Serena Williams to retire after the US Open? Not a chance

US Open
Serena Williams warming up

If you think Serena Williams is going to retire after this year’s US Open then you better think again.

After spending more than a year away from the game on maternity leave, the 23-time Grand Slam winner returned to competitive tennis at the French Open in May.

Despite the extended period away from tennis, she never thought about quitting.

“I was always there mentally. I was always watching and being a part of it,” Williams said during an interview on NBC’s Today show. “And I never wanted to hang up my racket at that point. I’m still trying to compete and win Grand Slams and most of all do it while I have a daughter.”

Her comeback has had several highs and lows as she finished runner-up to Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final, but also suffered the worst defeat of her professional career against Johanna Konta at the Silicon Valley Classic.

After the loss she admitted she has struggled with postpartum emotions and later revealed that she only learned 10 minutes prior to her match against Konta that the man who fatally shot her half-sister Yetunde in 2003 had been released on parole.

The American, though, will be returning to major duty next week at the US Open and she will looking to win her seventh title at Flushing Meadows.

Williams turns 37 in late September and many are wondering for how long she will continue, especially now that she is a mother.

She added: “This is the beginning of a new career for me. I’m not going to be gone after the Open. I’m going to be in the next Grand Slam and the next and the next and the next and the next. It’s just going to keep going.”

Serena Williams

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