(Reuters) – Serena Williams, who is set to retire from the sport after the U.S. Open. The following is a timeline charting her rise to the top of the women’s game:
1999: Defeated Martina Hingis in the U.S. Open final, becoming the first African American woman to win a Grand Slam singles title after Althea Gibson in 1958.
2001: Failed to make another major final until 2001, when she lost the U.S. Open title clash to sister Venus.
2002-03: Missed the 2002 Australian Open due to injury and then embarked on an incredible run that included winning five of the next six Slams and losing in the 2003 French Open semis.
2004-07: Career was affected by injury, but she still won Australian Open titles in 2005 and 2007.
2008-09: Won the 2008 U.S. Open to break her Grand Slam drought before claiming the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles the following year.
2010: Won her 12th major at the Australian Open. Missed the U.S. Open over medical complications after cutting her foot on glass while celebrating her Wimbledon win.
2011: Underwent surgery after a life-threatening blood clot was detected on her lung. Made the U.S. Open final but lost to Australia’s Sam Stosur.
2012: Won Wimbledon in 2012 and followed that with Olympic gold on the same grasscourts, beating top seed Victoria Azarenka in the semi-finals and third seed Maria Sharapova in final.
Won her fourth U.S. Open title, beating Azarenka in the final.
2013: Won her second Roland Garros crown in 2013, one of 10 titles she lifted that year to reclaim the world’s top ranking. Added another U.S. Open title to her collection.
2014: Claimed seven titles, including her sixth U.S. Open, which was her third in succession, to join compatriots Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova on 18 Grand Slam wins.
2015: Beat Maria Sharapova in the 2015 Australian Open final to secure her 19th Grand Slam title. Despite battling flu, won a third successive major and 20th overall by overcoming Czech Lucie Safarova in the French Open final.
Won the so-called “Serena Slam” by winning a sixth Wimbledon crown to hold all four majors for the second time in her career. Seemed poised to secure a calendar Grand Slam at the 2015 U.S. Open but lost to Italy’s Roberta Vinci in semi-final.
2016: Lost the 2016 Australian Open final and was denied again in the French Open final before winning Wimbledon for the seventh time, drawing level with Steffi Graf on 22 majors.
2017: Won her seventh Australian Open title in 2017 to go ahead of Graf with the most Grand Slam singles titles in the open era. Australia’s Margaret Court won 24 but the majority came in the amateur era.
2018-19: Faltered in the finals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in both years after returning to tennis following the birth of her daughter Olympia a year earlier.
2021-22: Did not play competitive tennis since limping out of her opening match at Wimbledon in 2021 due to a leg injury. Returned to Wimbledon this year but lost in the first round.
Announced her intention to retire following this year’s U.S. Open, where she was beaten in the third round by Australian Ajla Tomljanovic.
(Compiled by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru)
