In light of Danielle Collins' early retirement announcement, 3 players who retired from tennis to focus on their families ft. Serena Williams

Danielle Collins announced her decision to retire from tennis during this season's Australian Open. The American has since produced some impressive performances, winning the Miami Open and the Credit One Open in Charleston.

Collins' decision to retire came from her desire to invest more in her personal life, something about which she spoke at length in her BBC column wherein she claimed that her biggest goal outside of tennis was to have a family and with the physical clock ticking, she wished to make the call sooner.

From former World No.1 Serena Williams to Ashleigh Barty, there have been quite a few tennis players who bid adieu to the sport despite being at the peak of their careers to focus more on their family.

In continuation to the same, let's take a look at a few tennis players who took the aforementioned call.

---

#3 Ashleigh Barty

In March 2022, Ashleigh Barty announced her plans to retire while she was ranked World No.1 and had won the Australian Open just two months prior. Therefore, her decision sent shockwaves as the then 25-year-old tennis star was at the peak of her career.

Ashleigh Barty after winning the Australian Open in 2022

Talking about the reason underlying her retirement, Barty said (via New York Times):

"I achieved my dreams. Everyone has different dreams and different ways of defining success."

"But for me, I knew that I gave everything I could, and I was fortunate to live out my ultimate childhood dream, and now it was time for me to explore what else was out there and not be, I suppose, greedy in a sense of keep playing tennis because that’s what I was expected to do, and then you blink and maybe the other things have passed you by," she added.

Therefore, shifting her focus to her family life, the three-time Grand Slam champion married her boyfriend and Australian golfer Garry Kissick and the couple had a son named Hayden in July 2023.

---

#2 Kim Clijsters

Belgian former tennis player Kim Clijsters secured a World No.1 ranking in both singles and doubles and with four Major singles titles and two in doubles, Clijsters was the first woman from her country to achieve the said feat. However, she sought retirement multiple times in her career before saying a final goodbye to the same in 2022.

Her first retirement goes back to 2007, which was meant for her to start a family with her husband Brian Lynch. After two years, she came back to the international tennis arena and won three Grand Slams before she announced her decision to retire for the second time in 2012, after which she had two more children.

However, in 2019, aged 36, she again decided to return to the game and said (via The Guardian):

"At 36 years old, I feel like I’m too young to be retired. And with so many inspirational athletes and moms competing, I can’t wait to get back on the match court and see what’s possible after having three children."

Clijsters played her first match after her prolonged break at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February 2020 and played four matches thereafter, However, two years later in 2022, she announced her final decision to retire with a post on Instagram (via Tennis.com):

"I have decided to no longer play official tournaments. I can’t wait to see what new adventures will cross my path. Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the past two years!"

Adding to the said decision, in an interview with the WTA, Clijsters explained the difficulties she was facing while settling down with her family in New Jersey:

"I still love to hit the ball. With my schedule three, four days was enough to keep my rhythm under control but definitely not good enough if I decided to play another tournament. Say, if I picked Australia, it's three, four weeks. That's just not possible at this stage in our family life. Life just sort of takes over, right?"

---

#1 Serena Williams

Serena Williams is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time and after an illustrious career marked by 23 Grand Slams and four Olympic gold medals, the former World No.1 decided to bid adieu to tennis in 2022.

In 2017, Williams married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and, while being pregnant with their daughter Olympia, who was born the same year, she won the Australian Open. She even reached the Wimbledon final the following year but failed to claim the title.

Five years after the same, the American announced her decision to say goodbye to tennis and played her last professional match at the US Open.

Serena Williams with her daughter Olympia after the 2020 Women's ASB Classic

The former World No.1 announced her decision to retire through a Vogue article wherein she spoke about her daughter's desire to be an elder sister and the same being the main reason behind her decision. She said:

"I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm. Soon after that, I started a family. I want to grow that family."

Williams also spoke about how things would have been different for her if she was a man and said:

"Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family. I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family."

A year later, in August 2023, Williams gave birth to her second daughter, Adira River Ohanian.