The G.O.A.T. has returned to tennis.
23 Grand Slam Single victories, 14 Grand Slam Doubles victories, and 4 Olympic Gold Medals.
Serena Williams is not a stranger of winning. The 36-year-old new mother and wife, has been a force to reckon with in the tennis circuit.
In 2017, Williams won her 23rd Grand Slam Singles Title against her older sister, Venus, at the Australian Open, surpassing Steffi Graf’s record (22).
After her record-breaking win, many dubbed her the “greatest athlete of all time.” Given her and her sister’s dominance over the sport, should it have taken that long for her to receive that title?
In December 2016, Williams sat down with Oscar-winning artist, Common for an interview titled The Undefeated in Depth: Serena Williams with Common that aired on ESPN.
During that time, the world of American sports had been full of protests and wage equality debates. Common asked her about the evolution of her career, being African American, and being a woman-two demographics that are often unfortunately marginalized or overlooked.
When asked about how ‘ironic’ it is that an African American woman would begin to be described as the greatest athlete of all time, Williams responded, “ I think if I were a man, I would have been in that conversation a long time ago. I think being a woman is just a whole new set of problems from society that you have to deal with, as well as being black, so it’s a lot to deal with — and especially lately. I’ve been able to speak up for women’s rights because I think that gets lost in color or gets lost in cultures. Women make up so much of this world, and, yeah, if I were a man, I would have 100 percent been considered the greatest ever a long time ago.”
Following her 23rd win and the interview for the Undefeated, Serena announced that she was expecting with her fiance, Alexis Ohanian and would take a temporary leave from tennis.
In September of 2017, Serena gave birth and was determined to make her way back to the court.
Over the past month, HBO Network has debuted a five-part series of Serena’s journey back to the French Open. The five episodes documented her emergency c-section, wedding to Alexis, and her frustrations while attempting to get back at the level she was competing at before her hiatus.
Last week, she began to play in the French Open, the first major tournament since her maternity leave. With victories in the first two rounds of play, it is clear that Serena is continuing to exude strength and dominance on the court.
Her two victories back have resulted in many praising her for returning to the sport after time off. Professional Men’s player, Novak Djokovic had nothing but kind words to say about Williams.
"All the superlatives and beautiful words that you can think of, she deserves it. Especially now, after she gave birth to Olympia and after all she has achieved in sport to see her back and putting [in] hours on the court and work, again and again."
