Serena Williams has "something special" planned for next chapter of her life, predicts award-winning director Gina Prince-Bythewood

Serena Williams has earned the right to do nothing for the rest of her life but that doesn't mean she will allow herself to rest, believes Gina Prince-Bythewood.

The award-winning American director, whose most recent claim to fame is the hit movie 'The Woman King,' spoke to The Rolling Stones in a recent interview. During the conversation, she gave her two cents on what Williams' future could look like.

With Williams now retired, Prine-Bythewood hoped she would be allowed enough time to find out what her next chapter looked like. In fact, she believes that the 23-time Grand Slam champion could just as easily decide to never do anything again for the rest of her life.

However, the American knew Williams could never do that, leading her to predict that her upcoming venture would be "something special."

"Now that Serena is retired, my hope is that we give her grace in allowing her to find out what the next chapter looks like for her. She’s been so iconic for so many years, and has not only completely changed the sport, but has changed how we think about female athletes altogether."

"She’s earned the right to do nothing for the rest of her life. But I don’t think that’s happening. So I’m just eager to see what she chooses to do next. I know it’s going to be something special," she said.

Gina Prince-Bythewood went on to reveal that she has never met the former World No. 1 in person, which, she hopes, will change soon. However, she recalled the time she was able to catch Serena Williams in action a long time ago, disclosing that she managed to grab an autographed ball after the match.

To this day, the director continues to proudly display it in her living room.

"I’ve never met Serena, and that’s got to change. But I have seen her play in person. I attended a match at UCLA a long time ago. At the end of her matches, she usually signs a tennis ball and hits it into the crowd. That time, she smashed the ball toward me."

"And thank God I was an athlete, because that was a hard catch. I think I reached over a kid to grab it. I still have the tennis ball. It’s displayed in a place of honor in our living room," she said.

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Gina Prince-Bythewood reveals her plan to cast Serena Williams in her feature film directorial debut 'Love & Basketball'

Serena Williams in 2000 was almost cast in Gina Prince-Bythewood's debut film

Gina Prince-Bythewood made her feature film directorial debut with 'Love & Basketball' in 2000. It was a story about two next-door neighbors falling in love with each other while pursuing their respective basketball careers.

The director revealed during the interview that she had originally planned to cast Serena Williams as the female protagonist. However, the plan eventually fell apart as the 23-time Grand Slam champion was focused on her tennis career at the time.

"The first time I heard of Serena Williams, I was getting ready for my directorial debut, 'Love & Basketball,'" she explained.

"We were thinking outside the box when casting for the role of the main character, Monica, and she was one of the names that we talked about: 'What about Serena? Can Serena act? Could she possibly play this character?'"

"She was focused on her career, as she should have been, and couldn’t do it, but the fact that I was thinking about her that early, from the very beginning of my career, shows how much I look up to her."