By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, January 26, 2021
Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, but conceded to Late Show host Stephen Colbert as many as three of her Slam trophies are missing.
Photo credit: Mark Peterson/Corleve
Winning Grand Slam trophies is one of the toughest tasks in sport.
Holding onto those trophies can be even tougher if you're Serena Williams.
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Williams will continue her quest to claim her 24th Grand Slam title to match Margaret Court's all-time major record at the Australian Open, starting on February 8th.
Taking stock of her Slam silverware isn't easy. Serena says as many as three of Grand Slam trophies are missing in action.
In an interview with Late Show host and noted tennis fan Stephen Colbert, Williams was asked where she keeps her 23 major titles.
The four-time Olympic gold-medal champion concedes some of the trophies are missing and suspects a party guest may have borrowed one or more of her trophies.
“I think one or two or three are missing or have been taken,” said Williams, who is training in the Adelaide bubble. “Honestly, I feel like I had a house party years ago and someone got a little too happy at it, and, like — I don't know, but I always wonder, ‘Wait, is that where one of my Wimbledon trophies went?’
"But fortunately enough I’m not attached. I’m not really attached to things. You know my saying: You can't take it with you when you leave."
A 17-year-old Serena stopped Lindsay Davenport and then world No. 1 Martina Hingis in succession to win her first Grand Slam trophy at the 1999 US Open. Serena says she gave that trophy to her father and original coach, Richard Williams, because she was confident "I'm gonna get another one."
“My first Grand Slam I actually left at my dad’s house at the time,” Williams said, “and I said, ‘You keep it because I’m gonna get another one.’ That was the U.S. Open. Of course, I was able to get another one.”
The former world No. 1 says the size of her Slam trophies as well as her trophy collection has grown substantially since her 1999 maiden major, prompting her to make a major request.
“You don’t get to keep it at all, they give you a replica. So when I first started playing, they gave you a really small replica, and now they give you a bigger replica," Williams told Colbert. "So I’m like, ‘Can I trade in my small replica for the bigger ones?’
“It’s cool, nonetheless. It’s really cool. So you don’t get the real deal, you get a replica.”
Serena defeated older sister Venus Williams to win her last Grand Slam singles title at the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant with her daughter Olympia.