As Serena Williams and Roger Federer faced each other for the first time during a mixed doubles match at the Hopman Cup in Perth, Australia, on January 1, viewers, especially those watching it unfold at the event itself, didn’t know just how special of a treat they were in for. The intensity, the passion, the sportsmanship that both poured into their performances, along with the countless other achievements they have earned throughout their careers, remind us all why they are both deserving of the titles of “Greatest of All Time.” Here’s a breakdown of how they both got there.
Serena Williams: 23 Grand Slam Singles Titles, Baseline Game, Currently World No. 16
Her current ranking doesn’t do her justice. Born just a month and a half after Federer on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, it didn’t take long for Serena’s splendor to make itself known. The Williams family moved to Compton, California, not too long after Serena was born, and this is where she started playing tennis at the age of three. Serena and her older sister, Venus (who is among the list of incredible tennis players as well), were homeschooled and taught tennis by their parents and Richard Williams, a fellow Compton man who is of no relation. Richard went on to establish The Venus and Serena Williams Tennis/Tutorial Academy. The Williams family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, when Serena was nine so she could attend Rick Macci’s tennis academy. By the time Serena was 10, she was No. 1 among players 10 and under in Florida, but the Williams father stopped sending Serena and Venus to national tournaments due to experiences of racism and so the Williams sisters could focus on schoolwork.
After just turning 14, Serena played her first professional tournament at the Bell Challenge in October of 1995, where she lost in the first round of qualifying, winning just two games in the entire match. She didn’t play in a tournament the following year. In 1997, at a world ranking of 304, she recorded massive wins at the Ameritech Cup Chicago over Mary Pierce and Monica Seles, at the time ranked No. 7 and No. 4 respectively. This allowed Williams to become the lowest ranked player in the Open Era to beat two top-10 opponents in a single tournament. Serena lost in the semifinals of the Ameritech Cup to No. 5 Lindsay Davenport but finished the year as World No. 99.
Serena made her first main draw appearance the following year at the Australian Open, where she defeated sixth seed Irina Spirlea in the first round. She lost to her least favorite person to play, Venus, in the second round. This was their first professional meeting but certainly not their last, as their current professional head-to-head record is 14-11 in favor of Serena. Serena won two mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open with Max Mirnyi, and added three doubles titles with Venus to cap off the year. Williams ended the year as No. 20 in singles; to this day, 1998 is the only year where Serena didn’t win a Grand Slam singles title when she competed in all four.
In 1999, Serena claimed her first professional singles title at the Open Gaze de France. Later that year, she won her first Grand Slam singles title at the U.S. Open, defeating No. 1 Martina Hingis to become the second African-American woman to win a Major singles title (yes, she won a Grand Slam singles final before Venus). Serena ended the year as World No. 4 after being on the professional tour for just two years.
To this day, Serena has won seven Australian Open titles (she won her latest in 2017 while pregnant with her daughter, Olympia), seven Wimbledon titles, seven U.S. Open titles and three French Open titles. Her 23 Major titles allow her to be second all-time – she is just behind Margaret Court who possesses 24 – but Serena has played at a more aggressive time in tennis than Court. The contemporary state of tennis is built around being able to control points with commanding groundstrokes and powerful serves; rarely do you see serve-and-volley style of play anymore, as Court used. Serena is more deserving as the greatest female tennis player ever (and really, the greatest female athlete ever, but that’s a story for another day), because of her journey from humble beginnings and her relentless passion. Mix that with her total 319 weeks at World No. 1 and combined 39 Major titles in singles, doubles and mixed doubles – the most out of any active player – and you can tell just how much tennis means to Serena in any given point of hers you watch.
Roger Federer: 20 Grand Slam Singles Titles, All-Court Game, Currently World No. 3
Born in Basel, Switzerland, on August 8, 1981, Federer was made to be an athlete. He played multiple sports, including basketball, as a kid and became a ball boy for two years at his hometown tennis tournament, the Swiss Indoors, which – to this day – he has won nine times, more than any other player.
Federer broke through in the juniors in 1998 at Wimbledon, where he secured both the boys’ singles title and doubles title, the latter being alongside Olivier Rochus. He lost the U.S. Open junior final later that year but still ended 1998 as the World No. 1 junior. He turned pro at the end of 1998; and by September of 1999, he found himself in the top 100 rankings. His first professional singles title came in 2001 at the Milan Indoor Tournament before he made it to the French Open quarterfinal later that same year, which helped him sneak into the top 15 in the world. Just a couple months later at Wimbledon, 19-year-old Federer defeated Pete Sampras – who at the time held the most Grand Slam titles and was World No. 1 – in five sets. Federer won his first Masters title at the 2002 Hamburg Masters on clay; the following year, he won his first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, overcoming Mark Philippoussis in straight sets 7-6(5), 6-2, 7-6(3).
Federer remained in the top 10 until 2016 when he sustained a knee surgery that took him out of tour action until late March. He re-injured his knee in the Wimbledon semifinal that summer, marking the first semifinal Federer ever lost at that event. He took the rest of the season off, making 2016 the first year since 2002 that Federer did not win a title.
Of course, it wouldn’t just end like that. In 2017, Federer won the Australian Open title, allowing himself to reenter the top 10, and won Wimbledon without dropping a set. He defended his Australian Open title in 2018 and became No. 1 again (he was first World No. 1 in 2004) after winning the Rotterdam Open in February. His only other title for the year came at his hometown event, the Swiss Indoors, in October.
To this day, Federer has won eight Wimbledon titles, six Australian Open titles, five U.S. Open titles and one French Open title, being one of eight men to have won all Grand Slams at least once. His 20 Grand Slam titles still hold as the most for a man ever. He currently holds 99 titles and has been ranked World No. 1 for a total of 310 weeks. His versatile style of play and graceful movement on court along with his overwhelming number of achievements allows him to deservingly earn the title of “Greatest of All Time.”
Both players have massive respect for one another. After their historic mixed doubles match – which Federer and partner Belinda Bencic won 4-2, 4-3 (3) over Williams and partner Frances Tiafoe – they each disclosed how incredible they find each other to be. Federer admitted: “Now I see why Serena has won so much;” Williams expressed her opinion “I mean the guy is the greatest of all time, both on and off the court.”
And you can’t disagree about the game with the two greatest to have ever played it.
Bre Callahan 