A defiant Venus Williams has made it clear she has no intention of retiring following her painful Wimbledon exit.
Venus’s 5-7 7-6 (7-2) 7-5 third-round defeat to fellow former champion Petra Kvitova on Friday means the five-time Wimbledon champion has failed to reach the last 16 at a major since 2011.
At 34, Venus was the oldest woman left in the Wimbledon singles and, plagued for the past three years by Sjogren’s Disease – an immune system disease that leaves her battling fatigue and joint pain – she hasn’t won a grand slam since 2008 at Wimbledon.
That has led to plenty of talk that the seven-time major winner will opt to retire sooner rather than later and she was again quizzed about her plans following the Kvitova loss.
But Venus, in her 17th Wimbledon appearance, had made it to the last 32 at a major for the first time since the 2013 Australian Open and took heart from the way she gave a glimpse of her former glories to push the higher-ranked Kvitova all the way.
“No, people have been trying to retire me since I was like 25. For some reason in tennis, we always do that to our players,” Williams said when asked if this might have been her Wimbledon farewell.
“It’s weird. We don’t encourage them to stick around. It’s like, ‘Get out of here’.
“So I’m not getting out of here. I think this year has been a great year for me. I’ve had some tough losses, but I’ve learned a lot from them.
“I’m finding my way back on my feet. I’m proud of myself for what I’m achieving on the court.
“I’ve missed big blocks of my career off the court on injury. That has kept me regenerated.
“I’ve got extra steam because I have to make up for lost time.”
On this form, Williams has every reason to feel she can still compete with the best and she is determined to mount a strong challenge for more major titles.
“I want to win grand slams – everybody does. You don’t get ’em easily.
“Look at what happened today. No one gives it to you. They snatch it away and say ‘Mine’.
“That’s what I’ll have to do is snatch it, say, ‘Mine’, too; growl if need be. That’s what it takes.”