Serena Williams of the U.S. embraces her trophy after defeating Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark
Top-ranked athlete Serena Williams won her sixth US Open title recently. It was her 18th Grand Slam victory. She entered the tournament as the top seed. In the early rounds, Williams beat Taylor Townsend, Vania King, Varvara Lepchenko, and Kaia Kanepi in the first rounds. In the quarterfinals, Williams faced No. 11 Flavia Pennetta of Italy. Ekaterina Makarova wasn’t able to stop Williams on her quest toward an 18th Grand Slam title as the American beat her in two straight sets in the semifinals. Willams’ finals match was with her good friend Caroline Wozniacki. She beat the Danish star to win her sixth US Open title, her third in the last three years. Reuters

The 18-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams revealed that playing less tennis is the key to her success that helped her extend her flourishing career, despite being previously criticised. Williams attributed her long lasting career prime to playing less as she acknowledged in the wake of now former world no. 2 Li Na's retirement.

Just recently, the 32-year-old Chinese professional tennis player announced her retirement due to chronic knee injuries, after she won her second Grand Slam. With her three previous right knee surgeries, Li Na's retirement wasn't a surprise at all especially when her left knee started to swell as well. After playing through all the pain for months, Li Na decided to hang up her racquet for good.

"For the most part, I think Li Na is great. I summed it up: she's a star that is in the sky that always shines. It's always going to be there," Williams said.

On Monday, as the American tennis superstar prepared to compete in the Wuhan Open, she claimed that at one point or another, athletes' bodies also betray themselves. Following the retirement of Li Na, Williams acknowledged that athletes are at risk when pushing their bodies to the limit.

In the past few years, Williams and her sister Venus Williams chose to play less, which was criticised by some as disrespectful to tennis, but the world no. 1 proved the critics wrong and celebrated her 18th Grand Slam title and her 6th consecutive US Open title earlier this month, with no indication of losing her status as the current world's greatest female tennis player.

"As for playing less, I think throughout my career, it's definitely been able to help me have a longer career," Williams said. "Next year something I definitely want to continue to do is really focus on breaking records in the slams and doing the best I can in those events and the ones leading up to those."

The 32-year-old Williams said she spent little time practicing for the Wuhan tournament but she's still ready for it.

Meanwhile, the beloved Chinese tennis star revealed that her focus after her retirement will be business and plans of launching a tennis academy in China that will include a hotel, spa and wellness facilities.

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