In defeating Maria Sharapova in the finals of the French Open, Serena Williams captured her 16th singles Grand Slam Title. It was the first time in 11 years since she won the French Open. Serena was so dominate during the tournament that she only lost one set in seven matches. With her win over Sharapova, Serena’s record for 2013 is astounding 43-2. Despite being 31 years old, which was once thought to be ancient in tennis, Serena is at the peak of her tennis career.
After the French Open Finals, Hall of Famer and tennis commentator John McEnroe stated that Serena is the greatest female tennis player of all-time. Few could have predicted this would happen a few years ago when it appeared her career was in jeopardy due to injuries and a pulmonary embolism.
So now after capturing her first Grand Slam title of 2013, she will set her sights on sweeping the summer Grand Slams as she did last year in winning Wimbledon and the US Open. In addition to winning Wimbledon and the US Open last year, she also won the Gold Medal at the Olympic in both singles and doubles with her sister Venus. In winning the Gold Medal in singles competition, she became the first tennis player to ever achieve the career Golden Grand Slam in both singles and doubles. Last year she also won her fourth WTA Player of the year award, and the way she has played thus far in 2013, she’ll win her fifth.
After a remarkable summer last year, can Serena accomplish a similar feat this summer? As the number one female tennis player in the world, and a five times Wimbledon champion and four times US Open champion, she will be the overwhelming favorite to win both events. Her power and court coverage is unmatched and unless she has an off day it seems almost impossible for her to lose.
If Serena is able to sweep the summer’s majors again, this will only enhance her legacy as the greatest female tennis player of her era. If she’s able to win Wimbledon and the US Open that would give her 18 Grand Slam singles titles, tying her for 4th most all-time with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. It’s difficult to compare players of different eras, especially with the improvement of tennis rackets and training regiments, but I think she would match up well against Navratilova and Evert. Margaret Court holds the record for most singles Grand Slam Titles with 24. With Serena dominating women’s tennis the way she is and not mentioning retiring anytime soon, she could be on her way towards becoming the most decorated champion in women’s tennis.