Los Angeles Times

Helene Elliott: Serena Williams makes a conscious choice to give up tennis and focus on her family

Serena Williams waves to the crowd after losing against France's Harmony Tan during their first-round Wimbledon match at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in London.

LOS ANGELES — Serena Williams never did conform to anyone's expectations. She's not about to change that now, as she inches toward the end of a career that made her one of the greatest and most influential athletes of her time — or any other.

She and her older sister Venus launched their tennis ambitions on rundown courts in Compton, where they didn't have the manicured country club lawns or teams of coaches that many of their competitors took for granted. They were two Black girls who were pushed by an insistent father on a journey that would take them to the top of the predominantly white tennis world, where elegant Venus would win seven Grand Slam singles

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