Serena Williams retired from tennis two years agothen said she needed to shift her focus her little daughter, Olympia. Since then, the 42-year-old woman has given birth. second child, Adirawith husband Alexis Ohanian and driving operations at her venture capital firm, Serena Ventures. Unlike some athletes, Williams didn’t turn her back on her sport when she left it: in fact, she said she could imagine a world where she was still competing and quoting guide: Zendaya-starred in a tennis movie Challenger is one of her recent favorites.
In an interview with the New York TimesWilliams said watching the new ESPN+ docu-series, which consists of eight parts On the field: Serena Williams, this is the first time she can objectively look at her career after decades of hardship. “I really refused to go back in time throughout my career, because I always said that’s when you’re satisfied,” she said.
“My whole mission in life is to play tennis. What are you doing today? Practice. What will you do? Train. And if you were injured, what would you do today? Detox camp. And that has been my life for over 40 years.”
If that sounds difficult, that’s why she’s won 23 Grand Slams, and we haven’t. Unlike you and me, Williams has no regrets about the years spent in that exhausting cycle. In fact, she said: “Honestly, I feel like I would still be playing if I didn’t have to stop and have a family.”
Last month, the athlete caused a stir when she tweeted that she was “ready to hit some balls again.” When asked about the post, she said, “It’s not confusing at all. I’m really ready to hit the ball. I haven’t played in a long time. It was my life, I loved it and I miss it so much.”
That nostalgia may be one of the reasons Williams recently sat down to watch Challengerthat thing sex tennis world love triangle that pair Mike Faist And Josh O’Connor with a talented tennis star played by Zendaya. “I think it’s good!” Williams said about the film. “I really feel like there’s a lot of accuracy in there about things that we don’t think about as tennis players or don’t even talk about as tennis players. ”
According to Williams, after watching the movie, she contacted Zendaya to ask about the movie. “I wanted more endings,” Williams said. “I told Zendaya: ‘Listen, is there more? Like, I want more. Did they win?'” Unfortunately, Zendaya’s answer was not revealed.
Between the talk about her polish and her pop culture style choices, it’s understandable that people are wondering if Williams intends to return to the track. At least for now, the answer appears to be “no,” even though her brand—and her mind—still lives on.
“You have to understand,” she said, “all my life, since I can remember, there has been only one thing. I don’t know anything else.”
“Of course, I prefer to play tennis, but that’s because I’ve been playing tennis all my life. Of course, you prefer to do the things you used to do because you can move around.”
