The Best of Serena Williams: Numbers & Records As The 23-Time Grand Slam Champion Prepares to Take Her Bow

Serena Williams claimed her first Grand Slam title after battling to a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Martina Hingis in the 1999 US Open final.

President Bill Clinton had just fended off impeachment proceedings, The Matrix was the hottest film of the year and Eminem released The Slim Shady LP. Australia were world rugby and cricket champions.

Twenty-three years later, the legendary tennis player is preparing to hang up her racket for the final time. Williams is now 40 years old, and she says that the upcoming US Open will be her final hurrah.

We have delved into the key stats, matches and records that have defined her remarkable career as we prepare to bid farewell to a modern great.

 

Serena Williams’ Stats from a Glorious Career

 

• 39 – Williams has won 39 Grand Slam titles during her glittering career, including 23 singles titles, 14 women’s doubles and two mixed doubles.

 

• 40 – Williams has reached an impressive 40 Grand Slam semi-finals as a singles player, highlighting her remarkable consistency over the years.

 

• 87% – Her overall win record at Grand Slams. She has won 88% of her matches at the Australian Open, the US Open and Wimbledon and 83% of her matches on clay at the French Open, leaving her with a 365-55 record.

 

• 73 – The number of singles titles that Williams has won during her career, including 23 Grand Slams, five WTA Tour finals, the Olympics, a Grand Slam Cup, 23 Tier 1 WTA events, 18 Tier 2 WTA events and two other events.

 

• 47 – The number of hard-court titles that Williams has won, along with 14 on clay, eight on grass and five on carpet.

 

• 23 – The number of doubles titles Williams has secured, including 14 Grand Slams.

 

• 33 – Williams won 33 consecutive Grand Slam matches between 2002 and 2003. Her streak began at the 2002 French Open and finally ended with defeat in the semi-finals at Roland-Garros the following year. She repeated the feat with 33 straight Grand Slam wins between 2014 and 2015.

 

The Key Records that Serena Williams Holds

 

• Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the Open era. It is the second highest tally of all time, behind Margaret Court’s 24.

 

• She has held top spot in the WTA rankings for 319 weeks, including a joint record 186 consecutive weeks.

 

• Williams is the oldest player to reach No. 1 in the world rankings, at the age of 35 in 2017, before she gave birth to her daughter.

 

• She is the first player in the Open era to win a title in four different decades.

 

• Williams is the highest earning female athlete of all time, with US$94 million in career prize money. Her total net worth is US$260 million.

 

• She is the most recent woman to hold all four Grand Slams at once and to win the Surface Slam in the same calendar year.

 

• Williams has won more Australian Open titles than any other player in the Open era, and she shares the record with Chris Evert for the most US Open titles.

 

• She has won four Olympic gold medals – one singles and four doubles titles – so she shares the record with her sister, Venus, as the most decorated tennis Olympian.

Williams’ Seven Greatest Wins

 

Serena Williams vs. Martina Hingis, 1999 US Open Final

Williams was just 17 years old when she clinched her first Grand Slam. She came up against world No. 1 Martina Hingis, a five-time Grand Slam winner, and she was the clear underdog. However, Williams made a blistering start and won the first set 6-3 after playing all-court attacking tennis. The second set was a more tense affair, but a passionate home crowd in New York roared her on as she clinched a tiebreak.

 

Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams, 2003 Australian Open Final

Serena Williams beat her sister in five consecutive Grand Slam finals between 2002 and 2003. The greatest victory of them all came in Melbourne. Venus was serving for the first set, but Serena managed to battle back and force a tiebreak, which she won 7-4.

The second set went to Venus, but Serena dug deep to clinch a 6-4 victory in the decider. The tennis was fast and furious, and Serena displayed great stamina in the final set. It was all the more impressive when you consider that she had to put in a monumental effort against Kim Clijsters in the semi-finals, having trailed 5-1 in the third set before mounting a sensational comeback.

 

Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova, 2007 Australian Open Final

A 17-year-old Sharapova sparked a fierce rivalry with Williams after beating the American in the 2004 Wimbledon. She rubbed salt in Williams’ wounds by winning their WTA Tour Finals showdown later that year. However, it was one-way traffic from that point onwards, as Williams won her next 19 meetings with Sharapova. She has a 20-2 record against the Russian overall, an 8-1 record at Grand Slams and a 3-1 record in Grand Slam finals.

Her victory in the 2007 Australian Open final was the best of the bunch. Williams had ended 2006 ranked No. 95 in the world, suffering from fitness issues and depression following the death of her half-sister. She was unseeded for the tournament, written off by pundits such as Pat Cash, who branded her “deluded” after she declared her determination to return to the top of the rankings. Yet Williams stuffed their words down their throats as she demolished No. 1 seed Sharapova in just 63 minutes.

 

Serena Williams vs. Vera Zvonareva, 2010 Wimbledon Final

Williams produced a similarly dominant performance to beat Zvonareva in 66 minutes at Wimbledon. It was the fourth of her seven titles at the All-England Club, and she was absolutely invincible that year.

She did not drop a single set at the tournament, despite facing talented opponents such as Sharapova, Li Na and Petra Kvitova en route to the final. Williams hit a record 89 aces at Wimbledon that year, and she did not face a single break point against Zvonareva.

 

Serena Williams vs. Maria Sharapova, 2012 Olympic Games

If you had to pick one match to illustrate Williams’ sheer dominance over the women’s game, it would have to be this gold medal clash at the London 2012 Olympics. She did not drop a set on her way to the final. Williams beat Zvonareva 6-1, 6-0 in the third round, Caroline Wozniacki 6-0, 6-3 in the quarter-finals and Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-2 in the semis, so she was in ominous form.

Yet she saved her best performance for last. She beat Sharapova 6-0, 6-1 inside 62 minutes. It was an annihilation. She dropped just 17 games in six matches at the tournament, cementing her legendary status.

 

Serena Williams vs. Victoria Azarenka, 2012 US Open Final

This was one of the most thrilling matches of all time, featuring long rallies, superb backcourt winners from both players and all manner of dramatic moments. Williams made a strong start to proceedings, winning 6-2 in the first set, but Azarenka turned the tables in the second, claiming it 6-2.

The Belarusian took a 5-3 lead in the third set, and she served for the match. Yet Williams broke back, and she ultimately closed out an exciting victory after firing 13 aces. They were on court for 2 hours and 18 minutes, and Williams has rarely had to work so hard to win a Slam.

 

Serena Williams vs. Venus Williams, 2017 Australian Open Final

Williams was eight weeks pregnant when she clinched her 23rd Grand Slam victory. She came up against her sister, and she won 6-4, 6-4. It was a poised, commanding performance from Serena, who did not drop a single set at the tournament.

She would probably have broken Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam wins if she had not decided to take a break from the sport to start a family that year. Since returning from a gruelling childbirth, she has appeared in four finals, but she has lost them all. Her last final came in 2019, as she has had to juggle motherhood with her playing career. She will now retire as she plans to extend her family.

 

Can Serena Williams End Her Career on a High Note?

Williams has one last shot at equalling Court’s record when she competes in the US Open later this month. The omens are not good – she lost in straight sets to Belinda Bencic at the Canadian Open, and she suffered a 6-4, 6-0 defeat to Emma Raducanu at the Cincinnati Masters – but you can never write her off.

We make Williams a $46.00 underdog in our US Open winner betting. Iga Swiatek is the $3.25 favourite, followed by Simona Halep at $8.00, Naomi Osaka at $14.00, Cori Gauff at $15.00 and Raducanu at $16.00.

Swiatek, Gauff and Raducanu were not even born when Williams won her first Grand Slam, while Osaka was two and Halep was eight. She will need to roll back the years to compete with these young guns, but her experience, her winning mentality and her sheer talent will make her dangerous.