Tennis Superstars Serena Williams and Roger Federer Announce their Retirement

Every few decades, the Tennis world evolves. The saying ‘out with the old in with the new’ strongly applies to this sport. The most recent shift is Serena Williams and Roger Federer, two sports legends, who each announced their retirement this past September.“I’ve been reluctant to admit that I have to move on from playing tennis. It’s like a taboo topic. It comes up, and I start to cry.” Williams announced her retirement by feature in the September issue of American Vogue.

Already having competed two decades longer than the median retirement age for pro tennis players (27), Williams threw in the towel after winning 73 career singles titles, 23 career doubles titles, and has made over 94 million dollars in winnings. Williams started competing at the age of 14, and on the date of her retirement, she is 41. She has competed for twenty-seven years. In that time, she has won 23 Grand Slam titles, sat at number one in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA)  world ranking for 319 weeks, and has been coined the GOAT (Greatest of all Time) in women’s Tennis – according to her public WTA stats.

Williams’s style is inspirational to many young women and men in the sport. According to  J.E. Luebbering, writer for Britanicca.com, Williams is known for her powerful style and play. 

“I’m inspired by Her mental strength and her persistence, as well as how she wins from her losses,”  Varsity doubles player Ceci Ruchti, 11 said. 

Announcing her next steps in the Vogue feature article, Williams hopes to focus on her venture capital firm: Serena Ventures. Williams plans to invest in companies owned and operated by women of color through her company. She also wants to focus on her daughter Olympia and hopes to grow her family in the near future.

 “Her retirement is like a changing of the guards, other women are coming to the forefront, I wonder if these newer women would’ve beaten her at the age of twenty, Tennis has evolved a lot since she started,” stated David Zimmerman, tennis pro at South shore racquet club.

In other Tennis News, male tennis star Roger Federer announced his retirement a week after Serena Williams. After taking many unintentional breaks, Federer had a tough time recovering from injuries and surgeries. 

“I am 41 years old; I have played more than 1,500 matches over 24 years, Tennis has treated me more generously than I ever would have dreamed, and now I must recognize when it is time to end my competitive career,” Federer said in an audio clip viewed more than 14 million times on his social media.

Originally known as the young Swiss boy trying to make it big in Tennis, Federer’s decision to retire will change the Tennis Community.  On September twenty-third in London, Federer will make his last appearance at the Laver cup, closing the chapter for his fans and himself. 

“I mean in terms of his tennis ability, if there was anybody that was right down the middle of tennis form, it would be Federer,” David Zimmermann added.

Although this changing of the guards can be difficult for fans to process, it marks the beginning of a new era for Tennis. One where the serves will somehow be faster, the fans will be younger, and a new technique will arise from the ashes of the great.