Venus Williams became only the ninth female player in tennis history to chalk up 700 career wins when she beat Julia Goerges at the Wuhan Open.
The 35-year-old, still winning despite her ongoing fight with Sjogren's Syndrome, said she had no idea she was approaching the milestone before her 6-4 6-3 victory in China.
"I didn't know. I'm glad nobody told me before. I would have been a little bit nervous," the American told reporters.
She added, with a smile, that her first thought now was how long would it take her to get to 800.
Williams, who is the oldest player at Wuhan and turned professional in 1994, when Goerges was not yet six, joins an illustrious list that also contains her sister Serena (737) and is topped by Martina Navratilova with 1,4420.
Williams was diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome, an immune system disorder, in 2011 and later switched to a vegan and raw foods diet to curb its symptoms.
This year she won her 46th career title in Auckland and reached both the Australian Open and Wimbledon quarter-finals, losing to Serena in New York.
Williams shows few signs of slowing down and she said she now had her sights set on next year's Rio Olympics, where she will hope to add to her haul of four gold medals.
"The Olympic ... that will be awesome to be able to play there, represent the US again. That will be an honour," she said.
During her career Williams, now ranked 24th in the world, has spent 11 weeks as the world No.1 and won seven Grand Slam singles titles.
AFP