She gave up the crown for cuddles—and now she knows it was worth every second. 🎾👶 Serena Williams just made a stunning confession about life after tennis, and it all comes down to one tiny reason: her daughter Adira. Why did the GOAT walk away at the peak of her power?

Serena Williams’ stellar tennis career came to a tearful end at the 2022 US Open. At the time, the former No. 1 was already a mother, having given birth to daughter Olympia back in 2017. In 2023, she became a mother once again as her second child with husband Alexis Ohanian, daughter Adira, was born. Recently, the 23-time Major champion reflected on transitioning from being a professional tennis player to a loving and devoted mother.

Speaking to Time in a recently-published interview, Williams confessed to missing tennis. According to the 43-year-old, she wouldn’t be missing the sport if she weren’t healthy.

“I miss it a lot, with all my heart. I miss it because I’m healthy. If I couldn’t walk, or if I was so out of it, I wouldn’t miss it as much,” Williams said.

However, Serena Williams suggested that she is healthy nowadays because she didn’t extend her career beyond her 2022 US Open campaign.

“I think I’m healthy because I didn’t overplay,” she added.

The four-time Olympic gold medalist went on to talk about her feelings for her children with husband Alexis Ohanian, one of the co-founders of Reddit. She dismissed the possibility of a return to tennis, citing her desire to have more children as the reason for retiring from the sport in the first place.

“I just can’t peel myself away from these children. Another reason I had to transition was because I wanted to have more kids. And I look at Adira and I’m like, ‘Was it worth it?’ I literally thought about it the other day. I was like, ‘Yeah, it was definitely worth it.’,” Williams concluded.

The tennis legend disclosed her first pregnancy, with daughter Olympia, in April 2017. The revelation led to a staggering realization in the tennis fraternity and beyond- that a 35-year-old Serena Williams clinched the 2017 Australian Open title while pregnant.