“She should be considered alongside the likes of Tom Brady, Usain Bolt and Michael Jordan; not only did she reach the summit, she did it without favours being handed out” - Craig Gabriel on Serena Williams

Serena Williams should be considered alongside the likes of Tom Brady, Usain Bolt and Michael Jordan, according to veteran media personality Craig Gabriel. According to him, her achievements in tennis are ‘truly remarkable’ and she’s proven people wrong throughout her career.

Based in Sydney, Craig Gabriel is a radio and TV broadcaster who has also worked for several websites, including those of Williams and Andy Roddick. He has also served as the media director at the Apia International Sydney and Shanghai Rolex Masters.

In an article for We Are Tennis, Gabriel spoke highly of Williams and said that she should be held at the same level as some of the best athletes in the world across all sports.

“She never wanted to be considered the greatest female athletes in the world, she wanted to be considered one of the greatest athletes. Period,” he said, adding, “She should probably be considered alongside the likes of Tom Brady, Usain Bolt, Michael Jordan, etc because not only did she reach the summit, she and her family did it without favours being handed out.”

The 40-year-old Williams broke the news of her retirement plans in an article for Vogue magazine. Gabriel said that while it is not the conventional way for a sportsperson to announce his/her retirement, Williams has always been used to "doing things her way."

“Her announcement in Vogue magazine was a different way of doing things but then being different and doing things her way has made Serena Williams stand out from the crowd. Her announcement declaring her career match point had arrived was inevitable, but even Serena could not have envisaged going out of tennis the way things developed the last few weeks,” he said.

In the column for Vogue, the 23-time Grand Slam champion said that she preferred the term ‘evolution’ over ‘retirement,’ and Gabriel agreed with her line of thought.

“The “R” word can easily be used in this situation but in essence she is not retiring. She is simply moving to another phase of her life, it’s not as if she is riding off into the sunset. For Serena there is no happiness in the matter and having worked for her I would know that to be true. You can feel how awkward and emotional it all is,” he stated.

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“It could have started at the 2021 Australian Open when she lost to Naomi Osaka” - Craig Gabriel on when Serena Williams first thought of retirement

Serena Williams waves goodbye following her defeat to Naomi Osaka at the 2021 Australian Open

Having struggled with injuries over the last few years, fans and pundits had expected Serena Williams to call time on her professional playing career at any moment. However, having sat on the sidelines for more than a year, she made her comeback at the Eastbourne International (doubles) and Wimbledon (singles).

She then shocked the world by announcing her plans to retire just as she was looking to build form and fitness ahead of the US Open, where she will have her eyes on equalling Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 Majors.

Craig Gabriel, in the same article, believes that the idea of hanging up her racquet probably came to Williams at the start of the 2021 season.

“It has been an emotional time for one of the immortals of professional tennis. How long this decision has been in the research and development stage is unknown but it could have started at the 2021 Australian Open when she lost to Naomi Osaka,” he said.

“Serena paused as she left Rod Laver Arena and took a look around. Her wave was almost like a farewell wave. Not long after she left her post-match media conference in tears. Realisation, maybe, at that time the net was being wound down,” he added.

Serena Williams will be in action next at the US Open, the final tournament of her illustrious career.