Serena Williams explained why she's eyeing a return to tennis for the first time since U.S. Open
Is the GOAT planning to make a comeback?
Serena Williams announced in August prior to the U.S. Open that she would be stepping away from the game of tennis, which was widely seen as a retirement announcement.
Yet even during her farewell at the U.S. Open, there was speculation that Williams’ playing days weren’t quite over. In her first public appearance since losing in three sets to Ajla Tomljanovic in September, which was expected to be the final match of her career, she added fuel to that fire.
Speaking at Tech Crunch Disrupt in San Francisco on Wednesday, Williams clarified that she isn’t retired and called her odds of a comeback “very high,” per The San Francisco Standard:
“I am not retired,” Williams said “The chances [of me returning] are very high. You can come to my house and [see] I have a court.”
Context for Serena’s “I’m not retired” quote From the looks of it, no comeback.
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Williams attended the event to promote her investment company, Serena Ventures. While discussing the company, she elaborated on her mindset regarding the break from tennis.
“I still haven’t really thought about it. But I did go on the court the other day and [realized] for the first time in my life that I’m not playing for a competition and that felt very weird,” Williams continued. “It was like the first day of the rest of my life, and so far, I am enjoying it. But I’m still trying to find that balance.”
This is far from a confirmation that Williams will be back on the court for high-level competition in the future, but it’s certainly a good sign for fans hoping that Williams has a bit left more in the tank.
We’ve already seen a legendary player in one sport come out of retirement in the last year in Tom Brady. Based on these comments from Williams, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that we see another.