Former first lady Michelle Obama congratulated Serena Williams on her great tennis career and wished her well in the next chapter of her life. Williams, 40, announced her retirement in an article published for Vogue. After more than two decades active, Williams will say goodbye to professional tennis at the US Open.
“Serena, thank you for all you have done to break down barriers and be a positive light in this world,” Obama wrote on Instagram. “We have all seen you wear the crown of greatness with the kind of humility, grace and integrity that we can all aspire to.
It has meant so much to follow your journey as an athlete, as a mother, as a business leader and more. I wish you the best as you evolve in this next chapter. And know that I will always be cheering you on.” In her retirement message, Williams didn’t want to use the word “retirement.”
Instead, Williams described what’s to come as “evolving away from tennis.” word, meaning something very specific and important to a community of people. Perhaps the best word to describe what I am doing is evolution.
I am here to tell you that I am evolving away from tennis, towards other things that are important to me. A few years ago I quietly founded Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after, I started a family. I want to grow that family,” Williams wrote for Vogue.
Williams kicked off her summer on hard courts this week in Toronto. After Toronto, Williams returns to the United States to play in Cincinnati and the US Open.
Serena Williams is the GOAT
Academy Award winning producer Van Lathan and noted media personality Rachel Lindsay recently spoke about Serena Williams.
“She was never supposed to be dominating her sport. She wasn’t. Tiger, you could almost make that argument for as well,” Rachel Lindsay said. “But for Michael Jordan, black men being great at basketball. Tom Brady, a white man being a great quarterback.
I’m just saying – you know what I’m saying. I’m not discrediting what they have done, what they have accomplished but Serena Williams was never supposed to dominate the sport of tennis. Everything was against her.
(If) she did one wrong thing, and she was hyper-criticized for anything she did – if she had an attitude, if she wore her hair in a certain way, if she wore her outfit in a certain way, her body structure, everything that she did was criticized,” Lindsay said.
