25 Oct 2022

'I haven't retired' says Serena Williams

2:56 pm on 25 October 2022

Serena Williams says she hasn't retired from tennis and the chances of her returning are "very high" having previously indicated she was stepping away from the sport after last month's US Open.

"I am not retired," Williams said at a conference in San Francisco while promoting her investment company, Serena Ventures.

"The chances (of a return) are very high. You can come to my house, I have a court."

Williams, 41, said she was "evolving away from tennis" in an essay in August and, while she did not confirm the US Open as her farewell event, she was given lavish tributes before each match in New York and waved an emotional goodbye after losing in the third round.

Serena Williams thanks the fans after being defeated by Ajla Tomlijanovic of Australia during their Women's Singles Third Round match on Day Five of the 2022 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 02, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.   Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by AL BELLO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Serena Williams thanks the fans after being defeated by Ajla Tomlijanovic of Australia during their Women's Singles Third Round match on Day Five of the 2022 US Open. Photo: AFP / Al Bello / Getty Images

The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who took the tennis world by storm as a teenager and is considered by many the greatest of all time, said not preparing for a tournament after the US Open did not feel natural to her.

"I still haven't really thought about (retirement)," Williams said.

"But I did wake up the other day and go on the court and (considered) for the first time in my life that I'm not playing for a competition, and it felt really 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."

-Reuters

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