Serena Williams Reveals She's 'Not Retired,' Says Chances of a Return Are 'Very High'

The athlete announced she was stepping away from the sport in August prior to the 2022 US Open.

Serena Williams' legendary career may not be over, after all. During a recent appearance at the TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, Williams stated that she is "not retired." 

"The chances [of me returning] are very high," Williams said. "You can come to my house and [see]. I have a court."

Williams played competitive tennis since participating in the 2022 US Open in September. The 41-year-old received a heartfelt send-off following her loss to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the Grand Slam tournament.

Williams was attending the TechCrunch Disrupt to promote her investment company, Serena Ventures, which has raised $111 million over the past year. Williams stated she "didn't even think about the whole retirement" when she made the announcement back in August.

"I started this company a while ago, so I just jumped right into that," Williams added. "I didn't even think about the whole retirement.

"I still haven't really thought about it. But I did go on the court the other day and [realized] for the first time in my life 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 so far, I am enjoying it. But I'm still trying to find that balance."

In August, Williams announced in a Vogue essay that she was going to step away from competitive tennis following the US Open.

"I have never liked the word retirement," Williams wrote.

"It doesn't feel like a modern word to me. I've been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. Maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is evolution."

During her legendary career, Williams won 23 Grand Slam titles, which is the most by any woman in the Open era. 

This story was originally published by CBS Sports on Oct. 24, 2022.

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