Serena Williams is acing her post-tennis chapter.
The 23-time grand slam singles champion opened up about rediscovering her identity after retiring from tennis after 27 years as a pro and how she’s balanced this new act as a mother to her and husband Alexis Ohanian’s daughters Olympia, 8, and Adira, 2.
“I want to bring in more clarity, confidence that I made the right decisions and that you don’t always have to live only for your children,” Serena told PORTER in an interview published Dec. 1. “I’m discovering me again.”
Part of that journey has involved her relationship to her body, which has been subject to commentary from the public since she was a teenager.
“It does affect you mentally,” the 44-year-old mused. “Absolutely. You think you’re large for your whole life and you look [back] and you’re like, ‘I was fit.’ Yeah, I had big muscles. I didn’t look like these other girls, but not everyone looks the same.”
“It was hard because when I was playing in the beginning—the first 15 years—my body was different,” Serena went on. “I had big boobs; I had a big butt. Every athlete was like super-flat, super-thin and beautiful, but in a different way.”
