Serena Williams reveals retirement advice given to her by Tiger Woods

Serena Williams laid bare her imminent retirement plans on Tuesday in a heartfelt article for Vogue magazine. In the article, Williams revealed that she approached legendary golfer Tiger Woods a few months ago seeking advice regarding the closure of her tennis career.

Williams made her singles comeback after a year-long injury hiatus at this year's Wimbledon Championships. While writing for Vogue, she revealed that she spoke to Woods before the grass Slam to try and seek the golfer's advice on what to do with her tennis career.

"This spring, I had the itch to get back on the court for the first time in seven months," Serena Williams wrote. "I was talking to Tiger Woods, who’s a friend, and I told him I needed his advice on my tennis career. I said, “I don’t know what to do: I think I’m over it, but maybe I’m not over it.”

Williams revealed that Woods egged her on to give tennis another shot albeit in shorter spurts. The 23-time Major champion explained that the golfer's advice worked wonders for her after initial hiccups.

"He’s Tiger, and he was adamant that I be a beast the same way he is! He said, “Serena, what if you just gave it two weeks? You don’t have to commit to anything. You just go out on the court every day for two weeks and give it your all and see what happens.” I said, “All right, I think I can do that.” And I didn’t do it. But a month later, I gave it a try. And it felt magical to pick up a racket again. And I was good. I was really good," the 23-time Major champion said.

"I went back and forth about whether to play Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open after that. As I’ve said, this whole evolution thing has not been easy for me," she added.

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"Over the years, I hope that people come to think of me as symbolizing something bigger than tennis" - Serena Williams

Serena Williams at the 2016 US Open - Day 11

Serena Williams stressed that she wants to be remembered as something greater than merely just a tennis champion. Pointing to Billi Jean King, who is known as a champion of LGBTQ rights amongst other activism, Williams asserted that she too wishes to transcend the sport.

"Over the years, I hope that people come to think of me as symbolizing something bigger than tennis," Williams wrote. "I admire Billie Jean because she transcended her sport. I’d like it to be: Serena is this and she’s that and she was a great tennis player and she won those slams."