Serena Williams needs "shut down" time and sets strict "boundaries" to protect her "mental fitness".
The tennis ace has opened up about her mental health in a candid chat with pop star Selena Gomez and revealed she has spent years trying to protect herself by allocating herself periods of time when she can switch off and recharge, but she still wants to work harder on self-care.
Speaking on Selena's Wondermind.com podcast, Serena, 40, explained: "Mental fitness for me is just really learning to shut down. And you know I did this years ago, before even mental health was a topic on everyone's mind.
"It was more just like, alright, I'm shutting myself down today. Just subconsciously, it was something I've always done.
"And so, now that I know that it's so important to just put yourself first, especially mentally, I always have shut down moments. I have serious boundaries and I don't let anyone cross those boundaries."
Serena is adamant she needs to work harder on getting her priorities straight and making sure she does nice things for herself.
"For me, it's so important … because I really don't do anything for me, I'm terrible at that. And I've said it time and time again – I'm working on it. But more or less, at least prioritising what I need to do. And then when I'm turned off, I'm turned off."
It comes after the sports star announced she's going to start "evolving away" from tennis but insisted she didn't want to use the word "retirement".
In an essay published in Vogue magazine, she wrote: "I've never liked the word retirement. It doesn't feel like a modern word to me. I've been thinking of this as a transition … maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is evolution.
"I'm here to tell you that I'm evolving away from tennis, towards other things that are important to me."
Serena added she's struggled with the idea of no longer playing, but accepts she needs to start moving on.
She said: "I hate that I have to be at this crossroads. I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it's not. I'm torn: I don't want it to be over, but at the same time I'm ready for what's next."