It was September 1999. Christina Aguilera and The Backstreet Boys dominated the music charts. Bruce Willis and The Sixth Sense were the talk of the cinemas, and SpongeBob SquarePants was in the middle of its very first season on Nickelodeon.<\/p>\n
And in New York, as a Martina Hingis backhand sailed long at the US Open<\/a>, a teenage Serena Williams won the first of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles. It was the first Major silverware of many in a career that has defied the odds from beginning to end, and which has crowned the younger Williams sister as a defining figure in world sport.<\/p>\n Now, as Serena Williams retires<\/a>, this will be the last dance. A ball has yet to be struck at this year\u2019s tournament in Flushing Meadows, and we already have the story for which it will be remembered. This is the final farewell for an icon who put the game of tennis on the map in extraordinary ways.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a tale that would be unbelievable if it wasn\u2019t true. Just ask Hollywood. Last year\u2019s biopic, King Richard<\/a>, which traced Serena’s and sister Venus\u2019 rise through junior tennis under the stewardship of their father, brought this journey to life in vivid colour. Ever since she was a child prodigy learning her trade in Los Angeles and Florida, Serena has stamped her mark on tennis. And today, it\u2019s impossible to talk about the sport without mentioning her name.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get the numbers out of the way first, because there are a lot. Serena has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the Open era. For 319 weeks she had the world #1 ranking, and twice she won a non-calendar year singles Grand Slam. She has a further 16 doubles Grand Slam–an often-forgotten statistic reflecting doubles\u2019 marginalized status. She has four Olympic Gold Medals, and topped the Forbes earnings list<\/a> for female athletes countless times.<\/p>\n The numbers, the accomplishments, the trophy hauls, everything is so vast that it\u2019s difficult to process. Even without the extraordinary accolades, the very length of Serena\u2019s career boggles the mind. Her first professional event was back in October 1995, when many of the women\u2019s Top 10 were not even born<\/a>. When current US Open champion Emma Raducanu was born in November 2002, Serena had already won four Majors.<\/p>\n But these numbers, as impressive as they are, barely scratch the surface of Serena\u2019s influence on the game, an influence that will extend long beyond her retirement.<\/p>\n Serena was a protagonist in almost every rivalry that dominated the 2000s and much of the 2010s. She has given us the best comeback stories, those epic, exhilarating dramas that make us fall in love with sport. Undeniably, she is the standout character in women\u2019s tennis over the last two decades. She has been titanic personality in an era where athletes\u2019 lives are under incredible scrutiny. If it\u2019s possible for someone to transcend their sport, well, Serena has come pretty close.<\/p>\n