How Serena Williams inspired NCAA superstar Angel Reese to make her WNBA draft declaration through Vogue

NCAA basketball player Angel Reese recently claimed that Serena Williams had greatly influenced her decision to announce through Vogue that she will enter the 2024 WNBA draft.

Reese, who plays for Louisiana State University (LSU) in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), is a two-time All-American and was crowned the 2023 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player (MOP) last year.

On Wednesday (April 3), the 21-year-old was covered in an exclusive by Vogue, where she declared for this year's Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft.

The American asserted that she had taken inspiration from Serena Williams, who announced her retirement from professional tennis in an open letter published in the magazine in August 2022.

"Of course, I like to do everything big. I didn’t want anything to be basic," Angel Reese told Vogue about wanting her WNBA declaration to be special.

"I've done everything I wanted to in college. I've won a national championship, I've gotten [Southeastern Conference] Player of the Year, I've been an All-American. My ultimate goal is to be a pro - and to be one of the greatest basketball players to play, ever. I feel like I'm ready."

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"I'm evolving away from tennis" - When Serena Williams announced her retirement ahead of US Open 2022

Serena Williams looks on during her third-round match at the US Open 2022

Serena Williams strayed from the age-old norm of pros announcing their retirement through press conferences, instead choosing Vogue as her medium. In an open letter, she stated that she would be hanging up her racquet at the 2022 US Open to focus on her family life.

"I have never liked the word retirement," Serena Williams wrote in an open letter published by Vogue in August 2022. "Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me."

The 23-time Major winner also expressed pride in her post-prime career after giving birth to her elder daughter Olympia in late 2017. She admittedly had no qualms about choosing her family over tennis at the age of 41.

"I had my chances after coming back from giving birth. I went from a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism to a Grand Slam final," she added. "I played while breastfeeding. I played through postpartum depression...But I showed up 23 times, and that’s fine. Actually, it’s extraordinary. But these days, if I have to choose between building my tennis résumé and building my family, I choose the latter."

Serena Williams showed great fervor during her last-ever Major appearance at the 2022 US Open. The American legend beat second-seeded Anett Kontaveit and Montenegro's Danka Kovinic in her first two matches before going out to Australia's Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets in the third round.