"That day will be weird but I will also be extremely excited"- Serena Williams on leaving the tennis world
Serena Williams recently engaged herself in a thoughtful conversation with renowned American singer and actor Selena Gomez and spoke about her illustrious career.
In an essay for Vogue, the 23-time Grand Slam champion announced her retirement from the sport, presumably after the US Open.
In light of her impending retirement, the American spoke to Selena Gomez about dealing with the idea of leaving the tennis world behind in a clip that was posted on Selena Gomez's Instagram to promote her mental health initiative, Wondermind.
Serena Williams acknowledged that it is strange to stop playing a sport after more than two decades of devotion, but she knows that her physical condition will eventually prevent her from continuing.
"You know, physically, I won't be able to perform forever, " Williams said, adding, "And when you love something so much it's like, OK, well dang, at some point this has to end. So it is weird when you think: my whole life that I can remember I've been getting up and training or training mentally for a goal."
The 40-year-old continued by expressing her excitement and conflicting feelings about her impending retirement.
"So I think that day will be weird, but I also will be extremely excited," Serena Williams said. "I am sure you can relate, Selena, it's like, OK, my whole life I've woken up and had to train for a goal or something and this is the first day won't even have to think about it ever."
"It's something that I'm actually super excited about, but, at the same time, it's mixed emotions," she added.
"In both situations, in particular tennis, I get really disappointed"- Serena Williams on coping with major disapointment
In the same conversation with Gomez, Williams admitted that she gets disheartened when she loses a match but soon gets back up when asked how she handles huge setbacks in and outside of tennis.
"In both situations, in particular tennis, I get really disappointed," Williams said, adding, "I think it's really important to get out of this conversation that, people like you and me, we're literally like everyone else. I get upset, like don't talk to me for a week. I don't want to use the word "depressed" loosely, but I definitely get really down."
"I get negative and then I get discouraged sometimes. Especially if I feel like I've played well. But then I remember that discouragement is never good, and that's when a lot of bad things can happen if you're feeling discouraged. So remember that and pick myself back up," she added.
After being injured for a year, the American made a comeback at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. However, she failed to make it past the first round at the grasscourt Major and lost to World No. 115 Harmony Tan 7-5, 1-6, 7-6(10-7).
This was followed by two early exits at the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open at the hands of Belinda Bencic and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, respectively.
The next stop for Serena Williams is the 2022 US Open, where she will be aiming to equal Margaret Court's record 24 Grand Slam titles.