One Serena Williams, 23 Grand Slam singles titles, 319 weeks as world No 1, $94 million prize money

After another thrilling night in New York, Serena Williams likely ended her career on Friday after losing to Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7 (4/7), 6-1 in what turned out to a gruelling three-hour-plus third-round clash at the 2022 US Open.

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Williams, who turns 41 in three weeks’ time, had announced her decision to evolve away from tennis last month but has remained vague about her exact plans throughout her stay at Flushing Meadows.

But as she exited centerstage for possibly the last time, the impact Serena left on tennis remains undeniable. She went from learning tennis on public courts in a notorious American gangland neighborhood to becoming a superstar for a generation and perhaps the greatest player in history.

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Serena became an African-American icon in a white-dominated sport, winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles and smashing aside milestones with a determination as powerful as the raw energy that defines her shotmaking magic.

Here’s a look at some facts and figures from her glittering 27-year long career:

Factfile

Name: Serena Williams

Nationality: American

Date of birth: 26/09/1981 (40)

Place of birth: Saginaw, Michigan

Place of residence: Palm Beach Gardens, Florida

Height: 1.75m

Highest world ranking: 1 (319 weeks)

Year-end number one: 5 times

Turned professional: 1995

“I am still just that girl with the racquet and a dream and I’m just playing for that,” Williams said after a 2013 US Open title.

She wound up living the dream as she won seven Australian Open titles, three French Opens, seven Wimbledon crowns and six US Opens to finish, as things stand, just one shy of matching the all-time record for Slam singles titles set by Margaret Court.

Career stats

Prize money: $94,806,080

Win-loss: 858/156

Overall titles: 73

Grand Slam titles: 23

Australian Open: 7 (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017); runner-up 1 (2016)

French Open: 3 (2002, 2013, 2015); runner-up 1 (2016)

Wimbledon: 7 (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016); runner-up: 4 (2004, 2008, 2018, 2019)

US Open: 6 (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014); runner-up 4 (2001, 2011, 2018, 2019)

WTA Finals: 5 (2001, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014); runner-up 2 finales (2002, 2004)

Fed Cup: 1 (1999)

Olympic Games: Gold medal singles (2012), 3 women’s doubles with sister Venus (2000, 2008, 2012)

Serena won her first Grand Slam title at the 1999 US Open at age 17 and in 2017 captured her 23rd and most recent major title at the Australian Open while pregnant with Olympia.

Williams twice completed a “Serena Slam” by winning all four major titles in a row. She did it in 2002-2003 starting with the 2002 French Open and again in 2014-15 starting with the 2014 US Open.

She climbed to the top of the WTA world rankings eight times during her career for a total of 319 weeks and is third in the all-time list of longest time as world no 1. With Steffi Graf, Serena also holds the record for most consecutive weeks as No 1 with 186 weeks.

Serena became the oldest world No 1 when she climbed to the top of the rankings on May 8, 2017.

Serena retires with an overall match record of 858-156 (W-L) and is 367-56 in Grand Slams.

With four Olympic gold medals including three in doubles, Serena is the second most successful tennis Olympian — male and female — behind sister Venus who has four gold and one silver medal.

With AFP Inputs