Serena Williams Says She’s ‘Not Retired’—She Would Join A League Of Sporting Giants Who Made A Comeback

Topline

Serena Williams says she has “not retired” from tennis and will likely return to the sport in the future, the latest sporting star to tease a comeback after indicating she would finish her legendary career on court this summer after the U.S. Open to focus on her family.

Serena Williams said the chances of her returning to tennis are “very high.”

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Key Facts

“I am not retired,” Williams said last week when speaking about her investment company, Serena Ventures, at a TechCrunch conference in California.

Williams said the chances of her returning to the sport are “very high,” joking that you can go to her house and see that she’s “got a court.”

The comments seemingly backtrack on Williams announcing her retirement earlier this year, when the athlete told Vogue she was “evolving away from tennis” after the U.S. Open.

Though the star did not formally announce her retirement, her comments were widely interpreted and reported as a farewell and Williams received tributes befitting the retirement of an athlete considered one the best in the world.

Williams is far from the only athlete to make a comeback after teasing, or even entering, retirement and this year NFL star Tom Brady u-turned on his planned retirement and announced he would return to compete in a 23rd season.

Other athletes have also staged stellar comebacks, including basketball legend Michael Jordan, who exited retirement and won three more NBA titles after returning, and swimmer Michael Phelps, who unretired and won five gold medals at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Crucial Quote

Williams said she “didn’t even think” about retirement when starting her company and just “jumped right” into it. “I still haven’t really thought about it,” she added. “I did go on the court the other day and for the first time in my life [realized] that I’m not playing for a competition and that felt very weird. It was like the first day of the rest of my life and I’m enjoying it, but I’m still trying to find that balance.”

Big Number

23. That’s how many Grand Slam singles titles Williams has won, the most of any athlete in the Open era.

Forbes Valuation

$260 million. That’s Forbes’ estimate of Williams’ estimated net worth as of June 2022. Williams is one of the highest-earning female tennis players ever and one of America’s richest self-made women. She has earned $94 million in prize money throughout her career, twice as much as the nearest female athlete, has more than a dozen corporate partners and has increasingly turned her attention towards investing, primarily through Serena Ventures.

Tangent

Tennis ace Roger Federer, the sport’s all-time financial champion, also announced his intention to retire this summer. He is one of the world’s highest-paid athletes and Forbes estimates the Swiss player has made roughly $1 billion across his career from endorsements and other business endeavors, before taxes and agents’ fees.