BERGEN, N.J. — Serena Williams. Sue Bird. Allyson Felix. Sylvia Fowles.
Some of the greatest female athletes in the world have reached the end of their careers this year, and are now pivoting to build their legacies beyond sport. For some, that means improving the games they long dominated as part of their next chapter. For others, it means finding a way to use their hard-earned capital to elevate like-minded leaders.
This conversation was thrust into the spotlight when Williams, one of the best tennis players in history, announced in a Vogue magazine cover story that she would step away from the game after playing in this year's U.S. Open, which starts Aug. 29. Many have lauded the tennis star for leaving the game exactly as she played it for more than two decades — on her own terms.
“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me,” Williams wrote in the piece. “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.”
For Williams, that means growing her family. It also means focusing on Serena Ventures — the company she founded to invest in others like her, as she explained in Vogue. She learned that only 2% of venture capital money went to women. “In order for us to change that, more people who look like me need to be in that position, giving money back to themselves,” she wrote.
This idea of giving back has become a pillar of women’s sports. Now, more than ever, some of the biggest names in sports are turning to improving the games they played.
Felix has been doing it for years. Felix, the most decorated American track and field athlete in Olympic history, ran on a 100-meter track in downtown Los Angeles this week in what is being described as the last race of her professional career. The race concluded “The Allyson Felix Race for Change,” an event presented by Athleta to raise awareness about the importance of child care and equity for women.