Tennis Legends - Serena Williams: The GOAT of women's tennis who won 23 Grand Slams

Serena Williams, in tandem with sister Venus, shook up the tennis establishment in the late 1990s before dominating the early years of the new millennium. Once Serena assumed the mantle from Venus as the best player in the world, her career trajectory saw the younger sister outstrip Venus and deliver on the prediction of their father/coach Richard, who forecasted Serena would be the more successful of the pair.

Her final tally of 23 Grand Slam titles in the Open Era for a female player. At her very best, nobody could live with the big-hitting American. Serena's serve is the greatest single weapon we've seen in the women's game.

Hailing from a rough, working class district of Compton, Los Angeles, the rise of two sisters to reshape women's tennis remains one of the most remarkable narratives across sports. Coached through a textbook by father Richard, who had never played professionally, to reach the heights of a largely middle class sport gives their story and cultural and societal power. The fact they're black, in a largely white sport, only amplifies the groundbreaking nature of their story.

Williams turned professional in October 1995, when still only 14. After a brief debut in Canada, Williams didn't play in the 1996 season.

She won her first match in 1997 in a tournament where she was the youngest ever to defeat two top ten players in the same event. Williams then made a Grand Slam draw debut at the 1998 Australian Open, falling in the second round to Venus, their first of 31 professional meetings.

Williams ascended the rankings swiftly, reaching the top twenty by end of 1998 in a timeframe quicker than anybody previously.

Williams bagged her first WTA title in the February of 1999. A victory over Amélie Mauresmo in Open Gaz De France would be the first of 73 singles titles. The second, a month later, was at 1000 level in Indian Wells where she bested the legendary Steffi Graf in one of just two meetings with the soon-to-be retiring German.

Heading into the 1999 US Open, neither Williams sister had won a Grand Slam. This was rectified when Serena, still just 17, beat Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6 to win her home major.

Despite being the first to win a singles Grand Slam, Williams junior was displaced in the limelight by her older sister during the 2000 and 2001 campaigns. Venus won four majors across these two terms, including beating Serena in the 2001 US Open final. This was their first clash in a major final and the first time a US Open women's singles final had been televised in primetime.

The 2000 season witnessed Williams fail to win any singles titles. Retiring hurt in the Canadian Open final was the closest she came.

At the 2001 Indian Wells Open, Williams won her second 1000 event but the bigger story was accusations made by the Williams’ sisters and father of racist insults from certain members of the crowd. They believed it was a reaction to a semi-final not taking place between the pair and Serena receiving a walkover. Some had opined this was to assist Serena due to Venus being the more successful of the two at this point. The aftermath would be a boycott by the pair until Serena returned in 2015 and Venus a year later.

Three women have completed a calendar year Grand Slam: Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court and the aforementioned Graf, who made hers a golden one. However, Serena is the only woman to hold all four majors at the same time on two separate occasions. The first of these began with a first triumph at the French Open of 2002. A straight sets win over her sister giving her a second Grand Slam success.

The run continued a few weeks later at Wimbledon. She didn't drop a set throughout the fortnight, culminating in Venus losing her crown to Serena. They met again in the US Open final later that season, and the result was replicated. Serena's dominance being emphasised by not dropping a set in seven matches, and losing just 14 games in the opening five rounds.

Anticipation for the 2003 Australian Open was ratcheted up by Serena's quest for tennis immortality. Her journey to the final was more taxing than recent passages. Émilie Loit, in round one, and Kim Clijsters at the last four stage took her to a deciding set. Once again waiting for her in the final was Venus. In a closer affair than in their previous major finals, Serena prevailed 6-4 in the third. A ‘Serena Slam’ immediately catapulted her into legend status.

Another Wimbledon triumph before a period of tragedy and serious health issues see her struggle to maintain winning ways

Williams' 33-match winning streak in the Slams was halted by Justine Henin in the semi-finals of the 2003 French Open. She was soon back to major winning ways when defending her Wimbledon title. Her sister lost to her for a fifth consecutive time in a Grand Slam final. Williams was now the dominant force but a series of horrific curtailed her supremacy.

On September 14th, 2003, only a few days after the US Open had finished, Serena's oldest sister, Yetunde Price was killed in a drive-by-shooting in Compton, California. The shooter mistaking her for a potential gangland rival outside a house they were protecting. Yetunde was with her boyfriend at the time.

Price had worked for the tennis playing sisters as a Personal Assistant, combining the role with her work as a nurse. Despite the immense wealth of Serena and Venus, Price was insistent on staying in the rough environs of Compton and paying her own way.

A centre was opened in Yetunde Price’s name in 2016. The Yetunde Price Community Centre helps those dealing with bereavement.

Serena took time away from tennis after this appalling tragedy. She returned for the Miami Open in spring 2004 and emerged triumphant. Her year would only one further title in China. Williams was also beaten, surprisingly, by a 17-year old Maria Sharapova in the Wimbledon final.

Williams began the 2005 season by capturing a second Australian Open title. She then added the Miami Open a couple of months later before health issues triggering a loss of form led to her descent outside the top ten by the season's end. 2006 was another injury affected campaign that saw Serena go without a title for the first time since 1998. She only featured in two majors and didn't go further than round four in either.

By the time of the 2007 Australian Open, Williams was stationed just outside the top 80 in the world. In a sensational turnaround, Williams blazed her way to glory. Her performance over Sharapova in the final was a clinic in ball-striking. I still regard this as the finest display I've witnessed in the women's game.

A fourth Miami Open title was her only other trophy lift that year, but victory in Melbourne had released her from a career lull.

Four titles were amassed in the 2008 season including a ninth Grand Slam singles title at the US Open, beating Jelena Jankovic in the final. A fifth successive in Miami was an additional highlight.

The 2009 campaign proved a fruitful one. Two Grand Slams victories were achieved for the first time in six years. A straight sets win over Dinara Safina gave her a fourth Australian Open title in seven years. She also triumphed at Wimbledon for a third time with Venus the beaten opponent as on the previous two occasions.

Serena finished her season with a second WTA Finals crown. This ensured she finished as season-end world number one for a second time, and the first time since 2002.

Serena grabbed two titles in the 2010 season but both were majors. She defended her Wimbledon title for a second time with a comfortable victory over Vera Zvonareva. Williams was also the champion in Melbourne, winning a fourth Australian Open title with victory over Henin.

Williams’ 2011 season was disrupted by a serious health issue when she suffered a pulmonary embolism. Blood clots had formed in the lungs and she was close to death. Two titles were picked up but no majors.

Perhaps as a knock on effect of nearly dying, the next few years of Serena's career were her most prolific. It's possible that such a traumatic experience gave her a keener desire to cement her legacy and overhaul Grand Slam records.

The 2012 season witnessed Serena garlanded with silverware on seven occasions. This included a Wimbledon success for a fifth time. At the same venue, just weeks later, she dismantled Sharapova to win her only Olympic singles gold. She finished her season by regaining her US Open title and lifting a third WTA Finals success.

2013 improved on this volume of glory as she accumulated a career high 11 singles titles across the campaign. This included winning her first French Open title for eleven years. Later in the year, Serena beat Victoria Azarenka to secure a fifth US Open title. Other highlights included a sixth Miami Open title and a successful defence at the WTA Finals. She ended a season-end world number one and would do so in 2014 and 2015.

A total of seven titles were added to the bulging Williams’ mantelpiece in 2014. This number featured a seventh Miami Open trophy and most significantly defending the US Open title, equalling the Open Era record for the Stateside major held by Chris Evert.

The 2015 season saw a repeat of the ‘Serena Slam’ . Having won the last major of 2014, Williams claimed the first three of 2015, culminating in Wimbledon glory for sixth time. She was now only the second woman, following Graf, to have won all four majors at least three times, in the Open Era.

This season witnessed a record-extending eighth Miami Open title. She then entered the US Open hoping to be the fourth woman to achieve a calendar year Grand Slam. Under the weight of huge pressure and expectation, Williams wilted in a surprise last four reverse to Italian Roberta Vinci.

Williams’ dominance was steadily eroded in 2016. Reversals in the Australian Open final to Angelique Kerber and at the French Open to Garbine Muguruza dented her supremacy. She did, however, take revenge on Kerber in the Wimbledon final to give her seventh title at SW19.

The 2017 season began with a throwback final between the Williams sisters at the Australian Open. Serena prevailed for a seventh time in Australia. It was later revealed she was around two months pregnant when capturing what turned out to be the last of her record-breaking Open Era tally of 23 Grand Slams, breaking out of a tie with Graf.

During the pregnancy of her first child, Olympia, Williams suffered another pulmonary embolism.

On returning to the Tour in 2018, Williams quickly ascended up the rankings again but didn't convert any deep runs into trophies. Her next five finals were all lost, four of them in Grand Slams. There was a Wimbledon loss to Kerber in the 2018 final before losing to Naomi Osaka of Japan in the US Open showpiece only two months later. The latter match was overshadowed by a furious altercation Williams had with umpire Carlos Ramos at frequent intervals. Osaka, winning her first major, was upset for the trophy presentation due to the ill-feeling still lingering. Williams would later write Osaka a letter of apology for sullying her special moment.

The 2019 season caused additional major heartache when outclassed by Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu in the Wimbledon and US Open finals respectively.

Serena began 2020 by winning the last title of her career in Auckland. It meant she finished with 73 titles from 98 finals.

An increasing effort to stay fit and a diminishing of her movement saw Williams find it difficult to keep pace with the 2020s elite. Semi-final runs at the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open were the last time she figured in the business end of Grand Slams. Her final match was a 2022 US Open third round loss to Alja Tomljanovic.

Serena finished with 23 Grand Slams from 33 finals. She enjoyed 319 weeks as world number one (3rd all-time). On four occasions, Williams was bestowed with the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Award.

In tandem with Venus, a total of 14 Grand Slam doubles titles have been garnered. This makes them one of the most successful combinations in tennis history.

An overall total of 22 titles together from 23 finals indicates they could've quadrupled that number of wins if they'd opted to play more doubles together. After 2010, appearances in doubles events were extremely limited.

They completed a doubles career Grand Slam swiftly - a full set won at the 2001 Australian Open. They last won a doubles major at Wimbledon in 2016, a sixth in the grass court Slam.

Three Olympic doubles titles were won by sport's most famous siblings. Gold medals accrued in Sydney, Beijing and London. With both of them having won a singles gold, Serena are and Venus are the most successful tennis olympians in history.

Serena's Fed Cup participation was infrequent. She featured in the squad that won the tournament in 1999.

In 1998, Serena lifted mixed doubles Grand Slam titles alongside Max Mirnyi, of Belarus, at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Serena married businessman Alexis Ohanian in November 2017. He owns the Reddit site. Six years after having Olympia, Williams and her husband had a second child, Adira.

Serena has always been public about her fashion interests and has carved out a successful business portfolio of her own. A comeback has been mooted in recent months but the idea seems fanciful given her relative decline in the last few years on tour.

Margaret Court's Grand Slam record of 24 ultimately eluded Serena but this shouldn't detract from her standing. Court achieved many of her majors in the less competitive amateur era. Williams’ record is the best in Open Era tennis.

What also sets apart Serena in the pantheon is her longevity of winning the sport's blue riband events. Her two ‘Serena Slams’ were spaced more than a decade apart. She's the only woman to complete a career Grand Slam after turning 30. Her major winning span lasted over 17 years.

No player has ever felt quite so dominant when Williams was at her best. Navratilova had Evert winning the same number of Slams in her era. While Graf was supplanted by Monica Seles for a few years in what was the German's prime. Serena's rivals could never in her pomp produce a sustained run of triumphs in the same way other greats experienced against their contemporaries. At her best, Serena was unplayable.