10 Sep COSMO Cover Girl Venus Williams Says She Isn’t ‘Desperate’ For Marriage, Admires Naomi Osaka For Her Strength

A ring is the last thing on Venus Williams‘ mind. The Cosmopolitan cover girl gets real about not being “desperate” to marry at the age of 41. She also shares her thoughts about fellow tennis player Naomi Osaka and what she’s doing that’s changing the tennis game inside…

We didn’t get to see Venus Williams flex her skills at the 2021 U.S. Open due to an injury. However, she’s Cosmopolitan magazine’s October cover girl and she looks AH-MAZING with her adorable dog, Harry:

Inside, the seven-time Grand Slam winner opened up about relationships and why her ultmate goal in life isn’t trekking down the aisle to be married.

The 41-year-old athlete explained her love of freedom is one driving force why she isn’t rushing to tie the knot, and why she doesn’t feel pressure to settle down with a romantic partner or start a family.

VENUS WILLIAMS pic.twitter.com/kdH6ykdqG3

— dani (@f1nadal) September 8, 2021

“I have a lot of friends who don’t believe me when I say that I like my life and I don’t want to change it for any reason. I’m not desperate and they don’t believe me,” she shared.

Sis is NOT worried meeting a deadline to get married and said she’s happy with singledom (or just dating).

“They say things like, ‘You’re going to miss your window.’ I’m like, ‘Please, relax. You might feel this way, but I don’t. I promise you I don’t.’”

Oop.

“There’s this sort of quiet resistance that Venus always carries herself with,” says journalist and podcast host Jemele Hill. “She’s chosen to live her life so unapologetically and I think there’s a beauty in that. Especially when you think about these narratives about how Black women are desperate or lonely or how after a certain age, something is wrong with you if you aren’t getting married or having kids. The joy that she has both on the court and off it is kind of an indirect retaliation to that narrative. She just seems like somebody who’s just not pressed. I love that about her.”

And so do we. Even after her tennis superstar sister Serena Williams tied the knot To Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, Venus is still rocking to the beat of her own singledom drum. And we love to see women living THEIR best life how THEY see fit.

Venus last played at the Chicago Women’s Open last month before announcing she was pulling out of the 2021 U.S. Open, joining her sister Serena on the sidelines. She said she was having issues with her leg that caused her to drop out. It’s the first time she hasn’t played at the U.S. Open since 2006.

Folks have been keeping tabs on tennis, especially since Naomi Osaka has been vocal about her struggles in the sport. She withdrew from the French Open because she prioritized her mental health first and Venus is all for it.

“I admire everyone who stands up for what is right, which isn’t easy,” she says of Naomi and her peers. “It takes strength, courage, and vulnerability. I love to see this next generation of players be willing and open to do that regardless of the cost to them.”

And while she didn’t HAVE to say it, Venus and Serena are the reason why they’re so many different young women of color dominating the sport, so she (and Serena) know all to well about pressures of being a world-class athlete.

This fall…

Venus and Serena’s childhood and rise to fame will be put on the big screen in November when King Richard, starring Will Smith & Aunjanue Ellis, premieres. In the cover story, she talks about what it was like handling different situations growing up in tennis and how she always stayed true to who she is.

“We’re like gladiators out there, literally,” Venus says in Cosmo. “You go out there with your lance and it’s just you. “As you grow up and mature, you realize you don’t have to be in any situation you find disrespectful,” she explains. “You can let people know what you find disrespectful.”

As we all know, society loves labeling a black woman “angry” or “difficult” when she sets boundaries for people.

“It doesn’t have to be yelling or screaming. I’m not a combative person. I’m never going to let any situation change that, because I want to look back and know that I stayed true to who I am. So come. Come for me if you want to, but you won’t come again.”

BLOOP!

You can read more from her cover story here.

A new image from #KingRichard shows Will Smith’s character taking Venus and Serena Williams to tennis.https://t.co/ILHS3cjZwF pic.twitter.com/2XF9Az7z1I

— Screen Rant (@screenrant) September 9, 2021

King Richard hits theaters and will stream exclusively on HBO Max starting November 19th.

Photo: FRANCESCO PANUNZIO/Shutterstock