Serena to call it a day after US Open

US great Serena Williams said on Tuesday she is “evolving away from tennis” and plans to retire from the sport she dominated with 23 Grand Slam titles after the US Open tournament, which begins later in August.

On Monday, Williams played only her second singles match since she returned to action at Wimbledon in June after a yearlong absence from competition, beating Spain’s Nuria Parrizas Diaz to reach the second round of the Canadian Open.

But the 40-year-old said after the match that she could see the light at the end of the tennis tunnel in her career.

“I have never liked the word retirement,” Williams wrote in a Vogue article.

“Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.

“A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family.”

Williams won her last Grand Slam in 2017 and has been chasing an elusive 24th crown that would draw her level with Australian Margaret Court who holds the record.

The American came tantalisingly close to achieving that feat, featuring in four Major finals since giving birth to daughter Olympia in 2017.

“There are people who say I’m not the GOAT [greatest of all time] because I didn’t pass Court’s record, which she achieved before the ‘Open era’ that began in 1968,” said former world No 1 Williams, who sought the advice of her friend Tiger Woods before picking up a racquet again this spring.

“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that record. Obviously I do. But day-to-day, I’m really not thinking about her.”

Williams later said in an Instagram post it is time to move in a “different direction”.

“The countdown has begun. I have to focus on being a mom, my spiritual goals and finally discovering a different, but just exciting Serena.”

She also has a vast business portfolio to maintain.

For nearly a decade she has backed early stage companies, including MasterClass, one of 16 unicorns — companies whose market value exceeds $1bn — to be funded by Serena Ventures.

On the court, Williams announced herself on the grandest stage by winning the 1999 US Open singles title, a tournament she would go on to win five more times.

Over the past two decades, she also claimed seven titles at both Wimbledon and the Australian Open and a further three at the French Open as she revolutionised the women’s game with a lethal mix of powerful serves, ground strokes and athleticism.

Williams has had eight separate spells at the top of the WTA rankings, totalling 319 weeks as world No 1.

“When Serena steps away from tennis, she will leave as the sport’s greatest player,” pioneer Billie Jean King said. “After a career that has inspired a new generation of players and fans, she will forever be known as a champion who won on the court and raised the global profile of the sport off of it.”

Seven-time Grand Slam winner John McEnroe called Williams “an icon”.

“She’s in that level where Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Tom Brady are,” he told USA Today. “She’s like one of the alltime greatest athletes in the history of any sport .”