Williams announced she planned to move away from the sport in August.
Serena Williams had a well-deserved weekend of relaxation. Two days after losing to Ajla Tomljanović in the third round of the U.S. Open -- which likely marked the end of her legendary tennis career -- the 40-year-old athlete shared an adorable glimpse into how she spent the past 48 hours.
"How was your weekend?" Williams captioned a picture of herself sleeping in bed underneath a Moana blanket. "This was mine …."
Fans of the tennis icon flooded her post with well wishes, commenting that she is worthy of all the rest and relaxation, with veteran journalist Katie Couric even writing, "Love it! You deserve it!!!! ❤️"
Williams' husband, Alexis Ohanian, also gave a look at how their weekend was spent on his Instagram Stories, which included baking with their 5-year-old daughter, Olympia. Williams announced news of her intent to step away from the sport and focus on expanding her family in an emotional essay for Vogue, which was published in August.
"I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me," she wrote. "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."
"In the last year, Alexis and I have been trying to have another child, and we recently got some information from my doctor that put my mind at ease and made me feel that whenever we’re ready, we can add to our family," she continued. "I definitely don’t want to be pregnant again as an athlete. I need to be two feet into tennis or two feet out."
Williams went on to share that making the decision to hang up her racket was extremely hard for her. "There is no happiness in this topic for me. I know it’s not the usual thing to say, but I feel a great deal of pain," she explained. "It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads. I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it’s not. I’m torn: I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next. I don’t know how I’m going to be able to look at this magazine when it comes out, knowing that this is it, the end of a story that started in Compton, California, with a little Black girl who just wanted to play tennis."
Weeks later, Williams went out and won the first two rounds of the US Open at Arthur Ashe Stadium with thousands of fans -- including celebrities like Tiger Woods, Spike Lee, Anna Wintour, Zendaya, and many more -- cheering her on. Most importantly, Ohanian and Olympia were front-and-center to support her.
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