Roger Federer vs Serena Williams: Who has the better record at Wimbledon?

Roger Federer and Serena Williams are among a handful of players to have completed the Career Grand Slam — winning all four Majors at least one time each. It is at Wimbledon, however, that they have had some of their best career highlights.

Federer, for instance, is the man with the most titles won at SW19 in the Open Era, with eight trophies to his name. The Swiss maestro first won in 2003 — his maiden Slam title — and then defended his title at Wimbledon for the next four years on the trot.

After taking the glory in 2009 and 2012, Federer also remained the last man standing in 2017 — his final triumph at the grass Major. Additionally, he reached four more finals at the tournament — 2008, 2014, 2015, and 2019. Between 1999 and 2021, the 20-time Grand Slam champion made 22 appearances at SW19, registering an overall win/loss record of 105-14 (88.2% winning percentage).

Serena Williams, meanwhile, is a seven-time champion at Wimbledon, which is two fewer than Martina Navratilova's Open Era women's record of nine. The American's maiden grass Major came in 2002, which she defended in 2003. She had to wait until 2009 to triumph again at SW19, followed immediately by her fourth triumph the following year.

Williams' fifth Wimbledon title came in 2012, with her final two flourishes coming in 2015 and 2016. Additionally, the former World No. 1 reached four more finals at the competition — 2004, 2008, 2018, and 2019. Between 1998 and 2022, Serena Williams made 21 appearances at Wimbledon, registering an overall win/loss record of 98-14 (87.5% winning percentage).

To compare and contrast, Federer's first Wimbledon appearance was a first-round exit, while Williams reached the third round in hers. However, the Swiss reached the quarterfinals in his last-ever SW19 appearance, while Williams faced a first-round loss.

Among notable records, Roger Federer is not only the man with the most Wimbledon titles in the Open Era, but he is also tied with Bjorn Borg for most consecutive triumphs (five) in the competition. Serena Williams, meanwhile, has largely been overshadowed at SW19 by Navratilova.

It should be noted that Williams has six women's doubles titles at Wimbledon, all of which came alongside her sister Venus Williams. She also has one mixed doubles crown, winning the 1998 edition with Max Mirnyi.

Federer, on the other hand, has largely been absent in doubles action. Interestingly, however, he won the 1998 Wimbledon juniors title, both in singles as well as doubles (partnering with Olivier Rochus).

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"Wimbledon was always my favorite tournament" - Roger Federer

China Tennis Shanghai Masters Federer

Roger Federer has been very clear in his views that Wimbledon has always been his favorite tournament. He said in October 2019 (h/t TennisHead):

"Wimbledon was always my favourite tournament, will always be my favourite tournament. My heroes walked the grounds here and walked the courts here. Because of them, I think I became a better player."

The 20-time Grand Slam champion also revealed that he had never expected to overtake Pete Sampras' record of seven titles at the tournament, remarking:

"I didn’t think I was going to be this successful after beating Pete here. I hoped to have a chance maybe one day to be in a Wimbledon final and have a chance to win the tournament. Winning eight is not something you can ever aim for, in my opinion."