"Serena Williams conquered the world" - Fans argue tennis legend's legacy is far greater than seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady
Twenty-three Grand Slams later, Serena Williams has hinted that this may be it. The tennis icon will grace the cover of Vogue's September issue. In an interview with the magazine, she said that she is planning on retiring from the sport after the U.S. Open, which begins later this month.
For the better part of the last two decades, Williams has been a dominant force in tennis, racking up accolades left, right and center.
As things stand, Williams has 23 Grand Slam titles to her name, with her most recent victory coming at the Australian Open back in 2017, which, incidentally, she won when she was pregnant.
Instead of uttering the word "retirement," Serena Williams said she's "evolving away from tennis." She also revealed that she and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, are planning on having another child.
While her announcement took tennis fans by surprise, it also gave rise to the age-old debate of the GOAT of the sports world.
GOAT comparisons with Tom Brady arise with tennis icon's announcement
In an interesting choice of words, Serena Williams told Vogue that she wouldn't be writing this out if she were a guy. "Because I'd be out there playing and winning while my wife was doing the physical labor of expanding our family. Maybe I'd be more of a Tom Brady if I had that opportunity."
Interestingly, at the Australian Open last year, Serena Williams lavished praise on Tom Brady after the then-43-year-old QB led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory in Super Bowl LV. In vanquishing the Kansas City Chiefs at the Super Bowl, Brady racked up his seventh Super Bowl victory and fifth Super Bowl MVP award.
Williams labeled the feat an "unbelievable" one, adding that it was "unreal" that Brady managed to do that at his age.
"He is amazing. To be competing at such a high level, for us one of the biggest championships in the world, at 43 is unheard of," she said. "It's super inspiring for me at my ripe young age of 30-something."
As the debate over the greatest of all time in the history of sports continues, Tom Brady is bracing himself for something that goes beyond immortality.
At the age of 45, Brady is set to lead the Tampa Bay Buccanners in yet another season in pursuit of his eighth Super Bowl ring. Tom Brady will enter the 2022/23 NFL season as the oldest player to take the field.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Vogue and H/T Sportskeeda.