Serena Williams is the legendary icon when it comes to female tennis and in the open era nobody has amassed more Grand Slam titles than the youngest of two Williams sisters.
Williams won a whopping 23 Grand Slam singles titles and also got her hands on a further 14 titles playing doubles at the major events with her sister Venus where the pair suffering defeat came as frequently as a Tottenham Hotspur trophy!
As a player, Williams was always the one to beat. She typically overcame all comers especially when it came to the big occasion and her career finished with trophies galore.
These days, Serena is still an icon to the current players. Coco Gauff was wowed by Williams at the Super Bowl after she performed an unreal piece of movement whilst dancing along to Kendrick Lemar’s set during the half-time show.
Back in July 2010, Serena was on top of the world. Not just in the sense of the rankings but she had just won Wimbledon for the fourth time in her career and Billie Jean King set the American a challenge.
The challenge Billie Jean King set Serena Williams in 2010
The challenge was set by King when she was interviewed ahead of the World Team Tennis tournament as she conducted her media conference.
She basically conceded that Serena had gone some way to confirming herself as one of the greats but tasked her with going beyond other legends of the game including Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graff.
When quizzed on Williams winning Wimbledon, King said during the media conference: “I think it’s great. I think her next goal now should be to beat Chris and Martina’s 18 singles, then thereafter she can go on to Steffi Graf. There’s no reason Serena Williams shouldn’t be the greatest woman player that’s ever played.
“Every generation I think gets better usually. Up to this time the greatest singles, doubles and mixed player has been Martina Navratilova. I think the greatest singles player up to this time has been Graf. There’s no reason that Serena can’t surpass some goals of people.
“I still think it’s very important. I think everyone emphasizes the majors so much. In the old days when we played, we emphasized the tour a lot more. That’s when we had over 40 tournaments and TeamTennis in this country when we were doing our best. It really gets back to making sure we have tennis in the community, TeamTennis, Fed Cups, Davis Cups in our communities because it’s the only way we’re going to get our kids inspired.
“I think they have to see live. They cannot just read about it and cannot just see it. But I think reading about it’s important for their imagination. I just wish we had more tennis in this country.”
Did Williams complete challenge set to her by King?
Not only did she complete the challenge but she smashed things to pieces and by modern-day standards, Williams is firmly out in front when it comes to major titles won.
Williams finished with 23 Grand Slam singles titles and that is the highest of any female player in the open era. Margaret Court did win more but there is a discussion over whether they’re a true comparison alongside Williams.
| Most Successful Women in Grand Slam Events (Modern Era) | Total |
| Serena Williams | 23 |
| Steffi Graf | 22 |
| Chris Evert | 18 |
| Martina Navratilova | 18 |
| Monica Seles | 9 |
The player who won an Olympic gold medal in singles too pretty much completed tennis. She remains a superstar to this day and is now doing the business as an author away from the game.
Williams gave absolutely everything she had to dedicate her life to professional tennis. Now, it remains to be seen whether any of the current players on the tour will get remotely close to her total of Grand Slam titles.
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