ONE OF THE ALL-TIME GREATS

One of the most successful tennis players of all-time will strut her stuff in New Zealand next year.

Serena Williams will come to the 2017 ASB Classic tournament with a phenomenal career record that features 22 grand slam women’s singles titles.

That mark - a joint-best for the Open era - puts her in a tie for second spot on the all-time list with German great Steffi Graf, and behind only Australia’s Margaret Court (24).

The 35-year-old became the women’s world No 1 for the first time in 2002 and has held that spot six times in her career for a total of 309 weeks - the third-best tally among women’s players in the history of the sport.

Williams has 38 grand slam titles - 22 in singles, 14 in women’s doubles and two in mixed doubles - more than any active men’s or women’s player. She is the only player to have won 10 grand slam singles titles in two separate decades.

The 35-year-old will use the Auckland event as build-up towards the first slam of 2017, the Australian Open, which she has won six times.

The 1.75m, 70kg right-hander has 71 WTA titles and was the highest-paid female athlete in 2016, earning US$28.9 million (NZ$39.8m) in prize money and endorsements

She’s had some controversial outbursts on court - at the 2009 US Open, Williams abused a lineswoman who called her for a foot fault that ultimately led to Williams losing the semifinal against Kim Clijsters. She was initially fined US$175,000 (NZ$240,000) and put on a two-year probation by the Grand Slam Committee.