Widely known in the tennis world as the GOAT (greatest of all time), after more than 26 years on the professional circuit and 23 singles Grand Slam wins, Serena Williams is finally preparing for her retirement.
Williams signaled her intention to retire earlier this month and is widely believed to be playing the US Open as her final event.
Studies have shown that tennis players reach their highest levels of performance when they are just 24 years old, but Williams, who turns 41 later this month, has managed to stay at the top of her game for significantly longer.
And she’s not alone – other notable athletes from a range of sports are also now in their 40s, including cricketer James Anderson, American footballer Tom Brady and surfer Kelly Slater.
So why are more athletes retiring later?
Experts say this is due to a combination of better training, diet and recovery techniques.
Widely known in the tennis world as the GOAT (Greatest of All Time), after more than 26 years on the pro circuit and 23 Grand Slam victories, Serena Williams is finally preparing for her retirement
As early as 1988, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh set out to understand the peak age at which athletes can perform in various sports.
Their results suggest that golfers peak at around 31 and professional baseball players at 28, while tennis players peak at around 24.
However, that study was more than 30 years ago, and things have changed significantly since then.
More recently, in 2018, a study conducted by tennishead found that the average age of the world’s top 100 tennis players has risen sharply over the past 10 years.
“Thirty years ago, the average age of the top 100 men and women in the world was 23.74 and 22.56, respectively,” tennishead explained.
“By the end of last year, those numbers had risen to 28.26 and 25.8, respectively.
“In the last 10 years alone, the average age for men has increased by 2.67 years and for women by 2.14 years.”
According to Gary Brickley, Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at Brighton University, the approach to training has been one of the key changes that has helped athletes compete longer.
“The ‘old-school’ approach to training was high-intensity exercise to failure or exhaustion—basically, it was pushing an athlete until they couldn’t go any further during that session,” he explained in an article for The Conversation.
“The main benefit of this approach is that it is time-efficient because the more intense the exercise, the less time it takes to reap the benefits of the workout.
“But many athletes and coaches now prefer a more structured approach.
“The reason for this shift in training styles is due in large part to research over the past 20 years showing that burnout and injuries are more common as a result of overtraining from high-intensity exercise.”
according to dr Brickley, most athletes now prefer polarized training, which is less intense.
“Polarized training still improves performance, but with less chance of injury or burnout,” he explained.
“Athletes can also take advantage of concurrent training that combines both strength and endurance training in the same session.
“This type of training makes a lot of sense when you consider that most sports combine both strength and endurance.
“Sports scientists and coaches also now have a much better understanding of the demands of a sport and as a result are trying to tailor training to target specific weaknesses or strengths in an athlete’s performance.
“All of this leads to less overtraining, illness and injury – which can help extend an athlete’s active life.”
Recovery – both immediate and long-term – is also key to prolonging athletes’ careers.
During the recovery phase, the body can adapt to repair and strengthen itself, while the rest phase also gives athletes time to mentally recover.
Recovery techniques have come in leaps and bounds in recent years and now include hydrotherapy, active rest, stretching, massage and ice baths – something Williams has spoken about regularly.
Sleep is another important aspect of rest and recovery when it comes to athletic performance.
“Athletes who are sleep deprived are at risk of losing aerobic endurance and may experience minor changes in hormone levels that can lead to higher levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) as well as decreases in human growth hormone, which is active in tissue repair ‘ explains Kris Swartzendruber of Michigan State University.
Serena Williams had to give up her first round match at Wimbledon 2021 due to injury
While Williams describes herself as a “night owl,” she maintains a strict sleep schedule during tournaments.
In an interview with Glamour, she explained: “My sleep schedule doesn’t usually change much, even when I’m in the middle of a tournament. I always try to get eight hours, but I’m definitely a night owl.”
In terms of nutrition, good nutrition is key to a long career.
“It’s a well-known fact that as we get older, we need to maintain our muscle mass differently,” explained Dr. Brickley. “This may require an adjustment in protein intake based on the changing demands of exercise.”
Many professional athletes choose personalized nutrition that takes into account their genetics, immune function, and digestive system to enhance performance and improve recovery.
“Personalizing nutrition and changing it throughout their careers can enable athletes to maintain their health and performance,” added Dr. Added Brickley.
Finally, older athletes could have a psychological advantage over younger professionals.
Novak Djokovic, 35, is known for being one of the mentally toughest athletes in the world, which could have something to do with his years of experience.
After Djokovic won the Australian Open last year despite an injury, his coach Goran Ivanisevic said: “Novak is just stronger than everyone and it’s hard for people to admit that.
“His mind is so strong, he believes in his mental exercises and with his relaxation methods he has been able to minimize the pain as much as possible, also with the help of painkillers.”
Djokovic has previously spoken about his use of mindfulness, which he says is just as important as training the physical body.
“I believe very much in the power of the mind,” he said in 2015 on the eve of his campaign for a third title at Monte Carlo Country Club.
“If we all trained our minds the same way we trained our muscles and physical bodies, I think we would reach and maximize our potential.
“We don’t know how much we can really achieve until we have that mindset of constantly wanting to evolve and improve.”
