"People saying she's hurting her legacy, they are full of it" - When Martina Navratilova defended Serena Williams against criticism for 24th Slam hunt

Martina Navratilova once stuck up for Serena Williams after she was forced to withdraw from the 2021 US Open. The 18-time Grand Slam champion made it clear that Williams deserved no criticism for her continued pursuit of greatness in the sport.

Williams won her 23rd Grand Slam title at 2017 Australian Open, while pregnant with her daughter Olympia. Having surpassed Steffi Graf's Open Era record, she then set her sights on matching Margaret Court's all-time tally of 24 Major. Although the American reached four Major finals between 2018 and 2019 after her maternity leave, she failed to achieve the milestone.

Serena Williams then missed the chance to bid for the title at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, being forced to retire from her first-round match with a hamstring injury. Although she was expected to make her highly anticipated return to the court at the US Open, she withdrew from her home Slam as she hadn't recovered from the torn harmstring.

In an interview with the New York Times, Martina Navratilova firmly shut down the criticism Serena Williams received for "hurting her legacy" with her quest to win her 24th Major title. She emphasized that the 23-time Grand Slam champion had long since proven her greatness, and no result could change that.

"Serena has won 23 majors, period, end of story. She’s still Serena. I don’t think winning 24 makes her any greater. The fact she’s trying is to be commended. The people saying she shouldn’t have tried because she’s just hurting her legacy, they are full of it. My goodness. The only people who never fail are the ones that never try," Navratilova said.

Drawing from her own experience of winning her ninth Wimbledon title in 1990 while dealing with a fitness issue, Navratilova empathized with Williams over how "frustrating" it was to be sabotaged by her own body when her skills remained the same.

"I won my last Wimbledon on bad knees, and I wish I had gotten them fixed sooner, just like I’m sure Serena wishes she had gotten the hamstring taken care of sooner. When the body doesn’t let you do what you know you can do that’s the most frustrating thing. If you’re just not good enough you can accept that, but when your body is kind of sabotaging you, that is a heartbreak," she added.

Interestingly, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal joined Serena Williams in pulling out of the New York Major that year. Federer announced that he would miss the event to undergo knee surgery, while Nadal ended his season early because of his recurring foot injury.

"I think Rafael Nadal has a much better chance of getting healthy" - Martina Navratilova on Serena Williams and Roger Federer's futures

Serena Williams and Roger Federer - Source: Getty

In the same interview, Martina Navratilova made a grim prediction about Serena Williams and Roger Federer's tennis future as injuries prevented them from competing at the 2021 US Open. The former World No. 1 questioned whether either of them would be able to return to playing a high level of tennis.

In contrast, Navratilova expressed her belief that Rafael Nadal had a far better chance of recovering from his foot injury and returning to his peak form on tour.

"I think Rafa has a much better chance of getting healthy, and he’s younger also. If the foot heals up, he’ll be good to go. But with Roger and Serena, I think they’ll still play. I don’t think we will never see them play a match again, but I just don’t know what level they can get to," Navratilova said.

Martina Navratilova's prediction turned out to be correct, as Roger Federer and Serena Williams both retired in 2022 without adding to their Major tallies. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal triumphed at the Australian Open and the French Open that year and ultimately ended his career with 22 Grand Slam titles in 2024.