Will Serena Ever Equal Margaret Court’s Record?
Written By Omolagba Oluwayemi
Serena Williams is not strange a name to the world of Sports.
Born September 26, 1981 in Saginaw Michigan, US to the family of Richard Williams, Serena Williams started her professional tennis career in 1995 but didn’t win a Grand Slam until 2002 when she defeated her sister, Venus Williams in the final of 3 Grand Slams, French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon.
She won her first Australian Open in 2003, making her one of only six women in the Open era to complete a Career Grand Slam.
In 2008, she won the U.S. Open and teamed with Venus to capture a second women’s doubles Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Games.
Williams is also the only professional tennis player to accomplish a Career Golden Slam in singles & doubles and in December 2015, she was named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine.
Her tenacity and consistency made her not just the most popular of the Williams sisters but a force to reckon both in the world of tennis and sports in general.
In 2017, she won her last Grand Slam at the Australian Open to make it 23 Grand Slams one shy of record highest Grand Slam winner, Margaret Court. She then stepped away from tennis for the remainder of 2017 after announcing she was pregnant, although she has her eyes on the 24th title.
Her return to Tennis just five months after the birth of her child shows how desperate and eager she is to break and surpass Margaret Court’s 24 Grand Slams title but unfortunately, from then till now, she’s not been able to equal, let alone surpass the record.
Margaret Court, also known as Margaret Smith Court, was born on 16 July 1942. She’s an Australian retired tennis player and former world No. 1.
She won 24 Grand Slam women’s singles titles in her career, 19 Grand Slam doubles titles, and 21 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.
In 1970, Court became the first woman during the Open Era (the second woman in history after Maureen Connolly) to win the singles Grand Slam (all four major tournaments in the same calendar year).
She won 24 Grand Slam singles titles in total (11 in the Open Era), which is the all-time record.
Her all surfaces (hard, clay, grass and carpet) singles career-winning percentage of 91.74 is the best of all time according to the Sporteology website. Her Open era singles career winning percentage of 91.37% (593–56) is unequalled, as is her Open era winning percentage of 91.7% (11–1) in Grand Slam finals.
Her win-loss performance in all Grand Slam singles tournaments was 90.12% (210–23). She was 95.31% (61–3) at the Australian Open, 90.38% (47–5) at the French Open, 85.10% (51–9) at Wimbledon and 89.47% (51–6) at the US Open.
She also shares the Open era record for most Grand Slam singles titles as a mother with Kim Clijsters.
She won more Grand Slam (24) titles than any other player in history, and is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Currently a Christian minister in Perth, Western Australia.
Serena Williams on her own since 2018 have been after equalling Margaret Court’s 24 Grand Slam title win but have failed several occasions. Although she won’t admit she’s eager or anxious to equal the record but in all honesty, her anxiety has been the reason for her recent failure in tennis.
Earlier this year, February 18 2021, Serena Williams walked out of press conference in tears after losing to Naomi Osaka 3-6, 4-6 in the semi-final of the Australian Open.
“Williams, 39, was forced to retire in the first set against Aliaksandra Sasnovich after slipping in the fifth game.”
And just yesterday, when we all think she’ll give the 24th a shot at Wimbledon 2021, she retired from the tournament after she slipped on Centre Court.
Williams ‘heartbroken’ to retire injured
There was no news conference from Serena Williams tonight after she was forced to retire injured from her opening match, but she has just released this statement:
“I was heartbroken to have to withdraw today after injuring my right leg. My love and gratitude are with the fans and the team who make being on Centre Court so meaningful.
“Feeling the extraordinary warmth and support of the crowd today when I walked on – and off – the court meant the world to me.”
No matter how she tries to deny it, no matter what she may say, the world knows she wants it badly and the anxiety trailing her performances since she return after her child’s birth has been the reason for her recent failures.
If she continues this way without taking her mind off the 24th, I’m scared she might encounter more difficult challenges and even if she gets to make it to another Grand Slam final, she might get lose again no matter who the opponent is.
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