Queen of the Court Serena Williams hinted at her retirement after the US Open. A few days later, Williams officially announced her retirement with a Vogue cover story. With 23 Grand Slam titles in her name, she has decided to take a different turn in her life journey and pursue other things outside of tennis.
It’s been difficult for her to accept because tennis has been a part of her life since she can remember. She couldn’t even have the conversation with her parents and struggled to speak about it with her husband. Still, she has announced that she will be reluctantly retiring from tennis after the US Open.
Getting to know Serena Williams
We have seen her on the court and at red carpet events, but hardly in her own space. From the sneak peaks, we have learnt that she enjoys cooking and baking, and, of course, eating.
Image on Twitter. Credit @EBONYMag
Serena Williams follows a vegan diet most of the time. She started her green eating journey after her sister was diagnosed with Sjorgen’s syndrome. When she is training and competing, she eats a plant-based diet. Her philosophy is “Eat to live. Don’t live to eat. ” She focuses on fueling her body and being mindful of what she consumes.
A staple in her clean-eating diet is walnut meat tacos. She got the recipe from plant-based chef Lauren Von der Pool, who was the Williams sisters’ personal chef for a few years.
Here’s the recipe:
Grand Slammin Tacos
Ingredients:
Pecan vegan meat:
Coconut oil
liquid smoke
Umi plum vinegar
Coconut Aminos
Organic Blue Agave
Cashew sour cream:
Nutritional yeast
Red onion
Apple Cider Vinegar
Water
Plum vinegar
Coconut aminos
Special Tip:
For a plant-based twist, get some Green leaf leaves instead of tortilla shells from the Publix weekly ad, and also garnish with edible flowers. Publix comes highly recommended because of its fresh vegetables and herbs.
Instructions:
- To create the “ground meat,” add soaked and dehydrated nuts to a food processor and pulse several times.
- Stir in the Mexican spice (cumin, paprika, oregano, thyme, cayenne, onion, garlic, and chilli powder.
- Combine with a teaspoon of coconut oil, some liquid smoke, plum vinegar, coconut aminos, and organic blue agave.
- Add diced red onion and tomatoes.
- Combine the sour cream ingredients in a food processor.
- Place your pecan into a leaf of romaine lettuce or taco shell. Drizzle with sour cream, and voila!
Photo by Chad Montano on Unsplash
Serena Ventures
In her retirement speech, Williams mentioned that she started a venture capital business a few years ago. It arose from a conference where Caryn Seidman-Becker and Jamie Dimond discussed the absence of Venture Capital funding for women. She then decided she wanted to “start writing the big checks” and funding women who needed it. She has invested in companies like MasterClass, Tonal, Esusu and Impossible Foods, among others. Serena Ventures has raised a total of $111 million this year from different sponsors, and Williams plans to grow the business even more.
She is both a queen on the court and the red carpet. Over the years, she has served us with looks and pushed boundaries with her active wear styles on the court. Not surprisingly, she started her own fashion line a few years ago and launched the Xena fashion collection last year, and we expect to see more from S by Serena for years to come.
Serena Williams’ Net worth
Serena Williams’ current net worth is $260 million, thanks to her success in sport and endorsements and investments.
Serena Williams’ Family
She might be venturing into business, but one of her main focuses will be growing her family. Serena Williams’ husband Alexis Ohanian proposed to her at the Cavalieri Hotel (where they first met), and their baby girl Alexis Olympia was born nine months later in September 2017.
With Vogue, Serena speaks about how she wasn’t sure about having children and thought that she would have people take care of her children 24/7, but she has seen that she is a hands-on mother and spends as much time as she can with her daughter. It’s no surprise that in 5 years, Olympia has only spent one 24-hour period away from her mother. Williams doesn’t want to spend a day apart from her daughter until she is 18.
When she was recovering from a hamstring injury, Williams recalls picking Olympia up from school and how happy she would be to see Serena waiting for her. Although Williams never wanted to choose between playing tennis and having a family, she says, “The fact is that absolutely nothing is a sacrifice for me when it comes to her.” It all just makes sense. I want to teach Olympia how to tie her shoes, how to read, where babies come from, and about God. Just like my mom taught me. ”
Serena Williams’ legacy
In her farewell speech, Serena Williams said, “I’d like to think that because of the opportunities provided to me, female athletes feel that they can be themselves on the court.” They are capable of aggressive play and fist-pumping. They can be both powerful and attractive. They are free to act, speak, and dress however they please, and they can be proud of it all. I’d like to think that my struggles as a professional tennis player helped make life easier for future generations.
Final Thoughts
As she retires, the one thing Serena has said is that eventually she wants to be seen as someone who symbolizes something bigger than tennis. We hope to still see more of her on TV, perhaps in the grand fashion shows with her own collections.
