Serena Williams reflects on the 20th anniversary of her tour debut

Serena Williams played her first match on the WTA Tour 20 years ago when world No.3 Garbine Muguruza was two-year-old. The journey from 1995 until the present day has been a record breaking one. The world No.1 has recently reflected on her first match on the tour at the 1995 Quebec Open in Canada.

In her first match, a 14-year-old Williams played fellow American Anne Miller. The inexperienced was clear as the current world No.1 was heavily defeated 6-1, 6-1. Miller had a short-lived tennis career, retiring from the tour in 2000 at the age of 23. During an interview with ESPN, Miller recalled her match against Williams.

“I played well but I knew she was perhaps nervous. It was her first [pro match] and despite the fact that she was so athletic and going to be a great player, it was a lot of pressure. At the time, Venus was the one everyone talked about”. She told ESPN.

Speaking 20 years after her first match, Williams has posted a recount on her Instagram account of her first experience on the tour.

20 years ago I played my first professional Tennis match. I was 14. I was scared. I was not prepared for the stage. But determined I went on. Butterflies consumed my stomach leaving no space for me to eat to prepare for my match. Less than an hour later I left the court devastated in defeat. A 6-1, 6-1 loss to than Annie Miller. Basically she crushed me. Not only did I look like a novice but I looked like I did not belong anywhere on the court. However born with an innate insatiable desire to never quit I knew I would return. I would come back. I could not predict that I would win 21 Grand Slam titles and be number one in the world even 20 years later, but I did predict I would never give up. And I did not. (Oh and by the way I am still going). Now I tell you this: never give up on your dreams. It may not happen when you want it to but one day your knight in shining armor (your dream) will come true if you keep going. I leave you with this. Be positive. Be kind. And above all be humble. Xxx S

A photo posted by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on Oct 28, 2015 at 7:47pm PDT

The 21-time Grand Slam champion currently headlines the WTA rankings after a commanding year where she has won six titles, including three Grand Slam tournaments. She currently leads her nearest rival, Simona Halep, by over 3000 point to seal her position as year end world No.1.

How old was the Current top ten when Serena Williams made her tour debut?
Simona Halep – 4
Garbine Muguruza – 2
Maria Sharapova – 8
Agnieszka Radwanska – 6
Flavia Pennetta – 13
Lucie Safarova – 8
Timea Bacsinszky – 6
Note – six players out the current top 100 wasn’t born when Williams made her debut (Ana Konjuh, Jelena Ostapenko, Daria Kasatkina, Belinda Bencic, Katerina Siniakova and Anett Kontaveit).