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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Andy Bull

Serena Williams’ farewell an eloquent acknowledgement of biological inequality

Serena Williams holds her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr and the ASB trophy after beating Jessica Pegula at the ASB Classic in Auckland in 2020.
Serena Williams holds her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr and the trophy after beating Jessica Pegula in the final of the 2020 ASB Classic in Auckland. Photograph: Chris Symes/AP

This was going to be about whether Serena Williams is the greatest sportswoman in history. After all, who was better?

Maybe Babe Didrikson, with Olympic gold medals in two separate athletics events and 10 major wins on the LPGA tour; perhaps Larisa Latynina, who won 18 medals over three Olympic Games; or Jackie Joyner-Kersee, with her back-to-back titles in the Olympic heptathlon; or Allyson Felix, who has just retired after winning more medals than any other runner in history. From Williams’s sport there’s Martina Navratilova, with 167 singles titles and another 177 in doubles, or Steffi Graf, who spent 377 weeks at the top of the world rankings.

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