Serena Williams is on her farewell tour from tennis with the 40-year-old competing at the US Open not long after announcing her retirement from the sport.

She has dominated her sport, winning 23 Grand Slam titles, with 14 more coming in the women’s doubles events at Grand Slams with two in the mixed doubles, so overall, 39 wins at Grand Slams alone, that’s phenomenal however you look at it.

It’s fair to say she’s paved the way for women’s sports in general, becoming a global icon and bringing unprecedented coverage to the game.

Competing in her final US Open, Williams has already booked her place in the second round after a straight sets victory over Danka Kovinic, 6-3, 6-3.

Her reward? A showdown with number two seed, Anett Kontaveit, with the Estonian looking to upset the apple cart against the home favourite.

Unsurprisingly, the fanfare around the iconic athlete is heightened above the usual dizzy heights, with interviews and other media appearances.

TORONTO, ON - AUGUST 10: Serena Williams of the United States wavess to the crowd as she leaves the court after losing to Belinda Bencic of Switzerland during the National Bank Open, part of the Hologic WTA Tour, at Sobeys Stadium on August 10, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)

She recently sat down with TIME for an interview, with the publication asking her about her own sporting GOATs.

The question was pretty open, with no specific sport mentioned as the reporter asked Williams: “Who are some of your greatest of all time? Athletes, women, whoever, one or two that are your GOATs.”

She responded by immediately naming her good friend Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion who holds the majority of records in the sport, with minimal records he doesn’t hold or share.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - NOVEMBER 15: Race winner Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP celebrates winning a 7th F1 World Drivers Championship on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of Turkey at Intercity Istanbul Park on November 15, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Williams answered with: “Oh my gosh! I mean, I think Lewis Hamilton obviously I mean for me is like not only the greatest but also he does so much, he’s an amazing guy.

“One or two that’s so not fair because I think LeBron is amazing, I think Tiger [woods] is amazing. You can’t start this conversation without naming the original, Michael Jordan.

“So I just think they are legendary names that live on and you know, you can put me in there too.”

The reporter followed up her comments by asking: “Do you belong in that conversation?”

To which she retorted: “Oh for sure, hands down! I mean tennis, hello, Roger [Federer], Rafa [Nadal], Novak [Djokovic], I mean those three are legends.”

It’s great to see her confidence to include herself in that conversation as everything she has gone on to achieve surely has to cement her place in the conversation if not better!

We also see just how highly she thinks of Hamilton, naming him first and listing him first and foremost before listing a few others.