Tennis fans have been talking about little else lately. Serena Williams, a mother of two at 44, stunned everyone by announcing her comeback at Wimbledon, and India's Sania Mirza has now weighed in with her own verdict, calling Serena the GOAT of tennis.
A comeback nobody saw coming
When Serena Williams first announced she would step onto the court at Wimbledon, the whole world was taken aback. Returning to competitive tennis as a mother of two at the age of 44 is not a decision many athletes would even consider, but Serena went ahead and did it anyway. That very decision, according to Sania, reinforced exactly why Serena is regarded as the GOAT, tennis' greatest player of all time.
Sania says there is no debate left
Speaking on a podcast, Sania Mirza said Serena Williams is the greatest athlete in the world and that her position on one of sport's biggest debates is crystal clear, there simply is no one to compare Serena to. Sania said,
If at 44 years old, with two kids, Serena is able to come back to the level she left off at, then there should be no debate about who the greatest athlete in the world is.
13 Wimbledon titles, but a first-round exit on return
Serena Williams holds 13 Wimbledon titles in total, seven in singles and six in doubles. However, her much-awaited return to Wimbledon singles did not last long, she lost in the very first round to Australia's 20-year-old Maya Joint, bringing her comeback run to an early end.
Sania has walked this path herself
Interestingly, Sania Mirza has been through a similar comeback herself after becoming a mother. She returned to professional tennis after giving birth to her son in 2018, which is why she says she understands the physical and mental demands of returning to elite sport. Sania made her comeback on the WTA tour in 2020 and won a doubles title at the Hobart International in her very first tournament back, proving that motherhood does not have to mean the end of an athlete's career. Even so, Sania believes Serena's challenge was on a completely different level, since the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion had stepped away from the sport entirely after the birth of her daughters, with speculation building for a long time over whether she would ever return to competitive tennis at all.
Serena came back to be a champion again, and her legacy won't change
Sania added,
Serena Williams is coming back only because she believes she can still do the things she used to do. Now, whether she is able to do that or not will not change her image as a champion or the legacy she already has.
For Sania, Serena's greatness goes far beyond the count of Grand Slam titles or records. It lies in her fighting spirit, her staying power at the top level for years on end, and her ability to compete against the best players in the world despite the physical realities of age and motherhood, qualities that set her apart from every other athlete.
