Serena Williams is staying ready.
The tennis superstar, 41, may have subtly teased a return to the court in a recent Instagram post.
“Just trying to stay fit here,” Williams captioned a post showing her fully outfitted on the court with her tennis racket in hand.
Williams had said she would be “evolving away from tennis” after the US Open in September in a first-person essay for Vogue, but has since said she is “not retired,” and that her chances of a return are “very high.”
However, during a sit-down interview with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, King asked whether the door was still open, Williams gave a definitive “no.”
“I’ve literally given my whole life to tennis, and it’s time for me to give my life to something else,” she said.
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While her dad is pushing her to get back on the court — “My dad is like, ‘Serena, you should play like, two more Grand Slams,’ and I’m like, ‘Dad, stop’ ” — it doesn’t seem like that’s likely to happen anytime soon.
“I feel relief when I look at the court,” she said as she and King sat alongside the court on the property of her and husband Alexis Ohanian’s farm in south Florida. “I’m so happy I don’t have to train for two hours a day.”
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Monday’s Instagram post wasn’t the first time the superstar athlete hinted at returning to the court on her social media.
Just days before she told fans she was “trying to stay fit,” she took her followers along while she was “out hitting” in the morning.
Though she has a lot more time on her hands now, Williams said she finds it quite difficult to enjoy the downtime after so many years of a rigid schedule. “It’s so hard for me to relax,” she told King with a laugh. “I don’t know how to relax. I have to schedule it in my schedule.”
Williams appeared on the PEOPLE Every Day podcast in December and told host Janine Rubenstein that Olympia is “very aware” that her mom is no longer committed to an intense training schedule and is trying to make the most of her newfound free time.
“She wants to make sure that I’m aware that I should have time on my hands and I need to spend more time with her,” the 23-time Grand Slam champion said, laughing.
