"It feels bad that I have to take it away from Venus Williams" - When Serena Williams reacted to becoming World No. 1 for the first time in her career
Serena Williams became the World No. 1 for the first time in her career after winning the 2002 Wimbledon Championships.
Heading into the tournament, the American was the World No. 2 behind her older sister Venus Williams, but a run to the final was enough to see her reach the top of the rankings.
Serena Williams booked her place in the title clash with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Amelie Mauresmo and here, she would face Venus.
Serena spoke to NBC after the match and was told that she was set to be the World No. 1 the following week. Hardly able to contain her joy on hearing the news, she said that reaching the top of the rankings had always been her goal. She also remarked that it felt bad to take the No. 1 ranking from her sister.
"I don't know, it has been my goal to be No. 1 and it feels bad that I have to take it away from Venus but hey, there's still a Wimbledon championship at stake and I am not ready to win Wimbledon right now," Serena Williams said (at timestamp 00:45).
Serena Williams went on to win Wimbledon 2002 by beating Venus Williams 7-6(4), 6-3 in the final. She did not drop a single set en route to her title win. This was the American icon's first out of seven singles titles at Wimbledon.
Serena Williams was the World No. 1 for 319 weeks
Serena Williams was the World No. 1 for a total of 319 weeks throughout her career. Only Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova have had a longer stay at the top of the WTA rankings.
Williams' first stint as the World No. 1 lasted 57 weeks before she was dethroned by Kim Clijsters in August 2003. She did not return to the top of the rankings until 2008 and had short spells at the top before having a 49-week stay from November 2, 2009, to October 10, 2010.
Williams returned to the No. 1 ranking on February 18, 2013, and remained in the position for 186 successive weeks. During this period, she became only the third woman to be at the top of the rankings for over 300 weeks. She was dethroned by Angelique Kerber in 2016 and had two short spells as the World No. 1 during 2017, the last of which spanned from April 24, 2017, to May 14, 2017.