Serena Williams is an inspiration to people whether they are an athlete or not. Williams became a professional athlete at the age of 14 and just three years later she entered the U.S Open. At 17 she won her first Grad Slam during the U.S Open. Her influence on athletes stems from winning 23 major singles titles, which is more than any woman or man in during the open era. For 49 weeks she was named the number 1 player in the world by the Women’s Tennis Association. Once again she was given that title but for 186 consecutive weeks from 2013 through 2016. She also holds excellent credit in bordering racial diversity in women’s sports. By speaking about her hardships and near-death experience when giving birth to her daughter, she brings a connection to mothers and women who have also experienced something like this or have worries about going through similar births. 

On August 9th, Serena announced her retirement after writing a vogue cover story. Williams expresses how if she was a male she wouldn’t be in the situation she is in now with having to choose tennis or her family, but with turning 41 this year and wanting to focus on her family, she explains that “something’s got to give” that being her tennis career.  Instead of using the word retirement or transition, Serena Williams finds the word “evolution” most fitting for her relationship with professional tennis. Like many others, change is not something we all love to experience in our lives, causing us to be related in speaking about the changes that are about to occur, which is how Williams feels about no longer being an active professional tennis player. In most cases, people who retire feel more free, excited, and simply ready to end the career they spent a great part of their adulthood doing. In Serena’s case, she spoke up about how she feels more pain in her decision to retire even though it may be considered unusual to feel this way, her speaking her truth can help others who might also feel this way realize that it’s okay and the way they are feeling is normal. For those who might not see this decision, Williams is such a life-changing move it is to be understood that Serena’s tennis career has been her whole life for such a long period making this decision to move forward in her life without her career in tennis is a part of that difficult. As anyone gets older there will come a time when you have to pick between two things that may both mean so much to you but only one can be chosen. Between tennis and family, Williams knew building her family was the way her life was leading her towards. Though in the past she might have not seen this as her future, this was who she was meant to be, what she was meant to do. When she says, “nothing is a sacrifice” when it comes to her daughter it exactly shows how important her family is to her. Even though tennis has played an important part in her life, it has also been important to her to explain that she saw it more as a sacrifice compared to her family. Deciding to step away from the tennis version of herself was the best option for her and her family. Ending her article with Vogue, she expresses the love she holds for her fans and closes off with the sentence “And I’m going to miss you”.