Serena Williams says she is "evolving away from tennis"
New York, Aug 9: Serena Williams says she is ready to step away from tennis after winning 23 Grand Slam titles, turning her focus to having another child and her business interests.
"I'm turning 41 this month, and something's got to give," Williams wrote in an essay released Tuesday by Vogue magazine.
Williams said she does not like the word retirement and prefers to think of this stage of her life as "evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me."
Williams is playing this week in Toronto, at a hard-court tournament that leads into the U.S. Open, the year's last Grand Slam event, which begins in New York on Aug. 29.
The American has won more Grand Slam singles titles in the professional era than any other woman or man. Only one player, Margaret Court, collected more, 24, although she won a portion of hers in the amateur era.
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MP cruise boat tragedy: Death toll rises to nine; search ops continue at Bargi Dam
Jabalpur (PTI): The death toll in the Bargi Dam tragedy rose to nine on Friday, as rescuers recovered the bodies of five more persons who were on the cruise boat that overturned in the reservoir in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur.
Talking to PTI Videos, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Minister Dharmendra Bhav Singh Lodhi said, "Four bodies were recovered on Thursday, while five were found in the early hours during the rescue operation, taking the toll to nine."
As many as 22 people have been rescued so far, he said.
The minister said that a thorough probe will be conducted, and the issue of life jackets, raised by one of the survivors, will also be investigated.
The rescue operation is underway in full swing to trace the missing persons, Lodhi said.
A cruise boat with 29 passengers and two crew members onboard overturned in the Bargi Dam after encountering a sudden storm on Thursday evening, officials said.
The Bargi Dam is constructed on the Narmada River in Jabalpur district.
A search and rescue operation for the missing passengers continued overnight with teams from the Army, NDRF and SDRF joining in, State PWD Minister Rakesh Singh said.
Hydraulic cranes are being used to pull out the cruise boat from the water body, he said.
According to eyewitnesses, strong winds made the water choppy, prompting many on board to raise an alarm and ask the crew to steer the boat back to the banks.
However, the crew was unable to hear these shouts, and the boat drifted and then overturned, they said, adding that some locals rescued a few passengers wearing life jackets with the help of a rope.
