After a 35-year profession leading to 23 Grand Slams and 4 Olympic gold medals, Serena Williams has announced that she is officially retiring from the game of tennis.

The athlete and philanthropist made the announcement on the duvet of Vogue, with an essay written in her own words about her decision to depart her sports profession and concentrate on enterprise capital endeavors and motherhood.

Appearing on the duvet in a blue Balenciaga gown together with her 5-year-old daughter Olympia Ohanian carrying the train, Williams dove deep into the inner conflict she feels about moving on from her beloved sport and right into a recent chapter in life. As an alternative of “retirement,” she chooses to see her transition away from tennis as an “evolution.”

The tennis star began her essay with the revelation that her daughter has been repeatedly asking and praying for a younger sister, and she or he’s able to expand her family. But Williams knows that, as a girl, this comes with more sacrifices than it might if she were a male athlete.

“Imagine me, I never desired to have to choose from tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a man, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be on the market playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family,” she wrote. “Perhaps I’d be more of a Tom Brady if I had that chance.” 

“I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to offer.”

The alternative to depart tennis is a difficult one for Williams, who admits that she doesn’t find the identical joy and relief most of her peers do in retirement. It’s a painful subject for her; one which she has been avoiding broaching together with her husband and her family, and has only really delved into together with her therapist.

“There is no such thing as a happiness on this topic for me. I understand it’s not the same old thing to say, but I feel an awesome deal of pain. It’s the toughest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I even have to be at this crossroads,” she wrote. “I keep saying to myself, I wish it could possibly be easy for me, nevertheless it’s not. I’m torn: I don’t want it to be over, but at the identical time I’m ready for what’s next.”

At all times driven by naysayers and doubt, Williams says she has spent her entire profession channeling anger and negative energy into championships and medals. She says a part of her remains to be chasing Australian tennis legend Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles to really be the “GOAT” based on those that still claim she isn’t.

“The best way I see it, I must have had 30-plus grand slams,” she wrote. “I had my possibilities after getting back from giving birth. I went from a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism to a grand slam final. I played while breastfeeding. I played through postpartum depression. But I didn’t get there.”

“Shoulda, woulda, coulda. I didn’t show up the best way I must have or could have. But I showed up 23 times, and that’s superb. Actually, it’s extraordinary. But today, if I even have to choose from constructing my tennis résumé and constructing my family, I select the latter.”

Williams announced that this yr’s U.S. Open, going down in only three weeks, will probably be her final game. While she says she’d love to finish her profession with an enormous win, it’s not a necessity for her.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to win Wimbledon this yr. And I don’t know if I will probably be able to win Recent York. But I’m going to try, ” she wrote. “But I’m not searching for some ceremonial, final on-court moment. I’m terrible at goodbyes, the world’s worst. But please know that I’m more grateful for you than I can ever express in words. You could have carried me to so many wins and so many trophies. I’m going to miss that version of me, that girl who played tennis. And I’m going to miss you.”