Serena Williams enjoyed more success than any other American in tennis history.

The 43-year-old dominated the WTA Tour for over 20 years, collecting a record-breaking 23 Major singles titles.

From the beginning of her career in 1995 to her final match in 2022, Williams entertained fans on a journey that saw her carve out a legacy that may never be matched.

Williams lost in the third round of the 2022 US Open, falling to defeat against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic in three sets, 5-7, 7-6, 1-6.

The match was the last of her glistening career, as she hung up her racket with a strong claim to the ‘Greatest of All Time’ moniker.

It wasn’t an easy journey to glory, however, as she fought through adversity to become the best player alive.

Training sessions with two American ATP legends were vital to Williams’ development, as her father explained 26 years ago.

Richard Williams said training with Pete Sampras and John McEnroe helped ‘champion’ Serena Williams

Speaking in a press conference after the 1999 Miami Open, Williams’ father, Richard Williams, explained how bringing in two top American stars helped develop his daughter into one of the game’s most dangerous players.

“I really thought Serena [Williams] had a better chance at making it than Venus [Williams],” he said.

“By the time we really got Serena involved, we had Mr. John McEnroe, she would hit sometime with him.

“Pete Sampras, before Pete Sampras became really as huge as he is right now, we had a lot of professional people.

“Because Serena couldn’t beat those guys with power, she had to learn to do angles and drop shots

“Right now, Serena is hitting angles and drop shots better than anyone.”

Williams then recalled the moment he realized that his daughters had the potential to become ‘champions.’

“That question usually get me in trouble,” he said.

“The first person that got me in troubles with was my wife because the first time I ever took my daughter to the tennis court, I actually walked home, left my raggedy Volkswagen at the tennis court, walked two miles.

“I said, Baby, we have a champion. You just a proud father, I said, I know a champion, I work with athletes, this girl is rough, tough, strong; mentally she’s sound. Those are the four qualities all champions has.

“Doesn’t matter how old or how young they are.

“Venus and Serena demonstrated that the first time we went out, I knew they were a champion.”

Who won the 1999 Miami Open final between Serena Williams and Venus Williams?

Serena and Venus Williams played one another for just the third time in the 1999 Miami Open final.

Venus, the older of the two sisters, had won both their previous encounters in straight sets at the 1998 Australian Open and the 1998 Italian Open.

Fresh off of victory in Indian Wells one week earlier, Serena was full of confidence as she took on her sister in Florida 26 years ago.

Things didn’t start well for her, however, as she convincingly lost the first set 1-6 to her sister.

Battling back in the second, 6-4, Serena took things to a decider in Miami, where it was Venus who narrowly came out on top.

Both sisters finished the tournament ranked inside the world’s top ten for the first time, as their father predicted whether either player could reach number one.

Rank
Name
Points

1
Martina Hingis
5,763

2
Lindsay Davenport
5,215

3
Jana Novotna
3,885

4
Monica Seles
3,781

5
Steffi Graf
3,079

6
Venus Williams
2,989

7
Arantxa Sanchez Vicario
2,847

8
Mary Pierce
2,394

9
Serena Williams
2,080

10
Patty Schynder
2,058

WTA top ten – post 1999 Miami Open
“I think that they are a long ways from being there, but I really believe that they on track to getting there,” he said.

“I think they will be there, yes.”

Venus and Serena Williams proved their father right, both reaching world number one during their professional careers.

Venus Williams

First became world number one – February 25, 2002
Last ranked world number one – July 7, 2002
Weeks spent at number one – 11

Serena Williams

First became world number one – July 8, 2002
Last ranked world number one – May 14, 2017
Weeks spent at number one – 319

Only Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova spent more weeks at number one than Serena, as she held the top spot for a mouth-watering 319 weeks.

Williams remains one of, if not the greatest tennis players of all time, in part thanks to the work she put in as a junior with McEnroe and Sampras.