MELBOURNE — Serena Williams continued to make history at the Australian Open when she won her 23rd career Grand Slam title on Saturday night.
The 35-year-old Serena Williams had to turn aside her older sister, Venus, at 36 the oldest Australian Open finalist in the Open Era, in a 6-4, 6-4 final victory. This was the Grand Slam contested by the two oldest women’s finalists in the Open Era.
The two sisters shared a long hug on court after the 1 hour, 22 minute match, once again, seeming to defy any possibility of sibling rivalry.
“I really would like to take this moment to congratulate Venus, she’s an amazing person,” Serena said of her sister. “There’s no way I’d be at 23 (titles), or I’d be at one. She’s my inspiration. Thank you Venus for inspiring me to be the best player I could be.”
This was Venus Williams’ 15th Grand Slam final — she’s won seven in her career, but has lost both Australian Open finals she’s played.
This was Venus’ first trip to a Grand Slam final since she lost to Serena at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. In 2011, she was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome and it took her time to be able to combat the autoimmune disease.
“To enjoy this moment and be breathing, this is a beautiful thing,” Venus said. “I’m so happy to be able to play in front of you. Serena WIlliams — that’s my little sister, you guys. Congratulation Serena on winning No. 23 and I’ve been there alongside you, sometimes against you. I’m enormously proud of you.”
Serena continues her record as the oldest women’s champion at a major in the Open Era — she also held that record when she won the 2016 Wimbledon title at 34 years and 287 days old.
The victory moves Serena ahead of Steffi Graf, who has 22 Grand Slam titles, to own the record of Grand Slam titles won by a woman in the Open Era.
Serena is now just one Grand Slam singles trophy behind equaling Australian Margaret Court’s record of 24 major titles that bridged the pre-Open and Open Eras. Court was on hand in Rod Laver Arena watching as Serena Williams inched closer to her record.
Serena’s win also returns her to the world No. 1 ranking, which she surrendered to Angelique Kerber after the German won her second Grand Slam title of 2016 at the U.S. Open in September.
The sisters have played 28 times in their career with this being their 15th at a Grand Slam. They played their first career match against each other here at Melbourne Park in 1998 — it was a second round match that the 17-year-old Venus won over the 16-year-old Serena.
Serena has now beaten Venus 17 times with 10 of their outings at the majors. They’ve played in nine Grand Slam finals with Serena winning seven of those meetings.
