Opinion – Marina Izidro: Thank you for your sincerity, Serena

Every time she enters the court, it could be her last. Ever since Serena Williams wrote in a Vogue magazine article that she is “evolving away from tennis” (she doesn’t like the word “retirement”), she’s been receiving tributes. This week, she received a standing ovation for losing in the second round of the WTA Toronto. It’s the beginning of a countdown that seems to culminate with a farewell to the US Open at the end of the month. It was there where she won her first Grand Slam, aged 17.

In the text, the American – mother of Olympia, 4 years old – explains that she and her husband want to have another child and “I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and starting a family”; that if I were a man “I wouldn’t write this because I would be playing and winning while my wife did the physical work of raising the family”; and who would try to be like Tom Brady, the 45-year-old NFL player (and husband of Gisele Bündchen) still in business. But that, on the verge of turning 41, it is necessary to give in.

The outburst is not a complaint or a cry, but just the open truth. Roger Federer won five Grand Slams after becoming a father. Novak Djokovic was number 1 in the world when his son was born. Rafael Nadal announced that his wife was pregnant and there were comments that this could hasten his retirement. No, the Spaniard won’t stop just for that, simply because he doesn’t have to.

Serena won the Australian Open while pregnant and says she went from “a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism to a Grand Slam final.” She played while breastfeeding and with postpartum depression. But she is questioned for not having equaled Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slams. She won 23, more than Federer, Djokovic or Nadal, apart from the four Olympic golds. And she’s had to listen to a lot of nonsense throughout her career.

But she didn’t listen quietly. In 2016, Djokovic advocated higher prize money in men’s because there would be “more spectators at their matches.” Serena countered. She said that if the Serb had a daughter, he should then explain to her that his brother deserved more just for being a man. In the 2018 US Open final, she called the chair judge a liar and a thief. Upon receiving a punishment, she accused him of sexism, stating that he would not do that to a man. Nick Kyrgios say so.

The tennis player who lifts trophies with the same determination with which she defends gender equality says she doesn’t think too much about her legacy, but wants to believe she’s helped athletes to be themselves, dress and say what they want. It went further: she will dedicate more time to her venture capital firm, Serena Ventures, with 80% of her current portfolio focused on giving opportunities to women and people of color. And with her interest in fashion, she even made tennis more cool and popular.

Winning the US Open would be a dream come true, but she knows it will be difficult, as she returned to the court in June after a year out due to injury. And even for one of the greatest athletes of all time, nothing is stronger than real life. No matter how successful or how much money can help in raising a child, bearing a child and being there after he is born can mean giving up professional dreams. Serena doesn’t hide how much retirement will make her suffer and, to be honest, she does a huge service to so many women who suffer from the anguish of having to prioritize family or career. History to be shared and understood, even by those who have never picked up a racket.