Serena Williams has gone from teaching tennis on public courts to a gang-controlled area to become a generational star and arguably the greatest player in history. The 40-year-old legend announced via Instagram on Tuesday that “the countdown has begun” to her retirement in a revealing Vogue story.

The African American has become an icon of the white-dominated sport. She has won 23 Grand Slam titles, broken records and achieved success with a determination as strong as the energy of her shots on the pitch.

And she was already at the height of those dreams, and she won Wimbledon and the Australian Open seven times, three Roland Garros titles and six in the US, and is one title away from equaling the record of major championships held by the Australian Margaret Court. .

She won her first major title in New York in 1999 at the age of 17, and her last in 2017 in Australia when she was pregnant with her daughter Olympia.

Olympia gave birth in September 2017 and spent six weeks bedridden with a pulmonary embolism but struggled to get back on the court after five months in the Fed Cup doubles (currently the Billie Jean King Cup) alongside Venus.

Williams, who is married to Alexis Ohanian, the founder of Reddit, completed what became known as Serena Salam twice, winning four major titles in a row, doing so in 2002-03, starting with the 2002 French Open, and again in 2014-2015. years. since US Open United Open 2014.

She had the chance to win every Grand Slam in one year, but was surprised when she lost to Italy’s Roberta Vinci in the 2015 US Open semi-finals.

“I never wanted to focus on numbers,” Williams said. “I started playing tennis not to be the best, but simply because I had a racket and a dream. Now people say that I could be (the greatest ), but for me, I’m not there yet.”

“Players like Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf are the greatest icons in the history of women’s tennis for me.”

Williams brought style and power to her performances, and at times her signature outfits detracted from her dazzling efforts on the pitch.

She won her last 73 singles titles in Oakland in January 2020, her only title since becoming a mother.

She had four chances to match Kurt’s record but lost in the final at both Wimbledon and the 2018 and 2019 US Open.