Venus Williams He's not planning an emotional tennis farewell tour, because most people assume that's already happened.
In a recent interview, Venus, 44, joked that her career and legacy were lumped in with her sister's. Serena Williams when he stepped away from the sport in 2022.
“As that moment gets closer, Serena ruined it for me,” Venus said. “Because as soon as she retired, everyone thought I retired.”
Serena, 43, played her final match at the US Open in September 2022 after announcing she would “evolve away” from tennis in a Fashion essay published the previous month.
“Sometimes they even think we're twins,” Venus said of herself and her younger sister Serena, who were born 15 months apart. “If you thought that, we are two different people, born on different days.”
Over the years, Venus, who last competed at the Miami Open in March 2024 and has not won a professional match since August 2023, has often thought about the emotional toll retiring from tennis will take.
“I always thought I would be crying when I had to retire, because that's all you know and you spend your whole life programming your mind to do that every day,” he explained. “It's the first thing you think about when you wake up, the first thing you think about when you go to bed. You dream about it.”
Venus Williams
Megan Briggs/Getty PicturesHowever, with some age (and no doubt already watching his sister go through the process) he has gained some wisdom.
“Now I realize that I am not going to cry because I have definitely given everything to this sport,” Venus said confidently.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion added: “I think more than anything, I will be grateful. I think that will be the feeling.”
Still, when the retirement bell rings, Venus acknowledged that it will be difficult to say goodbye permanently.
“Every once in a while I want to threaten to come back,” he said.
Serena recently issued a similar threat, saying vanity fair in July 2024 that a return “will always be in the back, back, back, back, back, back, back of my mind.”
“I stay in shape. “I stay healthy,” Serena added. “When I look, I think: Okay, well, you could be out there too.”
As for when Venus expects to retire, she recently indicated that she's “not done with the business yet.”
“At this point, it's about choosing the places I want to be,” Venus told the Irish news in a story published on October 9. “Last year I really wanted to play in Miami, my home, because I hadn't played there in five years. It's nice to be in a place where I can choose, but my game is always at a high level. Even if I'm not on tour, I always keep my game pretty high.”
Serena Williams and Venus Williams are closer than ever, even if one of them no longer competes on the tennis court. Serena, 43, admitted that she and Venus, 44, “are still codependent” on each other in her Glamor Ladies of the Yr 2024 cover story, published on Monday, September 30. […]
In addition to her seven Grand Slam singles titles (five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open), Venus has also won 14 major women's doubles titles, all with her sister Serena by her side.
Additionally, Venus is a four-time Olympic gold medalist and won in doubles with Serena three times. At the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Venus won the individual gold medal. She also won a silver medal in mixed doubles at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro with her partner. Ramirez Ramirez.
Nearly 30 years after making her professional debut at the age of 14, Venus said Us weekly exclusively because she has felt motivated to move forward.
“There is nothing better than having no regrets,” he said in September. “It doesn't mean you're always going to win, it just means you're going to give it your all. And that you left it all out there.”