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Venus Williams is one of the highest-regarded athletes of our time. She has multiple trophies and Grand Slams, she competes at a high level that many of us will never understand, and she's related to one of the most important sports figures that changed the shape of the history of sports as we know it: Mr. Richard Williams.


Oh, and Serena too.

And, when she's not expanding her widely successful tennis career, you can catch Venus building businesses, advocating for wage equality, and raising awareness about mental health and self-care. Because Venus is so busy, and if you were to look to her sister, who has married and has a precious four-year-old daughter, this struck the need for people to feel like they can chime in on when she plans to settle down and have kids, which sis was notttt feeling at all.

In fact, when asked how she deals with social pressures to have children and settle down with someone long-term, she said:

"I like my life and I don't want to change it for any reason."

Bloooop. She added:

"I have a lot of friends who don't believe me when I say that I like my life and I don't want to change it for any reason. I'm not desperate and they don't believe me. They say things like, 'You're going to miss your window.' I'm like, 'Please, relax. You might feel this way, but I don't. I promise you I don't.'"

Lord, how many times do we have to talk about this? Mind your own uterus! And if you don't have one, guess what? Guess what?! What society says is for women, may not be what that woman wants and that is OK. Venus has taken on many roles, and if she doesn't want to be a mother, that is her choice.

Instead, she chooses to focus on supporting a balanced mental health for female athletes, which has been under the spotlight in recent months, after fellow-queens Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles opened up about their experiences. Venus revealed her own struggles at points during her career, where tough took on a whole new meaning. She detailed her struggles in an opinion piece forthe New York Times, she said:

"I used to think that winning depended on my physical health. Then my mother told me, that was only the half of it.

She continued:

"It doesn't matter who you are... you can't divorce mental health from anything you do. It impacts your physical well-being, your decision-making, your ability to cope with difficult moments. Admitting you're vulnerable is no joke. It isn't easy to ask for help or confide in people about having emotional struggles."

This echoed the sentiments of both Osaka and Biles, who famously prioritized their own well-being over any performative expectation in front of them, which is key to taking care of yourself whole-heartedly, no matter what.

In the meantime, my good sis Venus said she'll be over here on vacation, reading, relaxing, and taking care of her damn self. And I ain't mad at it.

Watch the clip of her discussing what's next (her way) below:

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Featured image by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty Images

 

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