"That definitely plays a little bit into it"- When Serena Williams stated that having a baby affected matching Grand Slam record

Serena Williams reached her last Wimbledon final in 2019. Seeded 11th in the tournament, the American reached the title clash following wins over Giulia Gatto-Monticone, Kaja Juvan, Julia Gorges, Carla Suarez Navarro, Alison Riske, and Barbora Strycova.

Here, she faced Simona Halep and lost 6-2, 6-2. Williams, who won 23 Majors, lost another opportunity to equal Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles.

The American was asked if she felt she could equal the record in 2019. She responded by claiming that getting pregnant and having her daughter played a little bit of a role in not matching Court's tally. Williams stated that she was focused on just doing her best.

"I had no chance at the French this year, for sure. Someone told me I shouldn't look at the records any more. I should just focus on my game. That's kind of what I've been doing since I got to 18," Serena Williams said.

"In the meantime, I got pregnant, had a baby, so that definitely plays a little bit into it. I don't know. I feel like I'm just really on this journey of just doing the best that I can, playing the best that I can when I can," she added.

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Serena Williams reached four Grand Slam finals after giving birth

Serena Williams in action at the 2022 US Open

Serena Williams' last Grand Slam win came in 2017 when she won the Australian Open by beating her sister Venus in the final. The American, who was eight weeks pregnant at the time of winning, then took a break from tennis.

She returned to action a few months after giving birth to her daughter Olympia. Williams reached four Grand Slam finals since then but was unable to come out on top in any of them.

The American lost the 2018 Wimbledon and US Open finals to Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka respectively. In 2019, she lost to Bianca Andreescu in the US Open final following her Wimbledon title clash defeat to Simona Halep.

Serena Williams never reached another Major final after 2019. 2022 was the former World No. 1's final year in tennis. The American entered Wimbledon and suffered an opening-round defeat to Harmony Tan.

The US Open was Williams' final Grand Slam appearance and she reached the third round of the tournament following wins over Danka Kovinic and Anett Kontaveit. Here, she was beaten by eventual quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets.