Serena Williams Says She’s Not Retired From Tennis

Serena Williams attends New York Fashion Week.Gotham/Getty Images

Serena Williams made headlines this summer when she announced that the 2022 U.S. Open would be her final professional tournament. But she may have had a change of heart.

The SI Swimsuit model opened up about her future at the recent TechCrunch Disrupt conference in San Francisco, where she was promoting her investment company, Serena Ventures. And what she said stunned many. “I’m not retired,” Williams said. “The chances are very high [of playing again]. You come to my house; I’ve got a court.”

While the 41-year-old never used the word retirement during her original announcement (in fact, she said she “never liked the word retirement”), the news still comes as a shock to many fans who thought they might never get to watch the GOAT play again.

This comes after her interview on Good Morning America last month, where she said, “You never know,” in response to a question about returning to competitive tennis. In addition, she noted that NFL quarterback Tom Brady “started a really cool trend” after reversing his retirement decision last February to come back and play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this season.

Of course, Williams didn’t divulge any more information on the topic. But she is sticking with her original promise of spending more time with her family and pursuing business interests. Where professional tennis fits into that is still TBD. But, of course, we would love to see her go after the Grand Slam singles championship record.