“It was just too much on me,” Serena Williams opens up about the pressure of trying to reach Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record

Serena Williams finished with a tally of one Grand Slam behind Margaret Court's record.

“It was just too much on me,” Serena Williams opens up about the pressure of trying to reach Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record

Serena Williams and Margaret Court (via IMAGO)

Serena Williams remains one of the greatest women’s players to ever grace the court. She racked up a boatload of Grand Slam singles titles. However, the American legend was one Slam away from reaching Margaret Court’s record but failed to do so.

In a recent interview, she spoke about the pressure she bore on not being able to catch Court’s record. For context, Serena Williams won the 23rd Grand Slam singles title with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over her older sister Venus Williams in the Australian Open final. Despite not reaching any final that year, she had her chance of reaching Court’s 24 Grand Slam singles record before retiring.

YouTube video

The 42-year-old reached the 2018 US Open final but lost surprisingly to Naomi Osaka. She then reached another final the following year at Wimbledon but lost again. Those two big chances she had were the last in her career before she retired at the 2022 US Open. After leaving the sport, she has now directed her drive in venture capital investments.

FS Video

However, almost two years since hanging her racquet, the American legend admits that she had the chance to win two or more Grand Slam after her 2017 Australian Open triumph. But, the pressure on her made it hard for her to relax and play.

I think so. I should have won two or three of those...But definitely at least two of them I could have won. It was just too much pressure I put on myself, and I couldn’t relax. That sucks. Honestly, it does. But nothing I can do about it now.
Serena Williams said via New York Times

Serena Williams is married to Alexis Ohanian, the Reddit co-founder. The couple have two daughters: Olympia and Adira.

Serena Williams admits she doesn’t think about not reaching Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record

Despite regrets of not reaching Margaret Court’s Grand Slam record, Serena Williams also admitted that she never thinks about it. The American claimed her 23rd Slam in 2017 but failed to win another major title again, retiring in 2022.

She and her sister Venus Williams won 14 major doubles titles together, as well as three Olympic doubles gold.

Serena Williams
Serena Williams (Image via IMAGO)
Never actually. I never do. Which is good, right? I had such an amazing career, and quite frankly, I should have had 30. I feel like I could have had way more than 24.
Serena Williams added

The American legend has a new eight-part documentary coming up. It is about her career, titled In The Arena: Serena Williams, and will stream next month on ESPN+.

In case you missed it: