Serena Williams, the little girl with pigtails who became tennis queen

Time is every athlete’s greatest enemy and even the hulking Serena Williams, who competed for the last time early Saturday, couldn’t escape it.

She chose to have her last dance on American soil in front of her loved ones, who filled the main US Open seat at each performance, and of course in front of an audience that made her accept and adore her.

The giant American tennis player has given up her racquet and will now focus on her daughter Olympia and all her plans. Those who have walked her path know very well that she achieves everything she set out to do and that is why she has long been ready for the next step in her life.

Whether Olympia will return her to the courts as a coach is unclear and she certainly won’t push them because she knows firsthand the sacrifices required. But what is certain is that when her daughter decides to play tennis, she will find it very different from when she took her first steps, and for that she bears a great deal of responsibility.

The first steps and the racist attacks

Serena Williams and her sister Venus grew up with a bat in their hands. The two did not hide their love for tennis from a young age and did everything to devote themselves to it.

Her father, Richard Williams, played a big part in her journey. He tried to teach them the hard sides of life from a young age. For this reason, at the age of ten, he decided to stop playing tennis to focus on his studies.

The main reason that led him to make this decision was the racist attacks that Serena and Venus received from other athletes’ parents during their games

The age limit and the first big wins

From a young age, Serena Williams seemed ready to dominate even against bigger opponents. She herself was looking forward to her professional debut, but a regulation wouldn’t let her do it.

Serena in particular had been awarded a wild card to enter the Oakland tournament in 1995 when she was only 14 years old. Then, however, the WTA slowed down their participation due to the existing age restrictions.

Finally, her debut came a few months later when she competed in Quebec, where she was eliminated in the first round. She played nowhere in 1996, while her first main draw win came in November 1997 in Chicago.

Early casualties included Mary Pierce and Monica Seles, two gymnasts who were in the top-10 at the time. In this particular tournament she reached the semi-finals where she lost to Lindsay Davenport which allowed her to enter the top 100 at the age of 16!

The dreamy first Grand Slam and the undefeated duo with Venus

Since then she started her journey with broken brakes with the only goal to reach the top. In 1998 she had several good runs and her highlight was winning Wimbledon and the US Open in mixed with Belarusian Max Mirny.

From there the start began. In 1999 her first major titles came, including her first Grand Slam. In fact, this came at the best possible time, namely in the USA. The 18-year-old Michigan girl, who was racially abused by other female athletes’ parents as a child, managed to conquer the US Open, and she didn’t do it easily.

In the quarterfinals, she beat Monica Seles (then No. 7), followed by her win over Lindsay Davenport (No. 2), while in the final she defeated then-top tennis player Martina Hingis. To better understand her achievement, suffice it to say that the previous African American who achieved this was Althea Gibson in 1958, that is 41 years ago.

In the meantime, Serena and Venus Williams had already managed to terrify the rest of the doubles athletes. In 1999 they won two Grand Slams (Roland Garros and US Open), while a year later they won the gold medal together at the Sydney Olympics.

Unparalleled 15 years

The next two years will be spent with multiple injury struggles and Serena trying to find the second Grand Slam of her career. Losing the 2001 US Open final to her sister will give her the motivation she is looking for to get back on top.

After all, it was always Venus who challenged Serena to push her limits. What would happen next was beyond all reason. In the next 15 years, from 2002 to 2017, Serena Williams will conquer 22 Grand Slams, including five US Opens, seven Wimbledon, three Roland Garros and seven Australian Opens.

Her total collection of titles will reach 71, not including the Grand Slam Cup and gold at the 2012 Olympics. The only thing missing from her huge career is the Year Slam, which is winning all four Grand Slams in one year.

Twice in her career she won three of the four trophies, but failed to complete that feat for various reasons. There are also 14 other Grand Slams in doubles (all together with Venus Williams).

He spent a total of 319 weeks at No. 1 in the world rankings, 186 of them in a row. She is also the oldest player to top the world rankings and the oldest to win a Grand Slam title at 35 years, four months and two days when she celebrated the Australian Open title in 2017.

Of course, she was also two months pregnant at the time, as it later turned out, which makes her achievement even greater.

It changed women’s tennis forever

These were just a few of their successes on the pitch. But there are some even bigger ones that happened outside of them and things that changed women’s tennis forever.

From her first steps, she wanted to end once and for all the phenomena of racism, inequality and sexism that existed and still exist in the space. She did things that seemed odd, like competing in a jumpsuit while trying to play in a denim skirt and boots, but they wouldn’t let her.

Over the years she has always had social commitments, with children and women always being the focus of her interest. She has been a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since 2011, has helped build schools in Uganda, Kenya and Jamaica and since 2008 she has led a non-profit organization that bears her name and aims to help millions of children.