Months after Serena Williams announced her retirement from tennis, the world-class athlete says she does not want to be considered as “retired.”
Williams was recently a guest on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, where she was asked about her future in the sport.
“I think retirement is something that is super earned and that people work really hard for,” she explained. “I feel like I’m at an age where I definitely have a lot more to give and there’s a lot more that I want to do so I’m not going to be relaxing, there’s so much more for me. I feel like it’s more of an evolution of Serena.”
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has a lot of irons in the fire. She says she wants to continue to focus on her other interests and investments.
“There’s so many things that I’ve been wanting to do for so many years and I’ve had such a passion for tennis for so long that I’ve never done them,” she said. “Now it’s time for me to start to enjoy those things.”
Remaining coy about whether or not she’ll return full-time to the sport, she said, “Tom Brady started an amazing trend. That’s what I want to say.”
Brady “retired” in February. But the retirement lasted just 40 days before the NFL star returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I really don’t (know when I’ll be done playing),” Brady said in July. “I would say it’s year to year: Could this be my last year? Absolutely. Could I change my mind? Absolutely. I’ve realized I don’t have five years left. I want to do it my way. I want to give it everything I got and see where I’m at. My body feels really good. I’ve had a lot of traumatic injuries over the years, but if things go really smoothly and we win, that’d be great.”
