Any time the greatest players in tennis history are discussed, Serena Williams‘ name comes up. Today is another reason why that’s the case.
Williams just defeated Angelique Kerber in straight sets at the 2016 Wimbledon Final, earning her the 22nd Grand Slam singles title of her career, tied with tennis legend Steffi Graf for most all-time in the Open era, an unbelievable accomplishment. Today’s victory also gave Williams her 7th Wimbledon title and her first Grand Slam Championship of the year, after tough losses at both the Australian Open–where, ironically, she lost to Kerber in the final–and the French Open.
With her sister Venus Williams, Beyoncé and Jay Z looking on, Serena fought to hold her serve throughout the match, and flashed her brilliant and resilient forehand in the 2nd set, when she earned the breaks against Kerber that eventually paved the way for her to win her 22nd title.
Williams will have a shot to win her 23rd Grand Slam title, which would place her in sole possession of the Open Era singles titles record, at the U.S. Open next month, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year. If you remember, it was a tough loss in the U.S. Open semifinals last year that dashed Williams’ hopes of a Calendar Grand Slam, which is when a player wins all four Grand Slam titles–Australian, French, Wimbledon, U.S.–in the same calendar year. After winning the first three in 2015, Roberta Vinci gave Serena all she could handle, and ousted the legend.
She’ll look for a much better finish in August.
