Camila Vega
Serena Williams’ retirement from tennis has just been announced. With just over a month to go before the tournament, she mentioned that she intends to finish at the Grand Slam in her country: the US Open. In commemoration of her wonderful career and trajectory, we bring you the 5 best victories of Serena Williams throughout her tennis career.
Serena Williams’ Best Victories in Her Illustrious Career as a WTA Tennis Player
1.- Us Open Final Against Martina Hingis – 1999
To begin with, to reach the 1999 US Open final, Serena Williams defeated successive Grand Slam champions Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martínez, Monica Seles and defending champion Lindsay Davenport. In the deciding round, she defeated No. 1 Martina Hingis to become the second African-American woman, after Althea Gibson in 1958, to win a Grand Slam singles tournament. The American won 6-3, 7-6(4).
This victory is one of the best and most important not only because it is her first Grand Slam title, but also because she beat one of the greatest tennis players of all time.
2.- Indian Wells Final Against Kim Clijsters – 2001
This match started in an unpleasant way for Serena Williams: the crowd booed her and her family at the start. Members of the crowd were outraged by alleged match-fixing involving the family after Venus withdrew before her semi-final. Neither Serena Williams nor her sister entered the tournament for fourteen years until Serena entered in 2015 by wildcard (and the top seed).
Despite this, Serena won and the score remained 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. This victory also signified a fight against systemic racism in the United States and tennis.
3.- Australian Open Final Against Venus Williams – 2003
In the 2003 Australian Open final, Serena faced Venus for the fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament final, defeating her older sister to become the sixth woman in the Open Era to complete a career Grand Slam, joining Margaret Court, Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf.
Also, she became the fifth woman to hold all Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously, joining Maureen Connolly Brinker, Court, Graf and Navratilova. This feat was dubbed the “Serena Slam” by the press. The match ended 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
4.- Final of the Olympic Games Against Maria Sharapova – 2012
This wonderful victory made Serena achieve what is called the Career Golden Slam, which is when a tennis player wins titles in all the Grand Slams and, in addition, wins the Olympic gold medal.
Serena Williams represented her country at the 2012 Olympics, where she won gold, defeating Maria Sharapova in a dominant performance. Williams lost no more than three games per set in the way to winning the medal. The final score was 6-0, 6-1.
5.- Australian Open Final Against Venus Williams – 2017
Finally, there is the brilliant Australian Open victory in 2017, when she played two months pregnant. On January 28, 2017, she won the Australian Open for the seventh time, defeating her sister, Venus with a 6-4, 6-4 result.
It was her 23rd Grand Slam singles title, surpassing Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22. It was the first time in the Open Era that two players aged 35 or older competed in the final of a Grand Slam tournament. The victory secured her return to the No. 1 ranking.
