In September two of tennis’s all-time greats hung up their rackets following Serena Williams and Roger Federer’s retirement announcements. They each became trailblazers in the sporting world and dominated the grand slams for years. We reflect on their careers and lives both on and off the court and examine why they are considered the true GOATs.
Player Profile: SERENA WILLIAMS
Serena Williams throughout her career has undeniably cemented herself as one of the greatest players in tennis history. Collecting a record 23 grand slams, one behind the all-time record holder Margaret Court.
Williams’s career is unquestionably iconic. She has become the biggest star in women’s tennis, despite many expecting her to sit in the shadow of her elder sister Venus – who turned pro a year earlier – when she first arrived on the scene.
This wasn’t the case, with Serena winning her first singles tournament at the 1999 US Open, which would become the first of many.
With an aggressive playing style and serve so powerful it’s named the “Serena serve”, the 41-year-old has changed the game, possessing such power against her opponents making her tough to beat. Along with her athleticism, Williams became defending champion in all Grand Slams following the 2003 Australian Open – a feat dubbed the “Serena Slam”.
Yet despite her clear dominance over the rest of the court, it didn’t stop Williams from developing rivals in the game, though perhaps less effective at stopping her domination compared to the “big three” in the men’s game.
Interestingly, William’s greatest rival was Venus, who was not only her big sister but doubles partner, with the duo achieving multiple successful titles including 14 doubles Grand Slams and three Olympic gold medals between 1999-2016.
The Williams sisters also faced off on the singles court numerous times, with Serena winning seven of nine grand slam finals against Venus – her last being the 2017 Australian Open which also saw Serena secure her 23rd singles major title, surpassing Steffi Graf as the Open Era leader in women’s singles major titles.
Williams later announced her pregnancy confirming she won the Australian Open whilst six weeks pregnant. If her name was not already listed in the dictionary under ‘iconic’ this certainly made sure of it.
The 2017 Australian Open grand slam was to be Williams’s last title. After a difficult pregnancy and return to tennis which included a few absences due to injuries, in 2022 she announced her retirement which would take effect after her US Open performance.
| Career Highlights 2017 Australian Open Her final grand slam win, beating sister Venus in straight sets, whilst six weeks pregnant. 1997 US Open Her maiden singles grand slam win 2012 London Olympics Doubles Gold in partnership with sister Venus |
Off the court
Unlike her fellow tennis greats, Williams has spent a great part of her career withstanding racist abuse and discrimination, for example the infamous 2001 Indian Wells singles final in which her father Richard Williams, alleged Serena and Venus had been subject to racist abuse leading to Serena boycotting the competition for 14 years in response.
Despite this, Serena is considered a leading figure in diversifying tennis, with the next generation of players like Coco Gauff, Naomi Oskaka and Francis Tiafoe all citing her to be an inspiration. The release of 2021 Hollywood blockbuster ‘King Richard’, a film documenting the Williams sisters’ rise in tennis via the lens of their father, further helped cement her impact on the sport as I doubt many tennis players could inspire a major motion picture.
But perhaps Serena’s greatest effect off the court is her story of motherhood as a professional athlete.
Her notoriety shone a light on the difficult experiences many professional athletes have faced. Having personally experienced serious complications during her daughter’s birth, her return to tennis was an enormous feat all spectators could appreciate.
The experience turned her attention to the realities of birthing complications for women, especially black women. As a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, Williams used her platform to promote the charity’s efforts to reduce preventable birthing deaths.
What makes her memorable
Tennis waves goodbye to an era of dominance which revolutionised the game. Not only was Williams’s playing style different to the rest, but so was her look. Nothing denied her status as the best in the game, widening the world of tennis to so many more.
Williams is considered the GOAT of women’s tennis by so many and sits high as one of the greatest in tennis history across both men and women, causing her absence to be undeniably missed with the loss of its greatest trailblazers
Player Profile: ROGER FEDERER
Roger Federer made the game of tennis look easy. He was an exceptional shot maker with excellent footwork and efficient technique.
Federer is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time and a gentlemen of the court, kicking off his dominant senior career in 2001 aged 19-years-old after beating then leading man Pete Sampras in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Having secured the Wimbledon junior champion title in 1998, Federer would later claim his first ever senior majors title in 2003 aged 21 at the same venue.
Throughout his career, the Swiss has won 20 Grand Slams between 2003-2018 including five consecutive Wimbledon titles between 2003-2007 and won at least one tournament every year until 2012, but later winning a further three across 2017 and 2018.
The 41-year-old retires with a tally of eight Wimbledon titles; six Australian Open; five US Open and one French Open title, with the latter also giving him a career Grand Slam in 2009 – a record only eight men’s tennis players hold. Federer has also secured two Olympic medal and a record six end of year ATP Tour Finals championships.
Along with Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic they are considered the Big Three, with both players only surpassing Federer’s Grand Slam record in his retirement year. He has played the Spaniard 40 times, nine of which in major finals with their last encounter being in the Wimbledon 2019 semi-finals with Federer winning in four sets.
In what is considered as one of the best rivalries in the Open Era, Djokovic and Federer have met 50 times on court, with the Swiss winning 23 of their encounters. Their 2019 Wimbledon final match spanned almost five hours and after a final set tiebreak Djokovic denied Federer one last major title in what became their final ever match together.
In 2008 Federer won his first Olympic medal in Beijing and became Olympic doubles champion with fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka. As a singles player, he took the silver at London 2012 after a three-set defeat against Andy Murray.
| Career Highlights 2001 Wimbledon match against current champion Pete Sampras. Sampras came into the match on a 31 unbeaten streak. Roger beat him in 5 sets. 5 set victory in the 2009 Wimbledon final against Andy Roddick Where the last set was won 16-14. 2017 Australian Open What would become his penultimate Grand slam win. He was coming off the back of injury and hope was low, Nadal was on top tip form but Federer brought his A game. His win set the precedence for the remainder of the year where he’d go onto secure his eight Wimbledon title that summer. |
Off Court
Federer can play many different racket sports but chose to pursue tennis. He met his wife Mirka Vavrirec – also a tennis player – at the 2000 Olympics, with the couple marrying in 2009 and becoming parents to twin girls Myla and Charlenee. In 2014 they had twin boys called Leo and Lennart.
In 2003, he founded the Roger Federer Foundation, which has invested 28.5 million into providing education programs for children living in poverty in Africa and Switzerland.
In 2017, he partnered up to create the Laver Cup, where to six player teams, Team Europe and Team World go head-to-head in an array of single and doubles matches over three days.
What makes him memorable
Considered the G.O.A.T of men’s tennis, for me he is a likeable character who has something about him which makes me like him above Nadal and Djokovic. As the Laver Cup showed, all his peers adore him too and for that 2022 will be remembered as the year the tennis world lost two of their most iconic characters in Roger Federer and Serena Williams.
