Courtship ends

CHENNAI: It is difficult to imagine tennis without Serena Williams, who has won all there is to win during her 27-year career.

From a purely sporting point of view, Williams will be remembered as one of the game’s greatest competitors, an athlete who possessed the purest serve in the women’s game and a never-fading desire to win.

She will also be remembered for speaking out against racism, pushing for gender parity and equal prize money, and about her experiences of the healthcare system as a black woman.

She has been an inspiration to many since she won her first Grand Slam singles title at the 1999 US Open, beating then-world number one Martina Hingis to become the second African-American woman, after Althea Gibson in 1958, to win a major singles tournament.

Her victory at the US Open that year saw a future sporting legend announced to the world. Such would be the extent of her later dominance you could almost forget all the champions Williams had to overtake to get there.

Williams has been a huge inspiration to African-American women and that was a common theme when fans were asked about their love for the player.

■ Although both Serena and Venus are well established, Serena is the leader based on the number of titles won

Tennis virtuoso Roger Federer brought his extraordinary career to a close at the end of September with a final match playing doubles alongside longstanding rival and friend Rafael Nadal at the Laver Cup in London.

Federer was a mere 21 when he burst to fame by winning Wimbledon in 2003. Renowned for the consummate elegance and grace of his game, Federer at his peak dominated tennis’ most prestigious tournament – winning Wimbledon five consecutive times from 2003 to 2007.

In total, Federer won 20 titles and an unprecedented 369 Grand Slam matches during his long career, plus six Masters, one Davis Cup and one Olympic gold.

Federer was such a master of the game that anyone who saw him at work would be immediately transported to a world of perfection, as evidenced by his signature one-handed backhand, which caused jaws to drop in amusement from all over the world.

Federer was tennis’ avatar, a dazzling representation of tennis’ possibilities. No one has ever left more people swooning about all this sport can be. Federer made tennis more visible largely through the game itself.

No tennis player was as universally respected and admired as Federer, from his tour colleagues to his legion of fans.

■ Attended fashion school at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale Serena has won a total prize money of $94,816,730 (Ranks first all-time among women)

■ She started her clothing brand called ‘Serena’ in 2018

■ When he isn’t playing tennis, Federer loves to go hiking. On his Instagram, he often includes photos of his hikes through the famous Swiss Alps

■ Not many know that Federer can also play the piano expertly; he took lessons as a child

■ He has won titles in 19 different countries at 31 different tournaments

■ Federer never retired or gave walk over from a game in his career

■ The first living Swiss citizen to be featured on a Swiss stamp and also has a street named after him

■ In December 2019, Federer became the first living person to be the face of Swiss coins

■ Until the age of 14, Federer was a vegetarian; a personal choice motivated by ethical reasons too. When he decided that tennis would be his professional life, things changed