Serena Williams hints at Tom Brady-style return to tennis

Serena Williams says she will “not relax” despite retiring from professional tennis and hinted that a return to the sport is not completely off the cards. 

The 40-year-old tennis icon confirmed her retirement at the US Open earlier this month –– ending a career that has spanned more than 27 years. 

Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles in total but could not match Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 majors. 

While the prospect of equalling Court’s record had spurred the American on for some time, the former world number one stressed that now is the time for her to explore other interests.

Speaking on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Williams revealed she had plenty of things planned and described her future endeavours as an “evolution of Serena.” 

Addressing her plans for life after tennis, Williams said: “I feel like I’m at an age where I definitely have a lot more to give and there’s a lot more that I want to do so I’m not going to be relaxing, there’s so much more for me. I feel like it’s more of an evolution of Serena.

“There are so many things that I’ve been wanting to do for so many years and I’ve had such a passion for tennis for so long that I’ve never done them. Now it’s time for me to start to enjoy those things.”

In the September 2022 issue of Vogue, Williams revealed her plans to “evolve” away from tennis and cited growing her family and spending more time with husband Alexis Ohanian and daughter Olympia. 

The US star also mentioned her venture capital firm called Serena Ventures, which focuses on health, wellness and athletics. 

“It’s more of an evolution of Serena.”–@serenawilliams on her retirement from tennis. #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/0eAJt9IsZN

Though it appears Serena is done with tennis