How Serena Williams inspired NCAA superstar Angel Reese to make her WNBA draft declaration through Vogue

After being influenced by Serena Williams, NCAA basketball player Angel Reese made the decision to announce her entry into the 2024 WNBA draft through Vogue.

Reese, a member of the Louisiana State University (LSU) team in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), has been named an All-American twice and was awarded the title of Most Outstanding Player (MOP) at the 2023 NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament last year.

Vogue featured the 21-year-old on Wednesday (April 3), where she announced her participation in this year’s Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) draft.

The American cited Serena Williams as her source of inspiration, noting that Williams had recently announced her retirement from professional tennis through an open letter published in the magazine in August 2022.

“Of course, I like to do everything big. I didn’t want anything to be basic,”Angel Reese told Vogue about wanting her WNBA declaration to be special.

“I’ve done everything I wanted to in college. I’ve won a national championship, I’ve gotten [Southeastern Conference] Player of the Year, I’ve been an All-American. My ultimate goal is to be a pro – and to be one of the greatest basketball players to play, ever. I feel like I’m ready.”

“A New Chapter Begins”- Serena Williams Announces Her Retirement Ahead of US Open 2022

Serena Williams broke away from the traditional practice of professional athletes announcing their retirement through press conferences. Instead, she opted to use Vogue as her platform. In a heartfelt letter, she declared that she would be retiring from tennis after the 2022 US Open in order to prioritize her family life.

“I have never liked the word retirement,”Serena Williams wrote in an open letter published by Vogue in August 2022. “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

Despite being a 23-time Major winner, she also took great pride in her career after giving birth to her eldest daughter Olympia in late 2017. At the age of 41, she made the decision to prioritize her family over her tennis career without any hesitation.

“I had my chances after coming back from giving birth. I went from a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism to a Grand Slam final,”she added. “I played while breastfeeding. I played through postpartum depression…But I showed up 23 times, and that’s fine. Actually, it’s extraordinary. But these days, if I have to choose between building my tennis résumé and building my family, I choose the latter.”

Despite her final appearance at the 2022 US Open, Serena Williams displayed immense determination. She defeated second-seeded Anett Kontaveit and Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic in her first two matches before ultimately falling to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in a close three-set match in the third round.