Williams announced she's "evolving distant from tennis" successful an August portion for Vogue and played her last lucifer weeks aboriginal astatine the U.S. Open, wherever she made it to the 3rd round. 

In the Vogue article, the jock expressed her tendency to proceed focusing connected her task superior firm, Serena Ventures, and growing her family. However, she admitted successful the portion that she felt "torn" astir stepping distant from the sport, noting, "I don't privation it to beryllium over, but astatine the aforesaid clip I'm acceptable for what's next." 

This feeling, she explained to E! News, stems from knowing she has the endowment to inactive compete. 

"I for definite consciousness much astatine bid now," she said astir the decision. "It's interesting. I deliberation I consciousness torn due to the fact that I'm inactive capable to play astatine a very, very, precise precocious level. With that being said, I ever wanted to permission the crippled playing astatine a precise precocious level. But it's hard due to the fact that it's like, 'Oh my gosh, I could inactive play, and I could inactive bash each that stuff.'....But I'm inch by inch leaning away, inch by inch embracing it."

"Inch by Inch" is the sanction of the Super Bowl commercialized Williams stars successful for Rémy Martin, giving an inspiring code à la Any Given Sunday to thrust location the liquor brand's connection of "teaming up for excellence" and pushing towards greatness little by little.

It's a connection that resonates with the tennis star erstwhile reflecting connected some her sports vocation and this adjacent signifier of her life, which she says includes having fun, uncovering equilibrium and focusing connected family.

"When I deliberation of 'inch by inch,' conscionable this full caller beingness of excavation is decidedly going inch by inch, right?" she shared. "'Cause I've been playing tennis for literally, literally my full life. My full being and knowing is conscionable what I've done. So now, I'm inch by inch uncovering my way. Obviously, I emotion different businesses that I've done. But conscionable inch by inch leaning into that and leaning into my household and leaning into conscionable having fun. I think it's truthful important to bash each those and inactive make that balance."

However, Williams admitted she inactive plays tennis for herself astatine home. "I was playing earlier erstwhile I archetypal retired 'cause it was hard to bash it acold turkey," she said. "But lately, I haven't played truthful much. And I miss it. I'm like, 'Oh my goodness. I gotta get retired there.' But it's hard for maine to get retired there."

Indeed, volleying back and distant betwixt these 2 feelings isn't easy.

"Actually, I did play the different day, and it's conscionable like, 'There's nary mode I shouldn't beryllium playing nonrecreational tennis. Like, there's virtually nary excuse,'" she explained. "But I mean, I conjecture determination is an excuse, right? It's hard due to the fact that erstwhile I'm playing I'm like, 'Oh my gosh, I'm beauteous bully astatine this. I tin proceed to bash this,' which not a batch of radical tin say."

But adjacent if Williams has to spell "inch by inch," she's acceptable to ace what comes next. As she enactment it, "I besides wanted to locomotion distant erstwhile I'm steadfast and person a prime of life."