The letter Michael Jordan wrote to Serena Williams in 2017 and the gift that came with it

“Winning is hard. It takes years of hard work, mental toughness and a willingness to accept the fact that you hate to lose.

“It is even harder to be a champion. It takes the ability to learn from your wins and your losses. Ultimately, it means winning under the brightest light that the game has to offer.

“You have not only become a champion, but also sustained a championship level with grace in the face of every obstacle.”

The royal seal of approval from a GOAT of his respective sport.

Is Serena Williams the greatest tennis player of all time?

Whilst the GOAT debate in tennis is a nuanced and arguably impossible-to-solve one, it still rages on.

After all, it is hard to compare between generations, with Margaret Court having to deal with different conditions than Martina Navratilova, and Serena even more different.

The rackets, courts, conditions and rules were all different, and therefore it is impossible to come to a definitive conclusion.

However, with Serena, she certainly has a claim to be the greatest tennis player of all time.

She retired having won 23 Grand Slam titles, just one short of the all-time record by any man or woman.

And yet, the American superstar did not limit herself to just singles success, despite winning 73 total WTA titles as well as an Olympic gold medal.

Williams also won 16 Grand Slam titles in both ladies’ and mixed doubles, as well as another two Olympic gold medals.

Whilst Novak Djokovic may have won more, and Court claimed more major titles, Serena will always be in the GOAT debate. For many, that is enough.