Serena Williams - Five questions for the fifth decade of life
Serena Williams celebrated her 40th birthday yesterday. After Roger Federer and most recently Feliciano Lopez, she is the third top tennis player to actively begin her fifth decade of life. We have a couple of questions. And try to find answers ...
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Sep 26, 2021, 10:30 pm
Question 1: How many more tournaments will Serena Williams win?
Serena has won 73 titles during her terrific career, the last one in Auckland in early 2020. In any case, only the majors are really of interest. And that's when it gets really tough. This would be supported by the fact that the four Grand Slam tournaments usually have a day of rest between matches. Serena won seven games in a row at a tournament in Melbourne in 2017. Answer 1: Not a major.
Question 2: Is Serena Williams the greatest tennis player of all time with 23 Grand Slam titles?
This is of course always a matter of taste. In purely sporting terms, Margaret Court has a major win ahead of her. However, Court played at a time when the performance density was nowhere near as high as in the past two decades. And speaking of: Margaret Court in particular shows how much you can damage your sporting legacy by embarrassing off the pitch. Serena's commitment to social issues nowhere near the heights of Martina Navratilova or Billie Jean King. But Serena has always raised her voice on issues related to discrimination against black people. Answer: yes.
Question 3: Will we see Serena as a trainer on the tour at some point?
Can daughter Olympia travel with you? Then maybe that would be a possibility. Short answer 3 but: No.
Question 4: Is there a legitimate successor to Serena already emerging?
Very calm, brown. After sister Venus (seven), Naomi Osaka is the most successful active player on the WTA tour with four major titles. There are still six missing to a double-digit balance, who knows whether Osaka will have the strength and the desire to do it. Bianca Andreescu, Iga Swiatek and Emma Raducanu have already taken step one, but the confirmations are still pending. Since the tennis year only holds four Grand Slam tournaments, this can take a while. Answer 4: No.
Question 5: Could there have been more for Serena Williams?
In terms of Grand Slam successes, one could cite the defeat in the final at the 2011 US Open against Samatha Stosur. Or the 2004 Wimbledon final against Maria Sharapova. Not to forget: The semifinal bankruptcy against Roberta Vinci in New York City in 2015. And the last four appearances in major finals were not good: 2018 against Angelique Kerber in Wimbledon and against Naomi Osaka at the US Open, a year later against Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu at the same tournaments. Answer 5: Yes.