Getty Val Chmerkovskiy
“Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Val Chmerkovskiy has big hopes for season 31 of the show, including a tennis superstar as a member of the cast.
Chmerkovskiy took to his Instagram Stories to tell his fans one person he hopes to see on “Dancing With the Stars.”
When tennis legend Serena Williams announced her intention to retire from the sport, Chmerkovskiy shared that he’d love for her to be on the show.
“Come do @dancingwiththestars it’s the perfect transition :) @serenawilliams,” Chmerkovskiy wrote on his Instagram stories on Wednesday, August 10.
Williams Is Set to Retire From Tennis
Williams announced her intention to retire from tennis in a first-person essay published in Vogue Magazine on August 9, 2022. In the essay, she talks of her daughter, Olympia, wanting a younger sister.
“Believe me, I never wanted to have to choose between tennis and a family,” she writes. “I don’t think it’s fair. If I were a guy, I wouldn’t be writing this because I’d be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family.”
She said that she loves being a woman and “loved every second of being pregnant with Olympia.” The star says she also won the Australian Open in 2017 while she was two months pregnant.
“But I’m turning 41 this month, and something’s got to give,” Williams writes. “I have never liked the word ‘retirement.’ It doesn’t feel like a modern word to me.”
She adds, “I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
Williams has a hard time telling people that she is going to “move on from playing tennis,” she writes in the essay.
“It comes up, I get an uncomfortable lump in my throat, and I start to cry,” she said. “The only person I’ve gone there with is my therapist! One thing I’m not going to do is sugarcoat this. I know a lot of people are excited about and look forward to retiring, and I really wish I felt this way.”
Some Fans Want More Sports Players on ‘Dancing With the Stars’
After a rumor about a possible cast member for season 31 was posted, it was shared on Reddit, where some fans expressed their disappointment.
“Casting needs to change it up,” another reply reads. “They go through the same categories every year. Football player, gymnast, bachelor star, housewife.”
Another commented, “I’d much rather see a change up in the cast and not the same old slots filled, but I won’t be surprised if this is true.”
Some people replied to say that they would love to see other types of sports players on “Dancing With the Stars,” especially more ice hockey players or retired baseball fans.
Surely, Serena Williams would also fit that category.
“Dancing With the Stars” season 31 is set to premiere on Disney+ on Monday, September 19, 2022. Derek Hough, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, and Carrie Ann Inaba will all return along with Tyra Banks and new co-host Alfonso Ribeiro.
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