World No. 1 Serena Williams is considered by many to be the greatest tennis player in the history of tennis, and the American’s record speaks for itself. She recently equalled Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam titles with her title victory at Wimbledon, and looks set to beat it with a 23rd at the US Open, where she already has six singles titles.
The 34-year-old is known for her powerful, fast serves and prowess across surfaces, with few opponents able to match her serves or stamina. After following quickly in the successes of older sister Venus, Serena won her first singles Grand Slam at the US Open in 1999 – having already won Majors prior to this.
Williams has a staggering thirty-eight majors titles to her name – 22 in the singles, 14 in the women’s doubles, and two mixed doubles wins.
The US Open is her forte – Williams has six singles titles here, two doubles and a mixed doubles win here, and has long been known to favour hard courts despite her successes on every surface in the game.
Should she win the US Open singles title this year, she will have 23 – the highest in the Open Era, and only one short of the all-time record, set by Australian ace Margaret Court.
As if these achievements did not seem enough, Williams also has four Olympic gold medals – one in the singles, won at London 2012, and three doubles – one of those in London, each won with older sister and former No. 1 Venus Williams.
Now, Serena is on the cusp of setting the longest ever streak as World No. 1 at 186 weeks – and another week at the top will give the American the record from Steffi Graf, whom she now equals.
Also a pathbreaker for women in sport, Williams has broken racial barriers in tennis over her long-sustaining career.
Former World No. 1s Roger Federer, who like Williams is considered the greatest of all time, and Rafael Nadal, came together with several Olympic athletes to pay tribute to Williams during her US Open stint.
Federer describes the American as an ‘inspiration’ who has propelled a new generation to take up the sport of tennis, saying he was in “awe of everything you do”, while Nadal said she was his “personal inspiration.”
Gold-winning gymnast Simone Biles, her colleague Gabby Douglas, basketballer Lisa Leslie
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