Serena and Venus Williams Might Just 'Become Bodybuilders' After Tennis

Odds are Venus and Serena Williams are at the top of your (and many other folks') list of tennis all-time greats — after all, they hold a total of 48 Gram Slam titles (in addition to mantles-worth of other trophies) together. And while the duo's dominated the sport for two decades, neither has yet to retire. But that doesn't mean the sisters haven't thought about their future; they appear to have their sights set on staying active...but not in the way you might think.

As the (perfectly fitting) March cover stars for Harper's Bazaar's Legacy Issue, the sisters opened up about their post-tennis plans. While they seem uneasy discussing the finality of their legacy — Serena, 40, said she doesn't "want to think about what [she's] leaving" — Venus, 41, did drop one seriously surprising tidbit.

"Serena and I say we're going to become bodybuilders after tennis. It might be extreme. It might not happen exactly like that, but you never know," she told the publication.

Sure, that admission might shock some fans, but having played tennis professionally since they were teenagers, they're seemingly hoping their next chapter comes with the ability to choose exactly what they want to do on their own terms.

"From such a young age, all we've done is work," said Venus. "So I think for Serena and I to explore that freedom is surreal. We've never been free."

Whether or not they truly fulfill their bodybuilder dreams, though, one thing's for certain: The sisters will be well-prepared for whatever their next steps entail — and that's due largely in part to their father. "My dad always told us to plan ahead," said Serena. "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." And you can bet the tennis champs applied this adage to their lives on and off the court. (

"We never planned to just only play tennis and just only be tennis players," Serena told Harper's Bazaar. "We planned to do more."

Though neither sister mentioned when retirement from tennis might be on the agenda, Serena recently revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight that she's been gearing up for the inevitable for quite some time now. "I am prepared for that day. I've been prepared for that day for over a decade," she said. "You know, at the end of the day, I think it's really important to always have a plan and that's kind of what I did. I always had a plan."

As for what that looks like exactly? Well, that's largely still TBD. Currently, however, the athlete has multiple (and I mean multiple) corporate partners, investments in countless startups, a direct-to-consumer clothing line, a TV deal with Amazon Studios, and so much more, according to Forbes. Need to forget, of course, that she's also the mother to a 4-year-old daughter, Olympia, whom she shares with her husband, Alex Ohanian. And it seems this is only a fraction of Serena's grand life plan. "I definitely want to have more kids, it's just like, balance is key, you know, and just trying to find that balance," she told Entertainment Tonight.

Meanwhile, Venus hasn't revealed much about her retirement plans beyond the aforementioned bodybuilding aspirations. She did, however, tell Harper's Bazaar, "I am an unbelievable planner," adding, "I usually plan the health retreats." Beyond the Williams' wellness getaways, Venus has her hands quite full with her own apparel line (which, BTW, is just one of the many Black-owned athleisure brands you should shop) and a coveted position on, in Forbes' words, "the speaking circuit." But don't expect to see her serving as a tennis commentator any time soon — that is at least according to sports blog Essentially Sports, which reported that Venus said, "No way I'm going to wait on more rain delays when I'm done playing" during a recent Instagram Live.

TBH, no matter what they decide to do, it will surely be epic and — hopefully — 100 percent on their own terms.