Women's Tennis: 5 unbreakable records of Serena Williams

Arjun
Serena Williams - a seven-time winner at the All England Club
Serena Williams - a seven-time winner at the All England Club

American Serena Williams rose to prominence in the late 1990s winning her first Grand Slam at the US Open of 1999 aged just 17. Since then, Serena Williams has been an evergreen force on the Women's Tour. Blessed with an athletic frame, Serena has used her strength to dominate the game with her powerful serves and groundstrokes.

Serena became World Number 1 for the first time in July 2002 and since then, she has been ranked as the World Number 1 player eight times including an all-time record of 186 consecutive weeks between February 2013 and September 2016 (tying the record held by Steffi Graf).

At the age of 37, Serena's hunger for success still is as strong as ever and the 'WTA Comeback Player of the Year' Award in 2018 is proof of that. Serena Williams will be looking to become the oldest Grand Slam winner in the Open Era come 2019 as she continues in her quest to overtake the all-time Grand Slam tally of Margaret Court.

We take a look at five amazing records set by Serena Williams which are most likely never to be matched or broken.


#5 Years between losing consecutive matches

Serena Williams has been ranked WTA number one in ten different years of her professional career ( 2002, 2003, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017). That ties her with Steffi Graf on the all-time charts. No other woman across Eras has matched this record.

In 2009, Serena Williams lost four back-to-back matches at the Key Biscayne Premier Mandatory Open, Andalucia Tennis Open, Madrid Open and the Italian Open. For the next eight years, she didn't lose another couple of back-to-back matches. That streak ended in 2018 at the Miami Open.

#4 Only player to win a Grand Slam in three different decades

Serena Williams with her first Grand Slam crown at the US Open of 1999
Serena Williams with her first Grand Slam crown at the US Open of 1999

Serena Williams' first Grand Slam title came in the year 1999 at the US Open when she was just shy of her 18th birthday. Her latest Grand Slam title came at the 2017 Australian Open at the age of 35. That makes it an 18-year gap between her first Grand Slam title and her latest to date. Three women previously held the record with a 12-year gap. (Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf.) What makes this 18-year time span even more special is that Serena Williams is the only player across all Eras to win Grand Slam titles in three different decades (the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s).


#3 Wins against Number 1 ranked players over the world

Serena Williams with the World Number 1 trophy presented to her at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals: Singapore 2014
Serena Williams with the World Number 1 trophy presented to her at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals: Singapore 2014

This stat exemplifies the longevity that Serena Williams has had in the sport more than any other statistic. Since the WTA rankings were first introduced in 1975, 25 players have been ranked as World Number 1 till date. Of the 25 players to have been ranked Numero Uno, Serena Williams has logged victories against 21 of them. The only four players whom she hasn't logged a win against are the ones who retired even before her career began: Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, Tracy Austin and Evonne Goolagong Cawley.

Serena has a win-loss record of 166-62 against players who’ve been ranked No. 1. Of the 21 World Number 1 ranked players whom she has beaten, she has a losing record against only Arantxa Sanchez Vicario at 3-4.

#2 Most Grand Slam wins after saving match points in the final

Serena Williams poses with the Rose Water Dish at the Wimbledon Winners Party 2009
Serena Williams poses with the Rose Water Dish at the Wimbledon Winners Party 2009

Very few players manage to win Grand Slam titles after saving match points during the course of the tournament. Of the few who managed to do so, they accomplish this once just once or at most twice.

But, Serena Williams is an outlier with regard to this too as she has won three Grand Slam titles after saving match points. She achieved this first at the 2003 Australian Open beating her sister Venus Williams in the final. She faced two match points in the second set before prevailing. It was a repeat performance by Serena in 2005 at the same Grand Slam as she again saved three match points against Maria Sharapova in her semi-final win.

At the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, Serena Williams played Russian Olympic Gold Medalist Elena Dementieva in the semi-final. She needed to save four match points in a contest which lasted over two hours to book her place in the final. In the final, she had a routine win over her sister - Venus Williams.

#1 50 or more Grand Slam wins across all four Grand Slams

Serena Williams after winning the 2017 Australian Open
Serena Williams after winning the 2017 Australian Open

No woman in the Open Era can even boast of at least 40 wins across all Grand Slam tournaments, but evergreen Serena Williams has at least 50 wins in each of the four Grand Slam tournaments. This is a truly remarkable statistic and speaks volumes about her commitment and longevity in the sport. Even when most of her rivals from the 2000s have called it quits years back, Serena's dedication and will to win trophies remains unmatched.

Serena has a 331-45 win-loss record at Grand Slams, 81-10 at the Australian Open (89% win percentage), 63-12 record at the French Open (81% win percentage), 92-11 record at the Wimbledon Championships (89% win percentage) and 95-12 record at the US Open (89% win percentage).

Serena Williams has won six Grand Slam titles without dropping a set, a record she shares with the great Martina Navratilova.

Is Serena Williams a Jehovah's Witness? Why American legend doesn't celebrate birthdays or Christmas