Serena Williams was perhaps the biggest star in the history of the WTA Tour and, although she won a Slam less than the record-woman Margaret Court, the American is (in my opinion) undoubtedly the strongest tennis player ever, as well as the biggest star in women’s sports of all time.
The former American legend expressed a series of interesting considerations on the epilogue of her career, especially on the number of Majors she could have won if it weren’t for her sister Venus.
“We had this rule with my sister: if we played each other before the final, we had to win the title. I think Venus would have had a minimum of 15 Slams if I hadn’t played. On the contrary, I would have had 30,” she said with great honesty.
Serena then focused on women’s sports and the moment they are experiencing, analyzing: “Women’s sports are not having a good moment. They’ve always been there, you’re just noticing it. Venus and I have been around forever and we’ve had the most viewers ever at the US Open, every single Grand Slam with any type of female athlete. But it’s also the fact that there are other amazing players who have done so well for so long.”
Serena Williams© YouTube screenshot
The 23-time Grand Slam champion then made a deep reflection on the meaning of the defeat.
“I never wanted to lose, but unfortunately, I think you learn some of the greatest lessons when you lose. Because of every loss that I’ve had, I’ve really become the tennis player that everyone knows now. Without some of those losses, I would never have been this person.
It was very difficult to go back and watch the footage of why I was losing, but it also helped me. Like with investing, if I do something wrong, if this didn’t go well, I ask myself why it didn’t go well; what did we like, what can we learn from this and so I’m bringing that tennis aspect to the whole court,” explained Serena.
Tennis World USA