Why Serena Williams’s Retirement Is Different
Her name is synonymous with tennis itself.
Unless Serena Williams pulls off the kind of feat typically reserved for Hollywood endings at this year’s U.S. Open, 23 is the number of Grand Slam singles titles with which she will retire. It is a number that makes her the all-time winningest, slammiest singles champion, of any gender, in the modern incarnation of tennis (Rafael Nadal did recently inch closer to her record, capturing his 22nd at this year’s French Open, but still). Somehow, 23 is also one (one!) short of the record Williams—the winner of nearly $100 million in prize money from every surface and circumstance known to the sport—and millions of fans not-so-secretly hoped for.
The truth is, 24 was the number to beat. Twenty-four is
