In 2022, Serena Williams chose to focus on motherhood and ended her tennis career. After winning 4 Olympic gold medals, she retired while admitting, “Never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family.” Now, fellow legend Allyson Felix is challenging that narrative with a bold Olympic comeback that has Williams herself taking notice. Despite being 40 and a mother of two, she has decided to ‘unretire’, with her eyes on the LA 2028 Olympics, a move that has even left Williams in awe.

On April 28, Felix shared a carousel of images on Instagram confirming her comeback after four years of retirement. “In a million years… I never thought I’d return. And somehow here I am— reaching for LA 2028 on my own terms.”

This announcement caught Serena Williams’ attention and got her to comment. She responded to Felix’s post by saying, “I love this so much. Cant wait.”

Felix then replied to Williams, calling it “feels like a 2 LA girls moment👀💙.” This marked a small exchange between the two legends that hinted at their shared roots. After all, Williams grew up in Compton, California, while Felix grew up in LA.

Well, Williams and Felix have a lot more in common than that. Both returned to their respective competitive sports after giving birth and facing difficult deliveries. Williams won the ABS Classic title in 2020, her first since having a daughter, while Allyson Felix won her first gold after becoming a mom at the 2019 World Championships.

Now a mother of two, having welcomed her second child in 2024 while skipping the Paris Games, Felix is stepping into a space that few sprinters ever dare to enter. She even acknowledged the pressure herself, writing, “The world tells women that after 40 we should slow down, be smaller, quieter, satisfied.”

But she answers that in the very next statement, “But this is my love story with LA— the city that raised me… calling me to return to myself in a new way.”

Felix has carefully thought and made this decision for a reason, “I’m not here trying to relive who I was. I am deeply proud of everything I have done.” This one is about, “What is still humanly possible…at this age?”

And she has done more than most. Felix is the most decorated female track and field athlete in Olympic history, with seven Olympic golds, and she last competed at the 2022 World Championships.

Still, Allyson Felix does not hide the uncertainty. “It is scary. It’s exciting. The most vulnerable I’ve ever been And I don’t know how it ends.” That honesty is what makes this attempt stand out.

If Felix makes it to the Olympic Games in LA 2028, she will have to pass the competitive US Olympic trials, and she will be 42 years old by then. This is not the norm for sprinters. Sprinters such as Merlene Ottey have gone that far, running in the Olympics at the age of 44, but these are rare feats.

But at the same time, as Allyson Felix makes a comeback to the sport, the fact that she has a lot to share with Serena Williams comes to mind.

Allyson Felix’s comeback finds its reflection in Serena Williams’ journey

In April 2022, Allyson Felix, then 36 years old, believed she was done. After nearly two decades in track and field, she announced that the 2022 season would be her last, saying, “I have given everything I have to running and for the first time I’m not sure if I have anything left to give.” It felt final.

But years on, that’s not the case. Felix is now planning a return. Meanwhile, her journey has been very similar to that of Serena Williams’.

Back in 2017, when Serena won the Australian Open, at that time, she was reportedly 8 weeks pregnant. But later that year, after giving birth, she faced very serious complications, including blood clots in her lungs and multiple surgeries. And still, she came back in the US Open finals in 2018.

And at that time, Allyson Felix was likely watching her journey closely. After all, she also went through a dangerous pregnancy with pre-eclampsia, had an emergency C-section, and faced a long recovery. But she returned too, and went on to win Olympic medals in Tokyo.

Later, she said it clearly. Serena’s perseverance “inspired my own comeback story.”

So if Allyson Felix reaches Los Angeles, she will be in a different league and set an example. But on the other hand, Serena, now 44, has given no indication of a comeback.