Martina Navratilova on Serena Williams' post-retirement life: The world is her oyster, she can do whatever she wants
Serena Williams, who hung up her racquet this year, has received some invaluable insight into life after retirement from Martina Navratilova.
Williams returned to the court at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships after sitting out an entire year due to injuries. Although she lost in the opening round, fans were thrilled to see her play again. A third-round loss at Flushing Meadows against Ajla Tomljanovic meant that Williams' 27-year-long illustrious career was over.
In a column for The Wall Street Journal, former World No. 1 Navratilova shared her own experience and recalled the time when she bid adieu to the sport. She revealed that she couldn't find a balance until the third year after retirement but was relieved to get rid of the stress that tagged along during her playing days.
Citing examples of Roger Federer and Williams, Navratilova stated that she admired the way both players announced their retirements and that she was glad that the 23-time Grand Slam champion had a number of ventures in mind after having stopped playing.
"When Serena Williams got pregnant a few years ago, I thought she was done. But then she came back. She wasn’t done. She’s retiring on her own terms," Navratilova wrote. "Serena’s talking about getting involved in ventures targeting women of color in business."
The 18-time Major winner encouraged the two retired players to go ahead and do whatever they wanted since they had the luxury of social media and could hire the best personnel to help them achieve their goals.
"The world is their oyster. They can do whatever they want," she said. "There’s just amazing freedom in that, and they should not be ashamed of that. They have done their share for the world, so whatever they do now is a massive bonus for them, and maybe the world, too. Obviously, they can hire the best people to help them achieve whatever vision they have."
"With social media, they have a platform to reach people with no filter, and the whole world picks it up. So, I would encourage them to do it, and I’m pretty sure that they both will."
"I don't think so" - Caroline Wozniacki on Serena Williams' return
During a recent conversation with Tennis Channel, Caroline Wozniacki stated that she didn't think Serena Williams would return to professional tennis since she is now busy and that the fans will be lucky even if she plays an exhibition event.
"I don't think so. If she plays an exhibition match, I think it would be lucky for everyone. But I don't think she will come back to play on the WTA Tour. There are so many things going on. I think she loves Tennis so much. It's been her life for so many years. But at the same time, she's busy. I don't think we'll ever see her again on a professional tennis court," Wozniacki said.