The woman who Martina Navratilova identified as being the biggest threat to the Williams sisters in 2003 after she ‘closed the gap’

Serena Williams and Venus Williams once dominated women’s tennis for quite some time, with 2003 a particularly strong year for both.

In more recent times, Serena Williams caught the eye at the Super Bowl, while Venus Williams was offered an Indian Wells wildcard.

Venus Williams did, however, decide to turn down that opportunity due to prior commitments, meaning she won’t make another appearance at the WTA 1000 event next month.

Serena Williams meanwhile retired from the sport in 2022, with the former world number one behind only Margaret Court in terms of Grand Slam singles titles.

The Australian tops the pile with 24, with Williams second in the list with 23, while Venus has clinched seven titles.

Justine Henin named as biggest threat to Serena and Venus Williams in 2003

In 2003 alone, Serena defeated Venus in the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals, but both then missed the US Open through injury.

Asked about a change in the pecking order amid the absence of the Williams sisters in a press conference at that event, 18-time Grand Slam champion Martina Navratilova said: “Well, it will be interesting to see. I hope that they play before the end of the year.

“It’s such a great story with the two of them. Now there’s obviously a big hole. I mean, you take away the top two guys in men’s tennis, you have a problem. [Andre] Agassi, [Roger] Federer out of the tournament, it’s like, ‘Whoa…’

“So it will be interesting to see what happens. I think [Justine] Henin, of anybody, has the game and she has beaten both of them on clay and other surfaces.”

And asked if Henin had closed the gap, Navratilova responded: “She’s the closest one. She’s closed the gap.

“I definitely would have to say she’s closed the gap. It’s not closed yet, but she definitely was a lot closer than she was a year ago.”

What Grand Slam titles did former world number one Justine Henin win?

It was indeed Serena Williams and Henin who dominated 2003, with the pair sharing the four Grand Slam titles.

Belgian icon Henin, who like Williams reached number one in the world rankings, ended her marvellous career with seven Grand Slam titles in total.

And it would have undoubtedly been a lot more if not for the presence of the Williams sisters, with Henin beginning and ending her Grand Slam finals career with a loss to each.

She enjoyed the majority of her success on clay, with four French Open titles, with Henin also winning twice at the US Open and once at the Australian Open.