Forty-five years ago, tennis superstar Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs in the Battle of the Sexes and immediately crossed over the cultural rubicon to become a first name only female icon. In the intervening years, there have been about a dozen women who’ve reached that lofty status. There are lots of “M’s” like Madonna, Malala, Meryl, Marissa, Martina, Miley, Michelle, and Merkel. Political figures like Thatcher, whose first name is Margaret and could have gone with the “M’s” too but she was known by her last name. Finally, there are the grande dames like Beyonce, Hillary and, of course, Oprah. Tomorrow, the world will officially add one more name to the list: Serena.
What gives? Serena Williams has been crushing opponents on the pro circuit for 20 years now and is already considered one of the best–if not the best–female tennis player ever. Most people already know her by her first name only. She’s rich; she’s famous, and she’s successful. Why wait until now to put her in the company of the women in the above list?
Because, by and large, all the one-named wonders above were known for one thing: singer, actress, politician, activist, and with perhaps the exception of Oprah, none of them had a second act that dwarfed the first and which radically changed perceptions of the person and the brand. Tomorrow, Serena has the opportunity to break that rarified air and begin what may be an even more impressive post-tennis career.
Winning tomorrow will mark the eighth time she’s held up the plate at Center Court, but it will be more potent than one of her 120mph serves.
In all of her previous seven victories, Serena held one thing in her arms at the conclusion of the tournament. Tomorrow, I’m pretty sure she’ll be holding two, and the image of her holding a trophy of the world’s most prestigious tournament in one arm and her 10-month-old daughter in the other will mark a cultural watershed. Since women starting entering the workforce in large numbers, society has told them they would have to choose between a career and a family.
Sunday morning, newspapers across the world will have an iconic image on their front pages, no less compelling than the ones that marked VE-Day, the first man on the moon or the election of the nation’s first black president. This one, however, will mark the dawning of an era in which a woman can finally be seen simultaneously as a competitor, conquerer, and nurturer. 
At 36, Serena’s tennis career is winding down, but that picture will mark the beginning of a very long encore as a voice and an example for women’s empowerment.
While it’s true most women will never pick up a racket, tennis will become beside the point. It’s about the triumph and a testament to the power of an image. In a few years, no one will remember any of the previous 22 Grand Slam tournaments she won…other than she won 22 Grand Slams. The 23rd one, though; that’s Muhammad Ali standing victorious over Sonny Liston type changing of the guard. There is no forgetting that image, and there is no going back.
Like Ali, she can have a transformative hold over America, but instead of a historical figure marking the Civil Rights era and Vietnam, she can be the symbol of a future that’s both female and multicultural. An antidote to the last gasp of energy being expended right now trying to drag America back to a paternalistic and (ahem) whitewashed hierarchy. Also, like Ali, her sometimes contentious relationship with the media and polite members of society will evaporate and be forgotten, leaving behind this indelible image of triumph over an unjust system those same people will deny ever existed within their circles of friends.
With apologies to all the famous one names mentioned in this piece, it would have been more fitting and poetic if Serena was known by her surname, Williams, because she belongs in a one-word category that includes women, watershed, and wonderous. Now get out there and (w)in.