Serena Williams is heading into the final stretch of her tennis playing career.
While Williams hasn’t said the US Open is her final tournament, she recently told Vogue that the “countdown has begun” for the end of her career as she prepares for her “evolution” from tennis toward the next phase of her life.
Williams will participate in both the women’s singles and women’s doubles at the US Open, partnering with her older sister Venus Williams in the latter, and with the next grand slam — the Australian Open — not until next January, it seems likely this will be her last major tournament.
When Williams does make the decision to retire, she will do so with a legacy as a transcendent figure in the sport of tennis, not only one of the most accomplished players in the sport, but as someone who took women’s tennis into the global spotlight like few have before.
MORE: What’s next for Serena Williams?
As she begins what could be her last grand slam appearance, The Sporting News is taking a look back at her legendary career, from her total wins to the records she holds.
Serena Williams career wins
In the history of tennis, only one player has won more grand slam singles titles than Williams’ 23. That would be Margaret Court at 24. In the open era, Williams stands alone.
In addition to her 23 grand slam singles titles, she has also won 14 women’s doubles and two mixed doubles slams. Williams has won singles tournaments at Wimbledon and the Australian Open seven times each and six times each at the French and US Open. She is tied with Steffi Graf for the most women’s singles win at Wimbledon in the open era and has the most Australian Open title wins.
Williams’ success in grand slam tournaments led to the term, the “Serena Slam,” which is when a tennis player holds all four grand slam singles titles at the same time, though not in the same calendar year. She first pulled off the feat when she won the 2003 Australian Open after winning the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in 2002. She completed it again in 2015, when she won at Wimbledon after winning the 2014 US Open, 2015 Australian Open and 2015 French Open.
MORE: Tracking US Open results for Serena Williams
In addition to her success at grand slam events, she also holds four Olympic gold medals. Three were won in doubles with her sister, Venus Williams, in 2000, 2008 and 2012, and her lone singles medal came in the 2012 London Games.
When she won the 2012 Olympic singles gold medal, she joined Graf as the only women to have a career Grand Slam and win an Olympic gold medal. She also became the first woman to win the career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles when she earned that medal.
She and Graf are the only two women to have the career Super Slam, which entails the career Golden Slam and winning the year-end WTA championship.
In total, Williams has won 73 singles titles, the fifth-most among all women’s tennis players in the open era. She has also only lost 25 times in the finals of women’s tennis tournaments.
MORE: Why is Serena Williams retiring after the US Open?
How about in overall matches? She holds a career record of 856-154 in singles matches, 192-34 in doubles and 27-4 in mixed doubles. All told, that’s a record of 1,075-192.
Serena Williams grand slam history
Singles finals
| Year | Tournament | Result | Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | US Open | Win | Martina Hingis (6–3, 7–6(7–4)) |
| 2001 | US Open | Loss | Venus Williams (2–6, 4–6) |
| 2002 | French Open | Win | Venus Williams (7–5, 6–3) |
| 2002 | Wimbledon | Win | Venus Williams (7–6(7–4), 6–3) |
| 2002 | US Open | Win | Venus Williams (6–4, 6–3) |
| 2003 | Australian Open | Win | Venus Williams (7–6(7–4), 3–6, 6–4) |
| 2003 | Wimbledon | Win | Venus Williams (4–6, 6–4, 6–2) |
| 2004 | Wimbledon | Loss | Maria Sharapova (1–6, 4–6) |
| 2005 | Australian Open | Win | Lindsay Davenport (2–6, 6–3, 6–0) |
| 2007 | Australian Open | Win | Maria Sharapova (6–1, 6–2) |
| 2008 | Wimbledon | Loss | Venus Williams (5–7, 4–6) |
| 2008 | US Open | Win | Jelena Janković (6–4, 7–5) |
| 2009 | Australian Open | Win | Dinara Safina (6–0, 6–3) |
| 2009 | Wimbledon | Win | Venus Williams (7–6(7–3), 6–2) |
| 2010 | Australian Open | Win | Justine Henin (6–4, 3–6, 6–2) |
| 2010 | Wimbledon | Win | Vera Zvonareva (6–3, 6–2) |
| 2011 | US Open | Loss | Samantha Stosur (2–6, 3–6) |
| 2012 | Wimbledon | Win | Agnieszka Radwańska (6–1, 5–7, 6–2) |
| 2012 | US Open | Win | Victoria Azarenka (6–2, 2–6, 7–5) |
| 2013 | French Open | Win | Maria Sharapova (6–4, 6–4) |
| 2013 | US Open | Win | Victoria Azarenka (7–5, 6–7(6–8), 6–1) |
| 2014 | US Open | Win | Caroline Wozniacki (6–3, 6–3) |
| 2015 | Australian Open | Win | Maria Sharapova (6–3, 7–6(7–5)) |
| 2015 | French Open | Win | Lucie Šafářová (6–3, 6–7(2–7), 6–2) |
| 2015 | Wimbledon | Win | Garbiñe Muguruza (6–4, 6–4) |
| 2016 | Australian Open | Loss | Angelique Kerber (4–6, 6–3, 4–6) |
| 2016 | French Open | Loss | Garbiñe Muguruza (5–7, 4–6) |
| 2016 | Wimbledon | Win | Angelique Kerber (7–5, 6–3) |
| 2017 | Australian Open | Win | Venus Williams (6–4, 6–4) |
| 2018 | Wimbledon | Loss | Angelique Kerber (3–6, 3–6) |
| 2018 | US Open | Loss | Naomi Osaka (2–6, 4–6) |
| 2019 | Wimbledon | Loss | Simona Halep (2–6, 2–6) |
| 2019 | US Open | Loss | Bianca Andreescu (3–6, 5–7) |
Doubles finals
All doubles partnered with Venus Williams
| Year | Tournament | Result | Opponents |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | French Open | Win | Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova (6–3, 6–7(2–7), 8–6) |
| 1999 | US Open | Win | Chanda Rubin and Sandrine Testud (4–6, 6–1, 6–4) |
| 2000 | Wimbledon | Win | Julie Halard-Decugis and Ai Sugiyama (6–3, 6–2) |
| 2001 | Australian Open | Win | Lindsay Davenport and Corina Morariu (6–2, 2–6, 6–4) |
| 2002 | Wimbledon | Win | Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez (6–2, 7–5) |
| 2003 | Australian Open | Win | Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suárez (4–6, 6–4, 6–3) |
| 2008 | Wimbledon | Win | Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur (6–2, 6–2) |
| 2009 | Australian Open | Win | Daniela Hantuchová and Ai Sugiyama (6–3, 6–3) |
| 2009 | Wimbledon | Win | Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs (7–6(7–4), 6–4) |
| 2009 | US Open | Win | Cara Black and Liezel Huber (6–2, 6–2) |
| 2010 | Australian Open | Win | Cara Black and Liezel Huber (6–4, 6–3) |
| 2010 | French Open | Win | Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik (6–2, 6–3) |
| 2012 | Wimbledon | Win | Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká (7–5, 6–4) |
| 2016 | Wimbledon | Win | Tímea Babos and Yaroslava Shvedova (6–3, 6–4) |
Serena Williams’ time at No. 1
During her career, Williams has been the No. 1 player at the end of the year five times and has totaled 319 weeks at the top spot.
Of those 319 weeks, 186 were consecutive between Feb. 18, 2013, and Sept. 11, 2016. That tied the women’s tennis record with Graf, who was No. 1 from Aug. 17, 1987, until March 10, 1991.
Only two players have spent more time atop the WTA singles players list: Graf and Martina Navratilova. Graff spent 377 weeks as the No. 1 women’s singles player in the world, while Navratilova spent 332 weeks in the top spot.
Here is a look at the history of her ranking throughout her career:
Serena Williams records
There is a long list of records currently held by Williams in the open era of women’s tennis.
Williams has played in 420 matches in grand slam tournaments and won 365, both representing the most in the history of the Open Era. Of those, 92 wins came in the Australian Open and 106 came in the US Open, both of which are records. Her 98 Wimbledon wins are second only to Navratilova’s 120.
No one has won multiple grand slam titles in the same season more than Williams. In seven different years, she has claimed at least two different grand slam victories, more than the six claimed by Navratilova. Williams is tied with Navratilova for the most grand slams won without dropping a single set, as both women accomplished that feat six times.
MORE: Serena Williams’ net worth
Williams has also established herself as by far the best women’s tennis player in the open era on hard courts. Her 539 wins on hard courts are the most in the open era, with Venus Williams’ 498 the next closest, and her 13 grand slam singles titles on hard courts are also a record. Her 85.4 winning percentage on hard courts is fourth-best all-time, trailing Graf (90.4), Chris Evert (89.9) and Navratilova (87.13).
In doubles, Williams and her sister have comprised one of the best pairings in tennis history. No doubles pairing has won more than the 14 Grand Slam doubles titles the Williams’ sisters have won without losing in the finals.
Her success on the court has translated to some major paydays. In her career, she has won $94,606,355, per the WTA, more than twice the next-closest tennis player, Venus Williams.
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