Serena Williams wants calendar slam, but ‘not putting any pressure on it’

Accepting a sportsperson of the year award from an American magazine in New York on Tuesday night, Serena Williams said of the grand slam being a priority: 'It is, obviously. I've never done it.'

Serena Williams celebrates after winning the Australian Open in January this year. William West / AFP / January 21, 2015

Associated Press

Serena Williams says completing a calendar grand slam is a goal she'd like to accomplish. For now, her focus is on winning another major tournament, not four in a row.

Williams was two victories away from sweeping all four in the same year when she was stunned by Roberta Vinci in the US Open semi-finals in September. Her dominant season earned her Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year honours, and she was feted late Tuesday at a banquet in Manhattan.

Asked if the grand slam is a goal in 2016, Williams said: “It is, obviously; I’ve never done it.”

“We’ll see,” she added. “I’m not putting any pressure on it. I’d have to have a good year in the beginning, win Australia, win French – I’ve only won the French three times, so that’s going to be a little difficult to do.”

Williams hasn’t played competitively since that upset in New York, resting elbow and knee injuries. She says it was driving her nuts to watch the tour’s Asia swing on TV so she had to stop.

Her workouts are back to full throttle, and the 34-year-old woke up at 6am Tuesday to train in Florida before catching a plane.

In her acceptance speech, Williams listed the many obstacles she’s overcome, mentioning “controversies” then adding, with a laugh, “horses” – a sly reference to the debate about whether US Triple Crown winner American Pharoah should have instead received the award.

She closed her speech by quoting the Maya Angelou poem “Still I Rise”.

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