Serena Williams admits she has been prepared for retirement for 'over a decade'

Talks surrounding Serena Williams’ retirement have been ongoing for some time now.

In recent years, the tennis legend has failed to emulate the dominant form she was so famously known for on the court.

Williams competed in just six tournaments throughout 2021 and as such, slipped outside the top 200 in the world rankings.

The 40-year-old is still chasing a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title — but with her form dipping and time against her, it’s becoming increasingly more unlikely Williams will meet the mark.

Discussing the retirement of the tennis legend seems almost a taboo subject, but it’s something Williams herself has been thinking about for quite some time now.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the 23-time Grand Slam champion admitted she has been preparing for the day she hangs up her racquet.

“I am prepared for that day, I’ve been prepared for that day for over a decade.

“If you’ve seen ‘King Richard’ — you know that my dad always said ‘you got to prepare’, so I’ve been prepared for that.

“You know, at the end of the day, I think it’s really important to always have a plan and that’s kind of what I did. I always had a plan.”

Williams referenced the advice given to her by her father Richard Williams, who started coaching both Venus and Serena when they were just four years old.

The Louisiana-born mentor is played by Will Smith in the biopic ‘King Richard’, which documents his aspirations of turning his daughters into tennis stars. The film received rave reviews from critics and six Academy Award nominations.

As was his dream, Richard watched the Williams sisters become one of the most successful women’s doubles teams in the history of tennis, collecting 14 Grand Slam titles over 17 years together.

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