Maria Sharapova, Venus Williams among stars who honor science achievement at Breakthrough Prize Ceremony

Serena Williams and Roger Federer both announced their goodbyes to the game on social media earlier this year, so when Venus Williams wrote on Instagram late Monday night that “it’s all been worth it,” the logical next thought was that we’re about to say goodbye to another all-time tennis great.

That hasn’t been confirmed—and who knows if Serena is even done playing yet—but the 42-year-old, seven-time Grand Slam champion certainly made it sound as if the end is near in a nostalgic post that looked back at her WTA debut, way back in 1994.

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A post shared by Venus Williams (@venuswilliams)

Venus, whose ranking of No. 1011 reflects a season of sparse competitive play—she went 0-4 in 2022, along with a doubles loss at the US Open with Serena—has not won a tournament since 2016. Despite that, her 2017 season was one of her most memorable, reaching the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals, plus a semifinal finish at Flushing Meadows. She finished that year in the Top 10 but has steadily fallen since.

This isn’t the first time Venus has spoken about her future; in a recent YouTube video, she offered insight on her next steps:

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But today’s IG post, lauded by commenters including Coco Gauff (“queen”), Reilly Opelka (“My idol!”) and Desirae Krawczyk (“Bo$$”), feels different that any prior acknowledgments of the R-word.

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Asked Coco Gauff if she’s talked to Venus Williams—she says they always interact online and in person, but it’s not her place to ask her about her future.

Adds that she has “no regrets.” #WTAFinals pic.twitter.com/qgo1juQslo
— Ed McGrogan (@EdMcGrogan) November 2, 2022

Asked about Venus following her opening match at the WTA Finals, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek—who wasn't even born when Williams won her first two Grand Slam titles, in 2000 at Wimbledon and the US Open—said, "It's weird, but the main thing that comes to my mind when I think about Venus is when I watched the Williams sisters, and it wasn't obvious that Serena was going to [end up with] more titles." (Before this year, it seemed obvious that Venus' 35-match win streak was going to hold up in the tennis record books. That is, until Swiatek came along.)

We’ll continue to update this story with any additional news, including reaction from players at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth.

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