Tennis icon Serena Williams has suggested she could imitate NFL legend Tom Brady as she teased a possible return to action from retirement.
Last month, Williams announced she was ‘evolving away’ from tennis and it was widely expected the 23-time Grand Slam champion would retire following the US Open. The 40-year-old appeared to bring an emotional end to her illustrious career when she fell to Australian Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5 6-7 (4-7) 6-1 in the third round in New York.
However, Williams has now sensationally suggested she could copy Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brady in retiring before committing to a U-turn on the decision. Back in February, Brady - a seven-time Super Bowl champion - retired from the NFL after 22 years before going back on his decision 48 days later.
Williams discussed the notion of a possible return to tennis on Good Morning America , saying: “I mean, you never know. I've just been saying that I think Tom Brady started a really cool trend.”
She also dropped a hint during an appearance on the The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon . When asked whether she might copy the NFL icon, Williams declared: “Tom Brady started an amazing trend. That's what I want to say.”
Williams did suggest she does not intend for retirement to be a relaxing period but more a redistribution of her energy onto different projects. She added: “I think retirement is something that is super earned and that people work really hard for.
“I just feel like that I'm at an age where I definitely have a lot more to give and there's a lot more I want to do, so I'm not going to be relaxing. There's so much more for me. I feel it's more of an evolution of Serena.
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“There's so many things that I've been wanting to do for so many years and I have had such a passion for tennis for so long that I've never done it. But now it's time for me to start to enjoy those things.”
The comments come after Williams left the door to retirement slightly open in her on-court interview. On Good Morning America on Wednesday, Williams also revealed sister Venus was trying to persuade her to postpone retirement.
Brady became the biggest storyline of the offseason when the ‘GOAT’ retired and un-retired just six weeks later in order to return for a 23rd season in the NFL. He led the Buccaneers to an opening week win, besting the Cowboys 19-3 in Dallas.
However, his future in the NFL has continued to dominate headlines despite the new season getting underway. During his ‘Let’s Go!’ podcast with co-host Jim Gray on Tuesday, Brady suggested the clash against the Cowboys made him question his future once more.
“You look at your arm and you got bruises, you got cuts and you go, 'OK, how much longer do I want to make this commitment?’” Brady told Gray. “And I obviously made the commitment for this year and everything's going to be like always — continue to evaluate all these different aspects of playing.
“I think for me, I'm just going to take it day by day and I will evaluate it as it comes. When you're 45, your body changes a lot. So what am I dealing with now? I woke up today going, 'Holy s***, there was a few hits’.
“One of these days [rumours] are going to be right… It's really fun for me. I still enjoy [it]. I feel it out there, I feel the joy, I feel the happiness, I feel the camaraderie.”
Brady will be a free agent after the conclusion of the 2022 season, and he appears set to finally retire. It will give him free time to spend with his family, although he has his post-NFL plans already in place after he inked a 10-year contract worth $375 million to become the lead analyst for FOX Sports.
