‘Maybe it’s time for her to move on’ – Seven-time Grand Slam champion doubts Serena Williams will equal Slam record
Analyst Justine Henin is doubtful Serena Williams can win a record-breaking 24th Grand Slam title and has claimed she has “less self-belief, confidence and potentially, less drive and desire.”
Serena Williams is the most successful female tennis player of all time, winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles and 14 Grand Slam doubles with her sister Venus.
However, Serena Williams last won a Grand Slam title in 2017 when she won the Australian Open and has since been chasing an elusive 24th Grand Slam title that would equal Margaret Court’s all-time record.
Serena withdrew from the US Open with a torn hamstring and her wait will continue after she announced that will miss the upcoming Australian Open after taking her medical team’s advice.
Belgian Olympic gold medallist Henin told Eurosport that she feels “the young players are starting to fear Serena Williams less.
“We were afraid of Serena in my era. And a lot of girls continued to be afraid of her for years. Now it’s just not the case anymore and certainly she feels it.
“You can feel that her attitude on court has changed. There is less self-belief, there is less confidence and potentially, we can ask, is there still the same drive, the same desire? And frankly, we are allowed to answer ‘no’,” former World number one Henin claimed.
“That does not take anything from her and she remains someone exceptional in all that she has accomplished. That will never change.
“And maybe she’s at that point. Maybe she’s in that phase of her life where maybe it’s potentially time to move on.”
“I’m starting to have to be convinced, that the quest that she had set herself to go and win more Grand Slams, at least one Grand Slam, won’t happen. But it’s always hard to answer ‘100 per cent it’s not going to happen’.
“She gave me so much trouble that I still want to believe that Serena is capable of anything. But you have to be realistic. Maybe she’s also discovering a new life today.
“It will depend on her physical condition, obviously, and on her will to do what it takes. She’s getting older and there are young players who are very physical. I think it’s going to get harder and harder, if not impossible.”
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