By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Tennis is a number's sport.
During her iconic career, Serena Williams delivered digits that defy imagination.
More: Serena Retiring
The 23-time Grand Slam champion captured four Olympic gold medals, held the world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles, completed two Serena Slams (2002-2003 and 2014-2015), captured 73 career titles and collected more than $94 million in prize money.
The 41-year-old superstar will close the curtain on her brilliant career after this month's US Open
It will be Williams' final shot to match Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 career Grand Slam championships.
In a new interview with Vogue Magazine, Williams discusses approaching retirement and her view on the major race.
Notorious perfectionist Serena says "the way I see it, I should have 30-plus Grand Slam [titles]", but believes title trophies don't define her legacy.
"There are people who say I’m not the GOAT because I didn’t pass Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles, which she achieved before the “open era” that began in 1968," Serena told Vogue. "I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that record. Obviously I do. But day to day, I’m really not thinking about her. If I’m in a grand slam final, then yes, I am thinking about that record.
"Maybe I thought about it too much, and that didn’t help. The way I see it, I should have had 30-plus Grand Slams."
Nineteen years after the Williams sisters squared off in their first professional meeting in Melbourne, the most successful sister act in sport staged another family reunion in the 2017 Australian Open final.
Commanding the center of the court, Serena hit her way into history defeating Venus, 6-4, 6-4, to claim her seventh Australian Open title and Open Era-record 23rd Grand Slam championship, breaking the mark she shared with Steffi Graf. Serena won Melbourne while pregnant with her daughter, Olympia, but has lost her last four major finals since then.
A philosophical Serena says she's at peace if she ends her career with 23 Grand Slam crowns because "I showed up 23 times and that's fine.Actually, it's extraordinary."
"I had my chances after coming back from giving birth," Serena said. "I went from a C-section to a second pulmonary embolism to a grand slam final. I played while breastfeeding. I played through postpartum depression. But I didn’t get there.
"Shoulda, woulda, coulda. I didn’t show up the way I should have or could have. But I showed up 23 times, and that’s fine. Actually it’s extraordinary. But these days, if I have to choose between building my tennis rĂ©sumĂ© and building my family, I choose the latter."
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve