Serena Williams was initially torn on retirement from professional tennis before realisation: "There's no way I shouldn't be playing professional tennis"

Serena Williams revealed that after her retirement at the 2022 US Open, there were moments when she felt "torn" because she realized that even at the age of 42, she can still play at a high level. The American reached the third round at Flushing Meadows and was defeated in a thrilling match against Alja Tomljanovic 5-7, 7-6, 1-6.

The 23-times Grand Slam champion showcased great form in her last professional tournament. Not only did she make it to the top 32 in the tournament, but she also eliminated the second seed Anett Kontaveit with a score of 7-6, 2-6, 6-2.

"I have never liked the word retirement," she said in a statement at the time. "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,” the former world No. 1 said. "I, for sure, feel more at peace now. It's interesting. I think I feel torn because I'm still able to play at a very, very, very high level," she added.

The American revealed that even though she hasn't played much since retirement, when she does play, she realizes that she still has a competitive edge: "With that being said, I always wanted to leave the game playing at a very high level," Williams went on to add. "I also wanted to walk away when I'm healthy and have a quality of life. But I'm inch by inch leaning away, inch by inch embracing it. I was playing earlier when I first retired because it was hard to do it cold turkey.

"But lately, I haven't played so much. And I miss it. I'm like, 'Oh my goodness. I gotta get out there'. But it's hard for me to get out there. I did play the other day, and it's just like, 'There's no way I shouldn't be playing professional tennis'. Like, there's literally no excuse."

"But I mean, I guess there is an excuse, right? It's hard because when I'm playing I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm pretty good at this. I can continue to do this,' which not a lot of people can say," Serena Williams concluded.