"When I'm watching, it’s like 'You could be out there too'" - Serena Williams contemplates potential comeback as she struggles to watch Wimbledon 2024
As the 2024 Wimbledon Championships rage on in thrilling fashion, seven-time champion Serena Williams has revealed why she can't bring herself to follow the action at the grasscourt Major. The 23-time Grand Slam champion admitted that watching tennis stirs up emotions about her own potential to compete, prompting thoughts about the possibility of making a comeback.
The former World No. 1 retired from professional tennis at the 2022 US Open, playing the final match of her career against Ajla Tomljanovic. Since hanging up her racket, the 42-year-old has shifted her focus to her two daughters with husband Alexis Ohanian and her various business ventures, including her new makeup brand WYN Beauty.
Despite her new ventures, Serena Williams has admitted that she still deeply misses tennis. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair prior to hosting the ESPYs, the American acknowledged that it is normal to miss something that has been such a significant part of her life.
"I miss it, and I think that’s normal. It’s normal to miss something that you’ve done since the day you were born," Serena Williams said.
Although she misses the sport, the 23-time Grand Slam champion disclosed that she found it "too hard" to watch the quarterfinal matches at the ongoing Wimbledon Championships.
"I just had to turn it off. It was too hard," she said. "Oh my God. I just can’t right now."
Serena Williams also revealed that as long as she stays fit, the idea of making a comeback lingers in the back of her mind, making it challenging to watch tennis knowing she could still be competing.
"I think as long as I’m healthy, that’s always going to be in the back, back, back, back, back, back, back of my mind. I stay fit. I stay healthy. When I’m watching, it’s like, Okay, well, you could be out there too," she added.
Serena Williams: "I’m still really good at tennis, I always say the reason I stopped was not because of injury"
It is unsurprising that Serena Williams is entertaining thoughts of a comeback, as she recently reaffirmed that her retirement wasn't forced by an injury but rather by a desire to prioritize her family life with husband Alexis Ohanian.
In a recent interview with Harper's Bazaar, the 23-time Grand Slam champion opened up about her enduring love for tennis, emphasizing that she continues to be "really good" at the sport.
"I love watching it. I love playing it. I love being a part of it. I’m still really good at it. [Laughs.] I always say the reason I stopped was not because of injury. It was because I wanted to have a family," she said.
Williams also admitted that she found it "very hard" to make the decision to retire, as she struggled with the knowledge that she could still perform at a "very high level."