Serena Williams and I are about as far apart as you could possibly get in terms of talent and lifetime achievements.

Her list of 23 Grand Slam titles and years-long tenure as the top-ranked women’s tennis player are well known. In addition to being the GOAT — Greatest of All Time — of tennis, she’s also made an impact in fashion, advocacy and most recently, venture capitalism.

The only time I’m considered a GOAT is when my almost-3-year-old daughter clambers onto my back, as a farm-animal kid would do to its mom, or when she decides to belt out a round of “Old MacDonald.”

But in that sense I can relate to Williams on a plane that doesn’t involve elite athletics. We both have young families we worked hard to attain, and balancing what’s best for our girls with what’s best for us has proved to be more challenging than anything else we’ve done.

Last week Williams announced, through a cover-story essay in Vogue magazine, that the U.S. Open in New York that begins this month would likely be her last tournament.

She hates to think of it as a retirement, though. Call it an evolution, she writes: While tennis has been the biggest thing in her life, it’s no longer the only big thing.

However, even changing the terminology is hard, because part of her rationale for stepping away is one she sees as inherently unfair. She wants to grow the family she has with her husband, Alexis Ohanian, but doing so requires valuable time away from tennis. If she were male, she writes, she could still be playing while her partner does the physical work of expanding their family.

Some might wonder why, in a time when surrogacy and adoption are prevalent, Williams would want to become pregnant again. She’s been open about the health crisis she endured after giving birth to her daughter, Olympia, in 2017, when she developed life-threatening blood clots that left her bedridden for weeks.

On the other hand, she writes in Vogue, she loved being pregnant, and she admits to now being almost too hands-on with Olympia (while also acknowledging she gets a lot of help). Her daughter’s been open about wanting a sibling — specifically, a little sister — and Williams desires the same.

No matter how it’s achieved, growing one’s family is a huge commitment that requires a serious evaluation of life before and after a child enters the picture. And indeed, often it falls on the mother to make sacrifices that she knows will pay off in the long run, but in the short term sting something fierce.

Williams’ decision might have been announced in a glamorous way, but it shows that she’s “just like us” — all the moms who have to make tough choices for their families.

It’s incredibly hard to give up something you’ve done your entire life, especially if you are really, really, really good at it. Williams has been on the tennis court since she was a year old, and a pro since age 14; to pull back after decades of excellence (she turns 41 this year) is understandably challenging.

It’s not just the sport that Williams revels in; the challenge of winning and the thrill of entertaining a crowd are just as invigorating for her. No matter how exciting another child and new endeavors will be, they won’t be able to match life on the tennis court.

That’s the reality all moms face, honestly. Even if we could resume the life we had before kids, before long we would hear “Mommy mommy pick me up!” and our new normal would make themselves known.

It might just be a coincidence, but Williams’ on-court performance recently seems to hint at her acknowledgment of what’s to come. While a second-round loss this month at a tournament in Toronto was fairly emotional, her first-round loss Tuesday in the Western &Southern Open against young phenom Emma Raducanu left much to consider.

Her loss was quick and her exit quiet, with signs that knee pain might have been a factor. Onlookers were left wondering what this month’s U.S. Open would bring.

No matter what happens, we can be certain that Williams isn’t going anywhere. Her evolution is simply entering a new chapter.