Serena Williams has established herself as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
Similarly, the Swiss Maestro has done exactly the same, and the pair share 43 Grand Slams between them.
They have each impacted the men’s and women’s game in multiple ways and changed the way the game was played with their respective styles of play.
Williams and Federer became greats of the game while playing at the same time and they both inspired each other by what they were able to accomplish.
What Serena Williams said about her relationship with Roger Federer during their careers
Serena Williams and Roger Federer played alongside one another throughout their careers.
Both players made their main draw professional debuts in the late 1990s, and ended their careers in 2022, just three weeks apart.
They shared a combined 15 Wimbledon titles, three of which they won in the same season, in addition to multiple Australian Open and US Open championships.
During Williams’ ‘In the Arena’ documentary, they both described their relationship during their careers, which ran parallel in several ways.
“I think with anybody who played your sport you have a bond but even more so with somebody like Serena,” Federer said. “We go way back. We played on the same courts. We won the same tournaments and felt the same amount of pressure.
“It’s 15 years of seeing each other, waiting for each other and for me to finish my match so she could play hers or vice versa, so I have spent hours and hours watching Serena play and admiring what she has done.”
Williams added: “My career was weirdly parallel with Roger Federer. He and I were the same age, and I always looked up to Roger in a way. He always knew how to handle every single situation. He always knew how to win.
“I would study his game and I would say how do I hit the ball early and move like that, how do I have that footwork like Roger Federer? I want to study him because he is the best.”
How did Serena Williams and Roger Federer deal with playing tennis after turning 30?
One of the most impressive things about Federer and Williams’ careers was how well they played late in their careers.
Federer was 36 when he claimed his final Grand Slam title and reached his last major final aged 37, while Williams won her final Grand Slam against her sister Venus Williams aged 35. She was the same as Federer when she played her last Grand Slam final at the 2019 US Open.
They remained at or near the top of the game deep into their thirties, but they agreed that they felt the nerves and pressure to maintain their highest level for as long as possible.
“There is a million questions I would have for Serena and she would have for me. How did you deal with that loss or that injury,” Federer explained.
“When you are at the top and especially at the top for so long, and you don’t win one or two slams people are like what is going on? Now you are over 30 how much longer can you play? You have achieved everything, you are done and when are you going to retire?”
Williams, who was inspired by Federer to keep raising her level in her thirties, added: “I was so afraid to reach 30. I was like ‘oh my goodness, my career is going to be over’ because I never thought I would play past 30.
“I think this was a time in particular where people had totally counted myself out and counted Roger out, thinking that we are both 30 and that was the end of our careers and that was that.
“But I just felt like we both had more to give and I really felt this weird unspoken connection to Roger that I can’t explain. I always thought if Roger could do it I could do it.”
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