"There is less self-belief" - Justine Henin believes Serena Williams may never win 24th Grand Slam title

Former World No.1 Justine Henin has stated that she is beginning to have doubts as to whether Serena Williams will win a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title.

Williams last won a Major at the 2017 Australian Open, after which she took maternity leave to give birth to her daughter. Upon return to the tour, the American has lost four Grand Slam finals, and Henin believes this may be because the 40-year old has lost some of her fear factor.

“The young players are starting to fear Serena Williams less,” Henin told Eurosport. “We were afraid of Serena in my era. And a lot of girls continued to be afraid of her for years. Now it's just not the case anymore and certainly she feels it.

You can feel that her attitude on court has changed. There is less self-belief, There is less confidence and potentially, we can ask, is there still the same drive, the same desire?

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“And frankly, we are allowed to answer 'no'. That does not take anything from her and she remains someone exceptional in all that she has accomplished. That will never change. And maybe she's at that point. Maybe she's in that phase of her life where maybe it's potentially time to move on.”

Although Williams announced her withdrawal from the 2022 Australian Open, the former World No.1 has not given any sign that she will retire soon. However, Henin believes that the American may never add another Grand Slam title to her collection.

"I'm starting to have to be convinced, that the quest that she had set herself to go and win more Grand Slams, at least one Grand Slam, won't happen," added Henin. But it's always hard to answer 100 per cent it's not going to happen."