Serena Williams is calling it a career after the 2022 U.S. Open — a tournament she’s won six times on her way to 23 Grand Slam titles, which is a record in the Open Era and second-most all-time behind Margaret Court’s 24. The U.S. Open begins August 29.
She’s a living legend who unquestionably changed the game of tennis for the better. But now, she said she’s ready to focus on other things. In an essay for Vogue magazine (as told to Rob Haskell) published Tuesday, Williams explained she’s shifting away from tennis, but she doesn’t care for the word retirement. She’d prefer evolution.
“I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me,” Williams told Vogue. But make no mistake, this isn’t as easy of a decision as it is for some professional athletes when they’re ready to hang it all up.
“It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine,” she added.
So while the tennis world savors Serena’s final matches before she closes this chapter of her life, here’s a look back at all 23 of her singles Grand Slam titles.