What more can be written about Serena Williams that has not been written already? Quite a lot, it turns out. Over the weekend, Williams won her 22^nd Grand Slam, equalling Steffi Graf’s record, and not too long after that, won the doubles alongside her sister Venus. The record-equalling slam had been a long time coming and something the 34-year-old admits had gotten to her a little bit.

“Right now I am probably focused a little more on the slams, or at least I was with getting to 22. Now I feel like everything else will be pretty good,” she said after winning.

Next on the list of record is Margaret Court’s tally of 24 Grand Slams. While for most athletes this might seem unthinkable; for Williams, it simply seems to be business as usual. Since turning 30, Williams has redefined expectations of modern-day athletes. In her thirties, when most professionals have long since called it a day, Williams has won nine titles and has become the oldest player to win a grand slam singles title in the Open era, breaking her own record set last year.

But what she has achieved on the tennis court is only a tiny part of what will cement her as one of the greatest athletes of all time. Now, more than ever, the world needs strong role models. And while the burden of being somebody other people can look up to is not one any sportsperson asks for, it’s one that Williams has carried with panache and on her own terms. She does not need to fit stereotypical labels of “ladylike behaviour” and when she contradicts those notions by smashing a racket in a moment of frustration, she’ll snap right back with that same panache.

After a racket smashing incident at this year’s Wimbledon, she quipped: “I’ve cracked a number of rackets throughout my career. I’ve gotten fined a number of times for cracking rackets. I don’t want to go too long without cracking a racket. You know, I’m on track. I try to crack a certain amount a year. I’m a little behind this year, so it was good.”

Jokes aside, after her Wimbledon win, Williams got a touch more serious. She admitted that she had been following the events in Dallas, where five police officers were shot and killed at a Black Lives Matter protest. Williams is familiar with the challenges that come with being black and nowhere has she had to battle this prejudice more than in her own country at Indian Wells. While some athletes might shy away from talking about what some perceive to be thorny or difficult issues, Williams is not afraid to speak up.

“I feel anyone in my colour in particular is of concern. I do have nephews that I’m thinking, do I have to call them and tell them, “Don’t go outside. If you get in your car, it might be the last time I see you,” she said.

“That is something that I think is of great concern because it will be devastating. They’re very good kids. I don’t think that the answer is to continue to shoot our young black men in the United States.

“Also obviously violence is not the answer of solving it. The shooting in Dallas was very sad. No one deserves to lose their life, doesn’t matter what colour they are, where they’re from. We’re all human. We have to learn that we have to love one another. It’s going to take a lot of education and a lot of work to get to that point,” she added.

Needing to consider your race, what it means in the greater public discourse and in terms of your achievements and being able to talk about it so candidly is not something many of her competitors have had to think about, but it has made her one of the most significant athletes of the 21^st century and one of the things that makes her so uniquely her.

Her character – whether bashing a racket, collapsing on her back in sheer relief, or parading a silver trophy plate on her head like she did last year – has made this journey one wild ride.

Williams also holds herself to impossibly high standards, and when asked how she felt about losing the finals of the Australian and French Open this year, she said: “For anyone else in this whole planet, it would be a wonderful accomplishment.

“For me, it’s not enough. But I think that’s what makes me different. That’s what makes me Serena.”

And thank goodness for that, because we wouldn’t want her any other way. DM

Photo: Serena Williams of the US lifts the championship trophy as she celebrates her win over Angelique Kerber of Germany in their ladies’ singles final during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 09 July 2016 EPA/ADAM DAVY