Serena Williams' 23 Slams
The Open Era record and how she built it. From the public courts of Compton to 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most of the Open Era, Serena Williams changed what power tennis looks like.
US Open, 2013: Edwin Martinez from The Bronx, CC BY 2.0
Two sisters and a plan
Serena Williams and her older sister Venus learned tennis on public courts in Compton, California, coached by their father Richard, who had drawn up a plan for both girls to become champions before they were born. The family later moved to Florida so the sisters could train full time.
Serena turned professional at 14. In 1999, aged 17, she won the US Open, the first Grand Slam singles title by an African American woman since Althea Gibson in 1958. Venus would win seven majors of her own, and the sisters won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together without ever losing a doubles final at a major.
The Serena Slam
Williams combined the best serve in the history of women's tennis with huge groundstrokes and fierce competitive drive. From the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open she won four majors in a row, beating Venus in all four finals. Fans called it the Serena Slam. She did it again from the 2014 US Open to the 2015 Wimbledon.
Injuries and serious health problems, including a pulmonary embolism in 2011, interrupted her career several times. Each time she came back and won again.
Number 23
In January 2017 Williams won the Australian Open without dropping a set, beating Venus in the final. It was her 23rd Grand Slam singles title, the most in the Open Era, which began in 1968. Weeks later she revealed she had been about eight weeks pregnant during the tournament.
After giving birth to her daughter that September and facing serious complications, she returned to the tour and reached four more major finals. Only Margaret Court, with 24, has won more Grand Slam singles titles, and many of Court's came before professionals were allowed to enter.
She had also won Olympic singles gold at London 2012, completing a Career Golden Slam in singles: all four majors plus Olympic gold.
A legacy beyond trophies
Williams spent 319 weeks ranked No. 1 and won four Olympic gold medals. She played her final match at the 2022 US Open, where the stadium was packed to say goodbye. She changed the physical standard of the women's game and inspired a generation of players, especially young Black girls who saw themselves on the biggest courts in the world.
Her story shows that long careers are built on comebacks: from injuries, from illness, from losses and from motherhood. Each return made the record a little more remarkable.
- US Open, 2013: Edwin Martinez from The Bronx, CC BY 2.0
- Playing for the USA: Александр Осипов, CC BY-SA 2.0
Text written by Shining Champion.
