Serena Williams has announced her upcoming retirement from tennis as she admitted on Tuesday she is "evolving away" from the sport.
The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion made just her second appearance of the year this week as she defeated Nuria Parrizas at the National Bank Open in Toronto.
She admitted afterwards she was "getting close to the light at the end of the tunnel" with regards to her remarkable career, before furthering that statement with a Vogue article in which she alluded towards walking away.
Williams noted that her and her partner Alexis are trying for another child, and that she did not want to be pregnant as an athlete again. In the piece she recalls that she had been two months pregnant with daughter Olympia when she won the Australian Open in 2017.
The 40-year-old was knocked out by Harmony Tan at Wimbledon in her first singles match for a year earlier this summer, but has her sights set on the US Open in what could prove her farewell tournament.
Williams' last Grand Slam title came in 2017 to take her tally to 23, leaving her one shy of a 24th that would bring her level with Margaret Court's record for most majors.
She underlined her imminent retirement by suggesting "the countdown has begun", noting that she was "relishing" what could be the final few weeks of her career.
Williams won her maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open in 1999 when she defeated Martina Hingis just weeks before turning 18.
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