Serena Williams insists she's 'not retired' and could return to tennis

Serena Williams is a force to be reckoned with on the court, as she holds the title of 23-time Grand Slam champion. 

Back in August, the 41-year-old tennis ace said she was “evolving away from tennis”, which sparked speculation she had retired from the sport. 

At the US Open last month, Serena was flooded with tributes and waved goodbye to spectators after she lost the first round, which fuelled rumours she was stepping back. 

But the sporting icon has insisted her tennis career is not over, and the likelihood she will return to play tennis is “very high”. 

Speaking at a conference in San Francisco, which has been reported on Sky News, Serena said: "I am not retired.”

Serena is yet to have any future tournaments lined up for her, which is an odd experience for the superstar. 

She continued: "I still haven't really thought about [retirement].

"But I did wake up the other day and go on the court and for the first time in my life that I'm not playing for a competition, and it felt really weird.

"It was like the first day of the rest of my life and I'm enjoying it, but I'm still trying to find that balance."

Serena boasts an impressive, and long list, of accolades throughout her almost 30 year career as she has a Golden Slam in singles and doubles, as well as the Olympic gold for singles match. 

However, Serena, who gave birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr in 2017, is still navigating her way through motherhood to find the perfect balance between her career and being a parent. 

In her Vogue essay, Serena said her family was a factor in her decision to "evolve away from tennis” and focus on “other things that are important to me".

Her piece read: “Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family. 

“But I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to give.

“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me. I’ve been thinking of this as a transition, but I want to be sensitive about how I use that word, which means something very specific and important to a community of people. 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.

“But I’ve been reluctant to admit to myself or anyone else that I have to move on from playing tennis.”