Serena Williams had one of the greatest seasons any player has had in recent memory in 2012, highlighted by titles at Wimbledon, the Olympics, the US Open and the TEB BNP Paribas WTA Championships - Istanbul 2012. Was it the best year of her illustrious career? The other it is most comparable to is 2002, when she was undefeated in Grand Slam play but fell short at the WTA Championships. Here is how the numbers shake out:

2002
Record: 56-5 (91.8%)
Titles: 8
Grand Slam Record: 21-0 (100.0%)
Grand Slam Titles: 3
Record Vs. Top 10: 17-2 (89.5%)
Record Vs. Top 5: 11-0 (100.0%)
Record Vs. No.1: 3-0 (100.0%)

2012
Record: 58-4 (93.5%)
Titles: 7
Grand Slam Record: 17-2 (89.5%)
Grand Slam Titles: 2
Record Vs. Top 10: 18-2 (90.0%)
Record Vs. Top 5: 15-0 (100.0%)
Record Vs. No.1: 4-0 (100.0%)

As for Williams' take on which year was better, she commented on that after her triumph in the Istanbul final. "I would say it's pretty much the best season of my career, a little bit of a slow start though, so I have to give it to 2002 - but there's always 2013."

Here are statistics from some of the other best years of Williams' career:

2003
Record: 38-3 (92.7%)
Titles: 4
Grand Slam Record: 19-1 (95.0%)
Grand Slam Titles: 2

2008
Record: 44-8 (84.6%)
Titles: 4
Grand Slam Record: 19-3 (86.4%)
Grand Slam Titles: 1

2009
Record: 50-12 (80.6%)
Titles: 3
Grand Slam Record: 23-2 (92.0%)
Grand Slam Titles: 2

2010
Record: 25-4 (86.2%)
Titles: 2
Grand Slam Record: 18-1 (94.7%)
Grand Slam Titles: 2

2011
Record: 22-3 (88.0%)
Titles: 2
Grand Slam Record: 9-2 (81.8%)
Grand Slam Titles: 0