"I don’t know any other person that has won a Grand Slam or a championship in the NBA or anything else nine weeks pregnant" - Serena Williams on the GOAT debate
Serena Williams' name has been at the forefront of the 'GOAT debate' in tennis for many years, owing to the manner in which she has dominated the sport. The American legend herself recently opened up about her place in the debate and reflected on her achievement of winning a Grand Slam tournament while pregnant, and that too without dropping a set.
According to many of her colleagues, Williams' impact and achievements go way beyond just tennis, and Naomi Osaka recently shed light on Williams' contribution to inspiring a whole generation of tennis players. According to Osaka, Serena Williams is the greatest athlete of all time, across sports. Reacting to Osaka's comments, Williams confidently expressed pride in her unique achievement.
"I don’t know any other person that has won a Grand Slam or a championship in the NBA or anything else nine weeks pregnant," Serena Williams said during a recent interview with TIME.
"I have so many good memories of the last time I was here, honestly, it's just literally the best win of my career."
—Serena Williams reflects on winning the Australian Open in 2017, when she was pregnant https://t.co/q4j2UjoGms
Williams won the 2017 Australian Open in straight sets while she was nine weeks pregnant with her daughter Olympia at the age of 35. She defeated the likes of Belinda Bencic, Lucie Safarova, Johanna Konta, Barbora Strycova, and her sister Venus Williams, among others, en route to the title.
Williams further reflected on her approach during the tournament and how she won against the odds, relying on her mental strength above all else.
“A two-week event. That tournament, I relied on my brain. An athlete isn’t just about what an animal you are physically, like a specimen. It’s using everything. Your mind, your body, everything. And doing that for 20 years. And doing it against people that come against you and play the best game of their life. Every single time," Williams added.
Osaka expressed that while Williams is set to retire after the 2022 US Open, her tennis legacy will continue to live on through women of color in the sport, who have gained inspiration from the American superstar.
"I remember as a kid watching in awe, and I was so happy to be seeing a strong Black woman on my screen," Osaka said about Serena Williams in an interview with TIME.
"Even though she is retiring, her legacy definitely lives on through Coco [Gauff], Sloane [Stephens], Madison [Keys], and other women of color at the top of their game. Serena is unequivocally the best athlete ever. Forget female athlete, I mean athlete. No one else has changed her sport as much as she did and against all odds," she added.
️"I wouldn't be here without Serena and her whole family. She is the biggest force in the sport." 🐐
Naomi Osaka with a touching tribute for Serena Williams ahead of the US Open ❤️️
#BBCTennis https://t.co/8Y9PtuDmYt
At the time of the 2017 Australian Open, very few people were aware of Williams' pregnancy and it was not public knowledge. Among those who knew were her sister Venus Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian.
Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian reflects on her incredible 2017 Australian Open campaign
Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, shed more light on how Serena Williams managed the demands of pregnancy along with the demands of competing at the highest level of tennis during the 2017 Australian Open. While her doctor advised her to take it easy and was very skeptical about her participation in a Grand Slam tournament while two months pregnant, Williams was confident in her chances.
Her confidence further rubbed off on Ohanian, who felt confident about her chances as well.
"Athletes understand their bodies a million times better than the rest of us," Ohanian said on the same. "Even though the doctor was like, ‘You’ve got to take it easy, 100° heat, yadda, yadda, yadda,’ Serena said, ‘I got this.’ As long as she was confident, I was confident."
During the tournament, Williams was keen not to spend a lot of time on the court in each of her matches for the baby's sake, which is reflected in her dominance throughout the seven matches.
January 2017: Win Australian Open while 2 months pregnant
September 2017: Give birth to daughter Alexis Jr.
July 2018: Reach Wimbledon final with chance to tie Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles.
Serena Williams = 🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐 https://t.co/UaGWkW1gvJ
Serena Williams had a difficult childbirth and faced a life-threatening delivery, but once again stormed back after recovering. She reached the Wimbledon and US Open finals in 2018, the year after Olympia was born.