Serena Williams ‘spending the next six weeks in solitude’

As tennis enters an unprecedented hiatus, Serena Williams revealed she will be spending the next month and a half with her immediate family.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion posted an Instagram video of her having her makeup done, along with a caption explaining how she intends to spend her time over the next six weeks.

Williams wrote:

Spending the next 6 weeks in solitude. Being a wife. Being a mom. Cooking. Cleaning. Spring cleaning. Face mask. Makeup tutorials. I’ll let you know how it goes…. stay safe everyone. This is serious.

The 38-year-old, currently ranked world no. 9, last played at the Australian Open in January, where she suffered a shock third-round loss to Wang Qiang.

Williams was due to play at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and at the Miami Open, where she is an eight-time champion, in March. But both tournaments were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ATP Tour have suspended all events until the week beginning Monday 27 April due to public health concerns. The ITF have followed suit, suspending all tournaments until the week beginning Monday 20 April. They had already cancelled the Fed Cup Finals, to be played 14-19 April in Budapest, and play-off ties due to take place around the world.

The WTA has not officially announced a similar suspension, but are revealing the cancellation of events one by one. It was recently announced that the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, which is due to begin 20 April and at which five of the world’s top seven players was due to appear, will not take place, with local authorities saying it is ‘off the table’.

Williams’s most recent public appearance was as a guest judge on the finale of season 18 of Project Runway.

Williams recently posted a very sweet photo of herself with daughter Alexis Olympia, who was born in September 2017.

Other tennis players have been posting on social media about their unexpected free time. World no. 12 Petra Kvitova, who was due to defend her title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart next month, encouraged people to ‘look after each other’ and keep the suspension of sport in perspective:

It’s time to leave Indian Wells and head back to Europe. It has been a strange week here with no tournament, but we are tennis players and our job is far less important than those on the frontline. We will play tennis again and in the meantime, let’s look after each other ? pic.twitter.com/ySkNxT2zMF

— Petra Kvitova (@Petra_Kvitova) March 13, 2020

Caroline Garcia, Garbine Muguruza and Madison Keys posted similar messages.

I was already feeling lucky and grateful to hold a tournament in my hometown @Open6emeSensML and be able to play in it. But now I m even more ??
Just thinking a lot to our cancelled tournaments (who make our tour possible) and hope they will « survive » ????Take care everyone ? pic.twitter.com/lbishQDNUn

— Caroline Garcia (@CaroGarcia) March 13, 2020

It’s really sad what our world is going through right now. I hope everyone stays healthy and safe and we get through this soon. Check in on others and be kind to each other during this tough time ❤️ pic.twitter.com/nFsYRLx8tU

— Madison Keys (@Madison_Keys) March 13, 2020

Toca parar y esperar. Cuidaros y cuidad a los de vuestro alrededor. Manteneros a salvo.
It is time to stop and wait. Take care of yourself and others around you, and be safe.
✈️ #Home #Safe #Geneva ? pic.twitter.com/QUR1PZJqsK

— Garbiñe Muguruza (@GarbiMuguruza) March 13, 2020