Serena Williams’ recent retirement announcement will serve as another reminder that the greats can’t go on forever. It was, jarringly, the first real sign that tennis’s golden age is nearing its natural conclusion but in some ways, it was also able to provide a sense of closure in the women’s game as far as the race to be the greatest of all time goes.
Williams will retire on 23 Grand Slam titles which, agonisingly, leaves her one behind Margaret Court’s record of 24. There is, of course, an outside chance that the American can tie Court’s record given that she will make her swansong at the 2022 US Open but, tellingly, the latest tennis odds for the year’s final Grand Slam price Williams at 25/1 to do as much.
Put another way, if you bet on US Open markets. then you will see that there are at least 11 players with better odds than Williams, which does give a clear indication that Court’s record will remain unequalled. As initially alluded to, this provides us with the answer that the tennis world has been eager to uncover after Williams won her final Grand Slam in 2017. At that stage, it seemed a mere formality that the 40-year-old would race past Court’s Grand Slam tally but sport, as we know, can be unpredictable.
Still, Williams will retire having won 19 more Grand Slams than her nearest competitors who are still active, which should ensure that her’s and Court’s records remain unmatched for years, if not decades to come. As for who is the greatest, the numbers say Court. Yet ultimately, that is up to tennis fans to decide given that a strong and compelling case can also be made for Williams being named as the most dominant of any era.
The GREATEST EVER. @serenawilliams 🐐 pic.twitter.com/oNUJNsnftw
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) August 9, 2022
With the curtain being lowered on Williams’ sensational career, all eyes will now turn to the men’s category as the race to be the greatest of all time enters its final chapter. Rafael Nadal currently leads the way with 22 Grand Slams and that looks set to remain, at least until the French Open in the spring of 2023 with Djokovic’s participation at the US and Australian Opens in doubt.
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🤫 Don’t tell anyone… … here I am 😉 pic.twitter.com/x1F2BJnH3y
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) December 31, 2021
This stagnation in Djokovic’s career could be costly when you consider that the Serb will turn 36 in May next year. At least, time is not on his side if he wants to haul Nadal in, and realistically, if the 2022 Wimbledon Champion is only able to compete in two of the year’s four Grand Slams going forward, then it becomes harder to picture a scenario where he retires as the man to have won the most Grand Slams.
Yes, it becomes unlikely, but crucially, also not impossible to imagine this eventuality. Essentially, this means that the race to be crowned the greatest may still have a twist or two in it over the next few years. It is an advantage Nadal but as we’ve seen in the women’s division, you never quite know what is around the corner, even if the equation looks straightforward.
