There’s not much Serena Williams can’t do. Win tennis matches? Raise a family? Run a thriving venture capital firm? Be an international symbol of grace and strength and resilience? Easy-peasy.
But dare her to say the word “quitting” — as in “quitting tennis” — and you’ll see her struggle. Prior to this year’s U.S. Open tennis championship, from which she was knocked out in the third round after two thrilling matches, Williams said she was leaving the sport she’s dominated for decades. But it won’t be easy, she admitted. In fact, she couldn’t even find the right word for it, picking up and then discarding terms such as “stepping away” or “transitioning” that just don’t quite do it for her. “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to,” she wrote in a recent essay in Vogue, “is evolution.”
She’s clear about this much, however: Whatever that perfect word turns out to be, it definitely won’t be quitting.
