After almost three decades at the top, Serena Williams is preparing to bid farewell to the game. Here is a look at her greatest milestones.
Serena Williams to retire after the US Open
Tennis legend Serena Williams is bidding farewell to the game. On Tuesday, the tennis icon confirmed that she will be “evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
“I have never liked the word retirement,” Williams wrote in a Vogue article. “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me. “A few years ago I quietly started Serena Ventures, a venture capital firm.”
Alongside her sister Venus, she broke racial barriers and glass ceilings across the US and the world. While retiring after the US Open, she added that she does not want a “ceremonial, final on-court moment”. Debuting professionally in October 1995 at the young age of 14, she has raked up several world records and laurels.
Serena Williams is the most successful women’s singles player at the Australian Open, having won seven trophies in the Open era. She has also won seven Wimbledon titles and 3 Roland Garros (2002, 2013, and 2015).
Williams has won the most number of Grand Slams (women’s singles) in the Open Era.
Unbreakable records of Serena Williams
Williams is the only woman player to have recorded more than 65 wins across all four Slams. Australia Open (92), French Open (69), Wimbledon: (98), and US Open (106).
Williams spent 319 weeks at the top of the WTA Rankings, which puts her third in the all-time list behind Steffi Graf (377) and Martina Navratilova (332). She first reached No 1 in July 2002 and her last stint at the top was in May 2017. During this time, she was number one for 186 weeks straight between February 2013 and September 2016.
Additionally, she is a four-time Olympic gold medalist with one medal each from the 2000 and 2008 games, and two from the 2012 games.
Williams and Graf are the only two players in the Open Era to win four consecutive majors on two separate occasions. Williams also holds the record for winning a major in three different decades.
Williams won the fifth most single titles, totaling 73. She bagged her first title in Open GDF Suez in 1999. Her latest to-date title is from the 2020 Aukland Open held in New Zealand. Additionally, the American star hit the most aces – men or women – during Wimbledon 2012. She also sent down a personal best of 24 aces during her semi-final win over Victoria Azarenka.
At the age of 35 years and four months, she is the oldest women’s Grand Slam singles winner. She achieved this feat after winning the 2017 Australian Open. Williams made history as the oldest player to reach a final in the 2019 US Open. She became the runner-up at the age of 37 years and 11 months. Moreover, among her slew of Grand Slams, 10 came after she turned 30. (allproshadeconcepts.com)