Serena Williams: Time is running out to make history

After missing a prime opportunity at Wimbledon because of injury, Serena Williams is running out of time to tie and surpass Margaret Court’s singles championship record.

With Noami Osaka out and other competitors dealing with injuries, Wimbledon 2021 was a golden opportunity for Serena Williams to capture a record-tying 24th major. The tennis legend had her own ailments to deal with heading in, but the weakened field still made this trip to the grass tournament one that Williams could have run away with.

Unfortunately, a fall in the sixth game of the first set against Aliaksandra Sasnovich forced Williams to retire. She injured her hamstring during the slip, and she withdrew from Wimbledon. Another opportunity missed for Williams to make even more tennis history.

There is no denying that Serena Williams is one of the greatest athletes of all time. She’s dominated the sport, made an immense influence on the game and has overcome adversity to do so. Anything she does from this point on is just gravy on top of a phenomenal career.

However, the reality is that time is running out for the 23-time singles champion to tie and break Margaret Court’s majors record.
Margaret Court set the singles championship record in 1973 at 30 years old, and it hasn’t been broken in 48 years. It’s surreal to think that Serena Williams has a legitimate shot at breaking Court’s longtime record. She’s nine years older, which would make her breaking the feat even more impressive. But the clock is ticking on how much time she has left to do so.

At 39 years old, it’s no secret that Williams is closer to the end of her career than she is the beginning. She’s entering uncharted territory also, as not many women tennis players have had sustained success past 40. No woman has won a major past the age of 40, and only 16 women have won a singles title age 32 or older, per WTA.com.

Even so, Williams has proven again and again that she is a different kind of athlete. She’s the oldest woman to win a major and the oldest woman ranked No. 1 in WTA rankings. Let’s not forget she won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant with her daughter, Olympia. There aren’t many players that can do what Williams has.