6 Reasons Serena Williams Is The GOAT

On and off the court!

Serena Williams’ swan song at the US Open this month was a bittersweet moment for her legion of fans. Irrefutably the greatest women’s tennis player of all time, Serena’s successes have extended well beyond the grass courts of Wimbledon and clay courts of Roland-Garros. Across her luminous 23-Grand-Slam-title career, Serena has dropped jaws on the fashion circuit, appeared in chart-topping music videos, and become a powerful spokesperson for women of colour all over the globe.

With Serena’s victory lap well underway, we thought it was time to pull out the Hawk-Eye and revisit the moments that have defined her career so far.

Virgil Abloh and Serena Williams for Off-White Courtesy of Vogue

Serving Aces in the Style Department
A trailblazer in women’s fashion for many years, Serena Williams has routinely dropped jaws on the runway, street and tennis court. Throughout her career on tour, she’s worn a Black Panther-inspired catsuit (promptly banned by French Open officials), a maxi overskirt emblazoned with the words ‘Mother, champion, queen, goddess’, and several Off-White sneakers designed by her good friend and frequent collaborator, Virgil Abloh. In March, she even walked for Virgil’s emotional Off-White show in Paris, the Fall 2022 collection titled ‘Spaceship Earth: An Imaginary Experience’.

For her farewell tour at the US Open in September, Serena Williams wore a six-layer skirt (one layer for each of the US Open titles she’s won) and laced custom NikeCourt Flare 2s complete with a Swoosh made up of 400 hand-set diamonds.

Indian Wells Masters
In 2001, Serena’s father was accused of match-fixing at Indian Wells after Venus pulled out of the tournament with a tendonitis injury (Venus was scheduled to face off against Serena in a much-anticipated semi-final).

Unfortunately, the controversy caused a raucous environment for Serena in her final against Kim Clijsters, with the predominantly white crowd raining boos on the 19-year-old and allegedly shouting racist abuse at Venus and Richard in the stands. Still, Serena battled through the match, eventually winning (4-6, 6-4, 6-2).

The events caused both Venus and Serena to boycott Indian Wells for the next 14 years.

Looking back on the experience in 2015, Williams told Time that Indian Wells haunted her family for a long time.

“It angered and saddened my father. He dedicated his whole life to prepping us for this incredible journey, and there he had to sit and watch his daughter being taunted, sparking cold memories of his experiences growing up in the South”, Williams remembered.

When Life Gives You Lemons…
Beyonce’s tour de force Lemonade was stacked with high-profile cameos, including Zendaya, Jay-Z and Winnie Harlow. But it was Serena Williams’ appearance twerking in ‘Sorry’ that really set the internet alight.

Serena Williams told the Associated Press that being part of the project was a relatively easy decision.

“I have known the director since I was like nine years old. I know Beyonce pretty well, so they were like, ‘We would love for you to be in this particular song. It’s about strength, and it’s about courage, and that’s what we see you as’”.

via Tennis.com

The Golden Slam
At the 2012 London Olympics, Serena Williams became the first player ever to complete the ‘Golden Slam’ in both singles and doubles. The Golden Slam – winning all four grand slams and the Olympic gold medal – was made even sweeter by picking up the doubles gold medal with sister Venus.

Her Brutal Honesty on Childbirth
In 2017, Serena Williams recounted her traumatic experiences of childbirth and the American healthcare system in a cover story for Vogue magazine. In the article, she describes having four surgeries and a C-section, an experience that nearly led to her death.

Despite her pleas to be taken seriously, Serena’s nurse told her, ‘This medicine is making you talk crazy’.

The harrowing article brought some sharp, sobering statistics into light: In America, black women are three to four times more likely than white women to die from pregnancy-related complications.

Unfortunately, even being the greatest tennis player of all time doesn’t protect you from systemic racial issues in the medical system.

Courtesy of rediff.com

2017: Winning the Aussie Open While Pregnant
Serena matched up with her sister Venus in the Australian Open final in 2017, eventually winning 6-4, 6-4. The win secured 23 career grand slam wins, surpassing Stefanie Maria Graf’s Open-era record. Incredibly, at 35 years old and eight weeks pregnant, Serena won the tournament without even dropping a set.

If that’s not enough to convince you of Serena’s GOAT status, nothing will!