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Serena Williams is prepared for all outcomes. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, the icon and professional tennis player discussed the possibility of retirement and why her father played an important role in her mindset to always have a plan for the future.
“I am prepared for that day, I’ve been prepared for that day for over a decade,” said Williams. “So, I’ve always -- if you’ve seen King Richard you know that my dad always said you got to prepare, so I’ve been prepared for that. You know, at the end of the day, I think it’s really important to always have a plan and that’s kind of what I did. I always had a plan.” King Richard is the film that tells the life of Richard Williams, Serena and Venus’ father, who had a decades-long plan to ensure his daughters played tennis professionally and successfully. The film earned five Academy Award nominations this year.
Williams also discussed the challenges in balancing her professional life with her personal life, and her desire to grow her family. “I definitely want to have more kids, it’s just like, balance is key, you know, and just trying to find that balance,“ she said. “I don’t know, it’s always like, OK, are we ready? And I know the clock is ticking so I’m just like OK, I need to figure out when that’s going to be, but hopefully soon when I will feel no pressure.”
Still, despite her plans to grow her family and to have more time to dedicate to them, she remains committed to her tennis career with no plans of immediate retirement.
Serena Williams married Alexis Ohanian in 2017, a few months after the birth of only daughter, Alexis Olympia. In the past, Ohanian has praised Williams’ ability to compartmentalize, keeping her personal and professional lives separate and not allowing on to interfere with the other. “One thing that I’m still working on is balancing that with time off, with time away, with time to reset and recharge,” he said in an appearance on CBS This Morning. Ohanian is an entrepreneur and investor, mostly known for being the co-founder of the social media website Reddit. “Something she’s really good at is shutting it off and focusing on family time or personal time,” he said.