Earlier this September, the sports and tennis world alike witnessed the last game of a true legend. The younger Williams’ sister announced her retirement earlier this summer and at her final performance on 2 September 2022, where she lost to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in the US Open. Audiences around the world and at the court rarely noticed her losing the match but focused on losing a legend.
Serena has twenty-three Grand Slam titles, ranked number one in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association for 319 weeks and has won four Olympic gold medals since her professional debut in 1995. Her accolades and accomplishments on and off the court could fill several volumes, and a single 600-word piece in a school newspaper doesn’t do her justice for the life she has led. She has starred in multiple guest appearances for TV shows, and music videos (including Beyonce), is on the board of directors for SurveyMonkey, has her own fashion line, and, along with her sister, Venus, is one of the first black women to hold any amount of ownership in an NFL franchise.
Sports fans and consumers use the term “GOAT” or “Greatest of All Time” too lightly when discussing the impact athletes have on the community. Simply being a great athlete with prodigious skill and unmatched statistics shouldn’t bestow such a title. The likes of LeBron James and Cristiano Ronaldo are remarkable athletes with unparalleled skill, but they are not in the same category as Williams when it comes to being the “greatest of all time.” There is no guarantee that there will not be athletes that surpass the skill of the LeBrons and Ronaldos, whereas we will never have another Serena Williams.
Serena pushed the racial, physical, and perceptive bounds of tennis. Williams knew she could not hide from the hate, jeers and criticism of viewers, so she continued to drive a wedge between herself and traditional women’s tennis. Noticeably, Williams is known for her unconventional outfits on the court. She’s worn sequined skirts, a black lycra catsuit, denim skirts, knee-high boots (tournament officials did not allow her to wear the boots during matches), and a white trench coat which she wore during warm-up to a “superhero” outfit to help promote her new clothing line, Serena. The outfit was subsequently banned by the French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli, with the explanation: “It will no longer be accepted. One must respect the game and the place.” Shortly after, Williams wore a black tutu at the 2018 US Open. No matter the outfit, no matter the tournament, we always witnessed Williams being unapologetically herself in a space that expected penance from the deviations.
Serena and Venus are products of hard work and discipline. Their father learned how much the winnings were for tennis superstars and went after it through training his daughters every single day for over twenty years. When the Williams sisters began playing, they were booed and their father/coach was accused of rigging the tournaments. No one could wrap their mind around the fact that these Black sisters were wiping the floor in ways that they didn’t think was imaginable in women’s tennis. The Williams sisters forever changed the game of women’s tennis. Before their time, women’s tennis was dominated by predominantly white and leaner women. Women athletes that didn’t hit the ball “like a man.” A certain expectation (and probably misogynistic motivation) of women’s tennis was dominant prior to the 90s, and the influence is still present today. But Serena ignored the status quo and fought for her own space and forced respect in a sport that constantly fought her back. Serena presented an image of what a woman looks like with muscle, with power and strength comparable to a man that the tennis world was not ready for. A sporting sanctuary of white, upper-class individuals was shaken to its core when Williams broke their mould with her colour and style of play. Serena is the embodiment of class, beauty, skill and strength that every athlete, male or female, should strive towards. Serena Williams will forever be the Greatest of All Time on the court and off.