Serena Williams passed Steffi Graf for the Open Era major singles record in 2017. She did so by winning the Australian Open, her 23rd Grand Slam singles title, moving one ahead of Graf’s 22.
Williams defeated her sister, Venus Williams, 6–4, 6–4 in the final in Melbourne. The victory was especially notable because Serena was pregnant during the tournament, a fact revealed after the championship. It was her seventh Australian Open singles title and her 23rd major overall.
The wording “Open Era record” matters. Margaret Court has 24 major singles titles when championships from before and during the Open Era are combined, but Serena’s 23 was the highest total in the Open Era at that time. Serena later finished her career with 23 Grand Slam singles titles, while Graf remained second on the Open Era list.