WTA founder Billie Jean King says Serena Williams is going down as “the sport’s greatest player” and someone who will forever be known as a champion. Williams, who turned pro in 1995, is set to retire from professional tennis at this year’s US Open.
Over the course of her absolutely stunning career, Williams has won a total of 39 Grand Slams – 23 in singles, 14 in women’s doubles and two in mixed doubles. Williams is widely considered not just as one of the greatest players in tennis history, but as one of the greatest players in all sports history.
“When Serena steps away from tennis, she will leave as the sport’s greatest player. After a career that has inspired a new generation of players and fans, she will forever be known as a champion who won on the court and raised the global profile of the sport off of it,” King said in a statement.
Saying goodbye wasn’t easy for Williams
Williams is set to turn 41 next month and she has enjoyed a very long and successful career. Still, it was extremely hard for Williams to say out loud that she was stepping away from professional tennis.
“There is no happiness in this topic for me. I know it’s not the usual thing to say, but I feel a great deal of pain. It’s the hardest thing that I could ever imagine. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads.
I keep saying to myself, I wish it could be easy for me, but it’s not. I’m torn: I don’t want it to be over, but at the same time I’m ready for what’s next,” Williams admitted in her piece for Vogue.
Williams captured her first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 1999 and her choosing to retire at Flushing Meadows didn’t come as a surprise at all.
