueessay in which she said she plannedto step away from her nearly 27-years-long professional tennis careerfollowing the tournament.
Although she captivated fans and drew scores of celebrities to Arthur Ashe Stadium during her epic run for a record 24th major win, Serena ultimately lost to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.
But the tennis icon’s future in the sport is not exactly clear-cut, which she elaborated on with Fallon.
“I think retirement is something that’s super-earned, that people work really hard for,” she said Tuesday night. “But I just feel like I’m at an age where I definitely have a lot more to give, there’s a lot more I want to do, and so, I’m not going to be relaxing, there is so much more for me and I feel it’s more like an evolution of Serena.”
She continued, “And there’s so many things that I’ve been wanting to do for so many years and I have such a passion for tennis for so long that I have never done it but now it’s time for me to, like, try to enjoy those things.”
William also shared onThe Tonight Showthat prior to her essay inVogue, there was only one person who knew her plans.
“The only person that knew at one point about it was my therapist,” she said to Fallon. “Because verbalizing meant that it was real, and I don’t want it to be real so I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to do and I don’t think you really know until, I don’t know, until you say it or it’s actually real.”
Announcing the news “was a lot” on Williams, she said — even though she never thought it would be that big of a deal.
“I always thought at the end of it I would just leave quietly and not saying anything and make an announcement on social media,” she said. “That’s how I always thought I would do it.”
“I’ve been playing tennis since I was littler in a stroller… that’s how long I’ve been around tennis,” Williams also said. “But when it came out, I was actually relieved and I didn’t expect to feel that way. I felt pretty good. It’s like when you want to accomplish something and you don’t do it but then when you finally do it you’re like, ‘It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was.?’ I should have done it 10 years ago!”
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Williams first teased a return to tennis on the eve of the Open, in an appearance alongsideNick Kyrgios,Naomi Osakaand her own sisterVenus Williamson “A Conversation with Champions” panel. s.
“Maybe in Australia?” wondered Jones, of the 2023 Australian Open. “Yeah, no. I mean, I don’t think so,” said Serena.
“You never know,” the tennis star added. “I’ve learned in my career, never say never. So that’s important.”
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonairs weeknights (11:30 p.m. ET) on NBC.
source: people.com
