Venus Williams revealed the advice she has for her sister after Serena announced she will be evolving away from tennis to pursue her passions outside of the sport.
"It’s still business, she still wants to play, she still wants to win," Venus told TODAY in an exclusive interview. "When she walks on the court she wants to be focused — so this is the moment now for her to do that, like all the other moments, and then when that moment is over, then the next moment will be here. So that’s what it is."
Serena added she and her sister don't talk about tennis much, but they have had a few conversations about next year.
Serena announced in a Vogue essay earlier this month she will be stepping away from the sport to focus on growing her family and other pursuits, like investing.
"This whole journey is gonna be emotional," Serena said. "I love what I do, there’s nothing about me not loving my job. I love it. I’ve been playing it my whole entire life. It’s very emotional to evolve into something new."
When asked if she wants more kids, Serena, who is a mom to 4-year-old Olympia, told TODAY, "Yeah, for sure."
"If you have a baby, they have to fit in your life, you shouldn’t change your life. And so that’s hard," Serena said. "It’s super hard because there’s so many things that change but even though those changes happen, they still have to fit in your life. You don’t want to just lose who you are.
"So for me, that’s kind of how it is like, she fits in my life," she said. "We do a lot of things together. We have a lot of fun, and then it works."
Before TODAY's interview, Venus and Serena joined Naomi Osaka, Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios for a panel days before the start of the US Open at the Lotte New York Palace hotel, where Serena spoke about being able to spend more time with her 4-year-old daughter Olympia after the tournament ends.
"She’s just my little buddy," Serena said. "You know we do everything together, we go on dates. And it’s so cool because she likes everything I do except for tennis."
Serena also revealed if the US Open will be her last tournament.
“I think so, but who knows?” Serena told TODAY hosts Dylan Dreyer and Sheinelle Jones.
Asked if she could see herself playing in the Australian Open next year, traditionally the first Grand Slam event of the year, Serena said, "I don't think so."
“You never know,” she continued. “I’ve learned in my career, never say never.”
She also said she's not worried about breaking any more records at the upcoming tournament, where she could tie current record holder Australian tennis player Margaret Court with the most Grand Slam titles.
"I’ve already broken the record," Williams said. "So I think it’s just someone else’s vision and mine is just to ... I never dreamed of having this many Grand Slams or titles. I just thought I would just play tennis and maybe win a Grand Slam or two. So for me, it’s all a bonus."
As for what will be playing in her headphones at the US Open?
Serena said she sometimes listens to "Maniac" by Michael Sembello (from the movie "Flashdance") as a pump-up song, and that songs like "THIQUE" from Beyoncé's new album, "Renaissance," will also make an appearance.
