Serena Williams Hints Tom Brady Inspires Her Possible Return To Tennis

Serena Williams shocked the world in August 2022 when she announced that she would retire from tennis partly to focus on being a mom and expanding her family. According to her September Vogue cover story, Williams' decision to leave the sport she dominated for decades wasn't easy. "Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family," wrote Williams, who currently has one daughter. "I don't think it's fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn't be writing this because I'd be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family." The tennis star's last game at the U.S. Open drew widespread fanfare as tennis fans (and celebs) gathered to see Williams off on her next journey. 

Though Williams lost her match to Ajla Tomljanović (per NPR), which became the most-watched tennis match in ESPN's history (per CNN), social media celebrated Williams' long and fruitful career. NBA legend Lebron James retweeted a video of himself recounting Williams' legacy, captioning it, "#SerenaWilliams THANK YOU!! You're so d*** DOPE!!" Meanwhile, Michelle Obama also took to Twitter to dote on the tennis star, congratulating her on becoming "one of the greatest athletes of all time," alongside a montage of Williams' career highlights. All in all, Williams' last match was a bittersweet moment for fans. However, the tennis legend is already considering returning to the game — and thanks to Tom Brady!

Well, that didn't last long. During a recent appearance on "Good Morning America," Serena Williams shared that she may one day return to tennis after all. When "GMA" hosts brought up the fact that her tennis-star sister Venus Williams "threw it out there" that she may try to "drag" Serena back into the tennis world, she seemed open to the possibility. "I mean, you never know. I've just been saying that I think Tom Brady started a really cool trend," Serena said. Of course, Williams is referring to NFL legend Tom Brady's short-lived retirement from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which lasted roughly 40 days (per The Spun). Brady announced he was retiring after 22 seasons via an Instagram post, he then "un-retired" a few weeks later, sparking much fanfare and, of course, memes (via CNet).

Now that Serena has shared that she's open to returning to the game one day, fans also have an idea of the official capacity. When a "GMA" host asked if she'd still like to be involved in the tennis world, Serena replied, "I do. This has given me so much. I feel like there's no way I don't want to be involved in this in some way in the future. I do know that I love the sport so much ... I love the game. I love everything about it." She added that "[Tennis]' has been "such a light in my life that I definitely want to keep involved someway in there."