Serena Williams is considered by many to be the greatest female tennis player of all time.
No player in women’s tennis has won more Open Era Grand Slam titles than Williams, as she dominated the sport throughout her career.
Williams won 23 WTA Major singles titles between 1999 and 2017, competing in 33 finals.
The American won seven Wimbledon, seven Australian Open, six US Open, and three French Open titles, as she completed the Career Grand Slam three times over.
Her numbers dwarf those of the current stars of the WTA Tour, with Iga Swiatek’s five Major crowns the most of any active women’s player.
As one of the sport’s greatest-ever legends, her words carry a lot of value, and when she makes a prediction everyone listens.
That was the case back in 2013, as she tipped a young British star to become one of the best in women’s tennis.
Serena Williams predicted Laura Robson would become a top-ten player back in 2013
Having qualified for the third round of Wimbledon with a straight sets win over qualifier Caroline Garcia, Williams was asked about another rising star in women’s tennis.
Laura Robson had herself made her way into the third round at SW19, for the first time as a 19-year-old.
After her win over Garcia, Williams was full of praise for the young Brit.
“She’s a great person, first of all,” said Williams.
“I think that starts a really good career, she has an unbelievable game, she’s so powerful, she’s so positive.
“I think those are all qualities of what it takes to be a top player, she definitely has them all.”
The world number one was then asked whether she thought Robson had the potential to become a top-ten player on the WTA Tour.
“I think she can go further than that,” said Williams.
Both Robson and Williams were knocked out in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2013, losing to Kaia Kanepi and Sabine Lisicki.
After the match, Robson shared her disappointment having failed to reach the quarter-finals, but had her sights firmly set on improving.
“I’m really, really disappointed, I put so much pressure on myself,” she said.
“I have a good chance next year to get my ranking even higher.”
Robson reached a career-high ranking of 27th in the world upon the conclusion of the 2013 Wimbledon tournament, but never quite managed to fulfil her very evident potential.
Did Laura Robson ever reach the top-ten after Serena Williams’ prediction?
The British star entered the US Open in 2013 as a seeded player for the first time in her career, reaching the third round, coming up short against China’s Li Na.
It was around this time that wrist injuries began to hurt Robson, as a first surgery took her out for almost the entirety of 2014.
Further surgery soon followed as the now 31-year-old played just a handful of matches in 2015, going winless until coming out a 6-1, 6-1 victor against Morocco’s Ghita Benhadi in April 2016.
Her form and fitness continued to let her down, as Robson began to struggle with her hip in July 2018, undergoing surgery that saw her out of action for over eight months.
Robson’s hip continued to bother her, as she chose to have another operation, before retiring from the sport in 2022.
Williams had predicted huge things for the young Brit back in 2013, but injuries prevented her from reaching that potential.
- 2015 Wimbledon – Lost in 1R
- 2015 US Open – Lost in 1R
- 2016 French Open – Lost in 1R
- 2016 Wimbledon – Lost in 1R
- 2016 US Open – Lost in 1R
- 2017 Wimbledon – Lost in 1R
After winning seven matches at the Grand Slam level in 2013 alone, Robson never won a match at a Major tournament again.
When she retired in 2022, she did so having failed to pick up a WTA title during her time on tour, something that fans and players would have struggled to believe back in 2013.
Robson now works as a commentator and pundit, and can often be seen during the sport’s biggest tournaments.
She will also be stepping into a new role in 2025, as Robson was announced as a tournament director for the new Queen’s Club WTA 500 event.
Robson may not have fulfilled the potential that Williams once predicted she would reach, but that’s not to say that she hasn’t had a big impact on women’s tennis.
The Queen’s Club WTA tournament will begin on June 17.
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