In one of sports’ biggest stories of the year, #SerenaWilliams made a successful return onto the international professional circuit of tennis. The legendary figure remains as an inspirational figure to many people around the globe, and especially so, when she defied several health issues and reached two Grand Slam finals despite just giving birth a year ago.
Starting the year unranked but given a protected ranking of 1, which virtually allows her entry into any tournament at her own discretion. Williams ended 2018 with a fairly impressive 18-6 (.750) win-loss record although one surprising statistic could be a disappointing 1-3 record against players ranked inside the top-10.
The American reached two Major finals but was unable to perform well outside the Grand Slams. Time and time again, Williams edged closer than ever to a record-breaking 24th Major title which will tie her with Margaret Court in the record books. Currently ranked 16th, Williams will be a huge threat at the Grand Slams and goes into every tournament as one of the favourites.
Year in Review: Slow start to her comeback but Serena soon finds her groove
Williams made her comeback to professional tennis in February when she was nominated as part of the USA’s team to face Netherlands in the first round of the Fed Cup. Although she did not participate in any live rubbers, she played the non-decisive doubles rubber alongside sister Venus but fell in straight sets, and in fact did not look completely ready to compete professionally then.
However, the 23-time Major champion finally returned to singles action at the BNP Paribas Open and kicked off her Indian Wells campaign in some style; putting in strong performances against Zarina Diyas and Kiki Bertens to set up a mouth-watering clash against Venus Williams. In an unexpected twist of events, it was her elder sister Venus who triumphed in their 29th career meeting easily.
Another poor performance followed, this time coming against newly-crowned Indian Wells champion Naomi Osaka in a blockbuster first-round meeting at the Miami Open. Williams’ game was spraying a slew of unforced errors and fell 3-6, 2-6 within just an hour and 17 minutes of play.
Williams then took a lengthened rest during the clay-court season, making her return at the French Open with a bang. She stormed past Kristyna Pliskova, Ashleigh Barty, and Julia Goerges for her 11th consecutive second-week appearance in a Major, but her first since 2017. She came from a set and a break down, putting up an inspired comeback against Barty in the second round but was forced to withdraw from a highly-anticipated clash against rival Maria Sharapova due to a pec muscle injury.
Recovering from the injury, Williams made a triumphant return at where she truly belongs, the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Receiving a favourable draw, the American impressively stormed to the final losing just one set in the progress. However, she suffered a disappointing loss to the red-hot Angelique Kerber in the final, falling in straight sets but that run pushed her back all the way into the top-30.
Williams took part in several warm-up events in the lead-up to the US Open, as part of the US Open Series. In some stunning fashion, the 23-time Major champion was crushed 1-6, 0-6 by Johanna Konta in the opening round of the Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic in what was the worst loss of her career. She then fell in the second round of the Western and Southern Open to Petra Kvitova in a high-quality encounter.
Just in front of her home crowd, Williams exceled on home turf yet again. Being a multiple-time former champion at the US Open, she returned to Flushing Meadows as one of the title contenders once more. Tipped to mount a deep run, Williams did not disappoint her fans as usual, reaching the final having stomped past sister Venus, last year’s quarterfinalist Kaia Kanepi, eighth seed Karolina Pliskova and three-time quarterfinalist Anastasija Sevastova. However, in a controversy-filled final, she was unable to bring out her best tennis against Japanese youngster Naomi Osaka and was bested in straight sets.
Season Grade: B+
Surprisingly, Williams had only reached two quarterfinals throughout the entire year — but they were special. Both came at Major tournaments and on both occasions, she stormed all the way into the final but just fell short narrowly as well. Perhaps it was just nerves that prevented her from claiming her 24th Slam, but the hiccups in those big finals proved to be a huge blow.
However, Williams’ achievements were completely unimaginable if you consider that she is a mother returning to the pinnacle of the sport barely one year after her near-death ordeal while giving birth, and therefore seeing her back on the court is already a huge blessing itself.
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