IMAGINE the French Open without clay courts. Or Wimbledon without strawberries and cream. About as unimaginable as a tennis court without Serena and Venus Williams - the two powerhouses who've dominated women's tennis for more than 20 years.
But with both champions now in their forties, the day when they hang up their rackets isn't too far off. And in a candid interview with Harper's Bazaar magazine the sisters admit they find the idea of retirement rather liberating after devoting their lives to tennis from the age of four.
"From such a young age, all we've done is work" Venus (41) says. “So I think for Serena and I to explore that freedom is surreal. We've never been free.”
Serena, who recently turned 40, shared her future plans. “I definitely want to have more kids," the tennis icon, who has a daughter, Olympia (4), with her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian (38), told US celebrity news show Entertainment Tonight. “And I know the clock is ticking."
But tennis great John McEnroe believes that before bowing out, Serena will want to win one last grand slam title - which will take her tally to 24, allowing her to equal Australian tennis legend Margaret Court's record.
“Serena looks as though she's still training and trying to get herself ready and absolutely wants to try and break the record” he says.
She hasn't played a match since crashing out of the first round of Wimbledon last year with a hamstring injury, so the odds are stacked against her – but if anyone can do it, it's Serena.
Remember how she romped to her seventh Australian Open title in 2017 without losing a set in the final against her sister even though she was pregnant at the time?
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Denne historien er fra 10 March 2022-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
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