Venus Williams, 34, is not retiring anytime soon, despite losing in the third round of Wimbledon and not having won a Grand Slam since 2008.
Following her painful loss to Petra Kvitova on Friday, Williams dismissed talks that she's leaving the game.
She said, via AFP: "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. It's weird. We don't encourage them to stick around. It's like, 'Get out of here'."
While she made a gallant stand against Kvitova, Williams once more heard talks that she's on the way out. Still, she maintains that she'll continue playing. She continues: "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."
The former world number one has slowly seen her game decline in the past few years. She is now ranked 30 in the world. But she believes she can still compete with the game's best players.
"I'm motivated to work harder each and every time, whatever stage it was in my career," Williams said. She added: "I'm not the retiring type. "
Aside from her advancing age, Williams is also fighting Sjogren's Disease, an immune system ailment that leaves her in pain and fatigue.
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