With the on-going debate of who is the tennis GOAT (greatest of all time) it can easily be forgotten that the current holder for most singles Grand Slam titles is the legendary Margaret Court. And second on that list? No not Federer or Nadal but Serana Williams with an astounding 23 Grand Slam titles. Serena has long been considered one of the greatest athletes of all time and she has the trophy cabinet to prove it with: 7 Wimbledon trophies; 7 Australian Opens, 6 US Opens and 3 French Opens. She is an unstoppable force, who has dominated the game with her aggressive baseline style for the past twenty years. While the Sharapovas and Wozniackis came and went, Serena has been a constant force to be reckoned with and still has the drive and determination to take on the upcoming next generation. 
However, even with her much celebrated and storied career; it would appear that Serena has hit a bit of a lull in recent years, while continuing to chase the elusive record. Winning one more major would tie her with Court’s tennis triumph yet she hasn’t lifted a major trophy since the Australian Open in 2017. Subsequently, she has reached an impressive four finals including Wimbledon in 2018 and 2019, showing great form, though she has been unable to find the level needed to attain victory.
Now one factor prohibiting her success is the slew of upcoming, younger players who have already made an indelible mark on the game. Naomi Osaka (who has a 3-1 winning record against Serena) has shown dominance on the hard courts and other younger players such as Iga Swiatek, Ash Barty and Simona Halep continue to push the game forward with their own unique playing styles and winning ways. Women’s tennis has always been unpredictable, just look at the last few majors and you will see that no one player is dominating the game. There are few favourites but it really is anybody’s game up until match point is won.
So back to this year’s Wimbledon, which is due to start on Monday 28th June. This may be the year that Williams could finally get what she has been chasing for over 4 years. Osaka has pulled out as she takes time away from the game to focus on the upcoming Olympic Games. Reigning champ Simona Halep has been forced to pull out due to injury and current world number one Ash Barty is coming back from injury having pulled out of the French Open. With such an unpredictable draw and with few real threats in her way, Williams is surely a favourite to go deep into the second week. Her first test will come on Tuesday 29th June where she will meet Belarusian, world number 100 Aliaksandra Sasnovich.
Chasing history is always hard but as she has shown time and time again, Serena Williams is always up for the fight.
