2016 in review: Serena Williams

The best of times

It seems incredible to think that Serena finished the year at No.2 despite playing just eight tournaments. In fact, she held on to top spot for almost the entire season before Angelique Kerber displaced her at No.1 in September. When Serena played, she was extremely formidable – she reached three of the four Grand Slam finals, won Wimbledon and Rome, reached the final at Indian Wells and advanced to the semifinals at the US Open. She compiled a 6-1 record against top-five opponents (part of her stellar 38-6 win-loss in 2016) and won almost $8 million in prize money. And all of this was achieved at 34 years old – unprecedented success for a player her age. Her victory at Wimbledon, which gave her a 22nd major title and tied her on the professional-era list with Steffi Graf, made her the oldest female Grand Slam champion in history. It may have been a sub-par season by Williams’ lofty standards, but any other player would kill for similar results.

RELATED: 2016 in review – Andy Murray

RELATED: 2016 in review – Angelique Kerber

The worst of times

As amazing as Williams’ success is at her age, the inevitable flipside to that is a failing body. Injuries sidelined the American for vast chunks of the season, first when she hobbled out of the Hopman Cup with a knee injury and lastly when she missed all events post-US Open with a shoulder injury. In between, her body rebelled. She struggled with her movement during the latter rounds at Roland Garros – it was revealed she had sustained an adductor injury – and as the season progressed, injuries were intertwined with her performance. Shoulder troubles reportedly contributed to her shock third-round loss to Elina Svitolina in Rio, an injury which saw her withdraw from the Montreal and Cincinnati events either side of the Olympics. At the US Open, it was the knee; coach Patrick Mouratoglou said “it’s impossible to compete without moving. That’s why she missed so much, so many unforced errors, was because she was so slow.” Added Serena: “When you’re injured you’re thinking of other things when you should be just playing and thinking of your shots. My mind was just a little bit everywhere.” She hasn’t competed since.

Match of the year

When fully healthy, Serena proved she is still the benchmark of the women’s tour. In a fabulous Wimbledon final, she and Kerber went head-to-head in a rematch of their thrilling Australian Open finale, where all the pressure was on Williams. As the defending champion, she was desperate to avoid losing three major finals in a row as well as the ignominious distinction of becoming a “slamless” No.1. And she produced a stellar serving display to keep her tigerish opponent at bay, raising the level of her game when it was most required to subdue Kerber 7-5 6-3 and win her seventh Wimbledon crown.

Quote of the year

“I prefer the word ‘one of the greatest athletes of all time’.”
– Serena at Wimbledon, after a journalist asked her what she thought when she heard people referring to her as one of the greatest female athletes of all time. The quote would serve as inspiration for a Nike ad featuring Serena as the “greatest female athlete ever.”

Tweet of the year

22
Grand
Slam
Titles https://t.co/7abzLg9fd6

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) July 9, 2016

Serena’s Twitter account has become increasingly sponsor-saturated over the years – she regularly promotes her partnerships with Berlei, Chase, Delta, Nike and HSN, among others, on her channel. But in between are some more organic tweets, like this one, which resonated strongly with her fans.