Serena Williams doesn't need to win a 24th Grand Slam to be 'the best of all time,' one tennis legend says

• Serena Williams is set to play her first singles match in a full year at Wimbledon on Tuesday.
• The tennis star is on the hunt for her 24th Grand Slam singles title to tie Margaret Court's record.

Serena Williams is back.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion is returning to the court Tuesday for her first singles match in a full year. And even though she enters Wimbledon via a wild card slot, Williams has made it clear that she's there with one goal in mind:

Number 24.

—Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 25, 2022

Ever since she came back from maternity leave in 2018, Williams has been in pursuit of that elusive 24th title. Despite four finals appearances in the years since, she still hasn't broken through to tie Margaret Court's longstanding record for most Grand Slam victories in the history of the sport.

But according to one tennis legend, Williams doesn't need any more wins to solidify her legacy. Two-time Grand Slam champion Tracy Austin — the youngest woman ever to win the US Open and the youngest inductee to the tennis Hall of Fame — says the seven-time Wimbledon champion should feel "completely fulfilled with what she did" over the course of her illustrious career, regardless of her final Grand Slam count.

"I would like nothing more than Serena to tie Margaret Court at 24 or even surpass her," Austin told Insider. "But I think even without those numbers, Serena's gonna be thought of as the best of all time."

"I feel like so often the press is talking about 24. Who cares?" she added, before directing a message to Williams: "You are the best of all time. Don't worry about it whenever you want to retire."

Austin cited more than just Williams' incredible singles record. In addition to her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, Williams has won 14 doubles majors alongside her older sister Venus, as well as two mixed doubles titles with Belarusian Max Mirnyi.

And beyond the fact that "she's won everything," Williams has built a family — including her husband, Alexis Ohanian, and their daughter, Olympia — and made "more money than she could ever spend and her grandchildren could spend."

Plus, Williams is using her massive platform — and, yes, the money she's earned over years of tennis dominance — to help promote causes close to her heart. Back in March, her venture capital firm — Serena Ventures — raised a whopping $111 million in capital to invest in "a future in which historically overlooked people and markets are empowered for a more inclusive economy."

During a press conference ahead of Wimbledon, Williams admitted that her off-court endeavors are "a little bit more of my life now than tournaments." And she seemed perfectly content with that — and with letting the twilight of her tennis career play out organically.

"I hope she feels like she can be completely fulfilled with what she's accomplished," Austin said.