I've been a pretty selfish mom and a very unselfish athlete for about three years now and it's time to put my family first. It's probably time to move on.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I think my family needs me more than anybody else, and tennis doesn't need me anymore. I respect my wife a lot for taking all that in. She said, 'I didn't marry a tennis player; you'd retired.' Now it's time to do something else.
My mom is real passionate and a family-first woman. She always told me that just because I can shoot a basketball better than someone else, I shouldn't think that I'm better than them. I know if I change, my friends and family would lay me down. She just wants to see her kids do right.
You know raising a family in the lifestyle of a professional athlete can be very difficult.
You'll be a good parent when you're ready to no longer be selfish. Until I was about 35, it was all about me. I look back and I'm astonished at how I lived my life - it was totally self-involved.
Obviously, losing a parent is very difficult. I miss my dad every day, but I know he would be proud to see me continuing to swim and going for another shot at the Olympics.
I will always put family first. Every time I haven't, I have regretted it and apologised.
The selfish thing about an athlete is you always look at the side of things where you say I could've done that better.
Now is the one time in my life I can be 100% selfish. I'm not married; I don't have kids; I can focus on my career.
Everybody says, 'When you have kids, you really get away from yourself.' But really, it's the most selfish thing I've ever done. It's like, Okay, I'm going to create unconditional love for myself, and I'm going to need it and want it and ask for it every day, and I'm going to get it.
I think I was a pretty selfish athlete.