Serena Williams announced her retirement from tennis last month ahead of her final tournament in the US Open — but now it seems she may have had a change of heart after strongly alluding to the idea that she may decide to make a comeback after all. The 40-year-old, who previously said she was somewhat glad to retire as it allowed her the opportunity to “enjoy” life and try out other passion projects, couldn’t help but tease her fans with the possibility that her tennis career may not be over just yet.
During an appearance on “Good Morning America,” the 23-time Grand Slam champion was asked about the chances of her deciding she would go back to playing professional tennis despite having announced her retirement. “I mean, you never know,” she replied, adding that fellow athlete Tom Brady, who came out of his brief retirement earlier this year “had started a really cool trend.”
Those words sounded strikingly similar to the comment she made on “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” earlier this week when she said, “Tom Brady started an amazing trend. That’s what I want to say.” Fans of Williams, who began her professional career in 1995 when she was just 14 years old, seem to believe it won’t be long before she’ll want to get back on the tennis court and possibly secure herself another championship title.
In early August, the LA native made the announcement that she would be stepping back from tennis, having dominated the profession for well over two decades and becoming the most decorated female player in the Open Era. Seven of her major wins stem from her success at Wimbledon, with another six from her doubles titles with sister Venus Williams at the same UK tournament.
Serena Williams opens #VogueWorld . (From Vogue Magazine IG) Beautiful! 😍🔥https://t.co/VL38McJJ17 pic.twitter.com/VYbjJL1UJy
— LaWanda (@lawanda50) September 12, 2022
In a heartfelt statement shared on Instagram, Williams told her followers that her attention had steered in a different direction as of late, and while she will always love tennis, she wants to dedicate her time to other things including being a present mother to her five-year-old daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., whom she shares with internet entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian.
But if fans were to believe that Williams is hinting at a possible return to her tennis career after seeing the “really cool” trend that Brady started when he made a U-turn comeback to the NFL, one could assume that this perhaps won’t be the last time we’ll be seeing her on the tennis court.