By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, February 2, 2023

Die-hard competitor Serena Williams still relishes the rush of problem-solving under pressure.

More: Djokovic On Course to Play US Open

These days, the 23-time Grand Slam champion defines winning based on her successful business investments rather than match results.

In one of her most definitive statements on her tennis future, Serena told Gayle King "I would say no" when asked if the door was slightly open for a potential comeback.



Former world No. 1 Williams, who made an emotional farewell to tennis at the US Open last September, conducted a wide-ranging her interview with her friend, Gayle King for CBS This Morning.

When pressed on a possible comeback, Williams strongly suggests her playing days are done.

“I’ve literally given my whole life to tennis and it’s time for me to give my life to something else," Serena says in the video below. "Winning to me is just to pick out the best deals to invest in, you know.

"We need people like me. We need women writing the checks, because I really am a big believer in like attracts like."

Serena also shares father Richard Williams has encouraged her to play a couple of more Grand Slams, prompting her to say "I'm like dad stop."



The interview also features a clip of a very young and frustrated Serena banging her racquet off the in frustration prompting father Richard Williams to deliver a motivational talk on life perspective and family value.

Both Venus Williams and Serena Williams were in the audience at the 2022 Academy Awards when Will Smith, who starred as Richard Williams in King Richard, slapped comedian Chris Rock after the presenter made a GI Jane joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Smith's slap, which preceded him winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, overshadowed the positive response King Richard generated.

Asked by Gayle King her reaction to Smith's slap, Serena was sympathetic saying "it's not the end of the world."

Williams, who was famously booted from the 2009 US Open semifinals for verbally abusing a lineswoman, said she's made mistakes of her own under extreme pressure in the past and expressed hope people will show more kindness and compassion to each other going forward.

"I thought it was such an incredible film, and I feel that there was an incredible film after that with Questlove that was overshadowed," Serena says at about the 7:33 mark of the video above. "'But I also feel that I have been in a position where I've been under a lot of pressure and I've made a tremendous amount of mistakes.

'I'm the person that's like, 'I've been there, I've made a mistake. It's not the end of the world.' We're all imperfect and we're all human and let's just be kind to each other...

"So, that's often forgotten a lot."



This is the second extensive interview Serena has conducted with Gayle King following an in-depth and compelling Q&A the pair did for TED Talks detailing her life, loves, wins and losses. 

Photo credit: Getty