Serena Williams won't be 'relaxing' after stepping away from tennis

Sept. 14 (UPI) -- Serena Williams won't be "relaxing" after stepping away from her professional tennis career.

The 40-year-old athlete discussed her "evolution" from tennis during Tuesday's episode of The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon.

Williams announced in August that she would "move on from playing" tennis after the 2022 U.S. Open tennis championships, which concluded Monday.

On The Tonight Show, Williams reiterated that she considers her stepping away from the sport an "evolution" rather than a retirement.

"I think retirement is something that's super earned and that people work really hard for. And maybe I haven't worked hard enough," Williams said. "But I just feel like I'm at an age where I definitely have a lot more to give, and there's a lot more that I want to do. I'm not going to be relaxing. There's so much more for me. I feel it's more an evolution of Serena."

"There's so many things that I've been wanting to do for so many years -- I've have such a passion for tennis for so long that I've never done it. Now it's time for me to start to enjoy those things," she added.

Williams also discussed the possibility of her returning to professional sports à la football star Tom Brady, who announced his retirement from the NFL in February but returned 40 days later.

"You know what? Tom Brady started an amazing trend," Williams said. "That's what I'm gonna say."

Actor Justin Long was also a guest Tuesday on The Tonight Show. Williams, Long, host Jimmy Fallon and Roots member Tariq Trotter played a game of Catchphrase.