Serena Williams announces retirement date

The end of an iconic era in the sports world is near, as tennis legend Serena Williams announced yesterday that she’ll be stepping away from tennis.

In her first-person essay for Vogue, Williams noted that she doesn’t like the word retirement and is instead opting to use “evolution” to describe her next move.

“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me,” Williams said.  “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

Williams, considered to be one of the greatest athletes of all time, cited her desire to continue growing her family as her primary reason for moving on.

She will retire after the U.S. Open, which will run from late August into September.