Serena Leads Strong Performance by American Women at Wimbledon

Serena Williams topped off an exceptionally strong performance by the American women at Wimbledon with her 22nd Grand Slam singles trophy. In addition, Serena and Venus captured their 6th women’s doubles title.

Overall the 18 American women were 25-17 in singles, although the Williams sisters accounted for almost half of those victories. Venus was 5-1 and lost in the semis, while Serena was 7-0.

Coco Vandeweghe and Madison Keys both had respectable 3-1 showings as they reached the round of 16. Vandeweghe was seeded 27th and Keys was 9th.

The nine American women to lose in the first round were: Anna Tatishvili, Alison Riske, Nicole Gibbs, Louisa Chirico, Madison Brengle, Victoria Duval, Irina Falconi, Shelby Rogers, and Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Christina McHale, Varvara Lepchenko, and Samantha Crawford were each 1-1. They bowed out in the round of 64.

Julia Boserup and Sloane Stephens fared slightly better. They were 2-1 and lost in the round of 32.

The performance is in line with the WTA rankings. On June 20th there were 3 American women in the top 10, 5 in the top 30, and 14 in the top 100. It is impressive to be able to say that about 1-in-7 players among the top 100 are American women.

World Ranking Athlete Birthday
1 Serena Williams 26-Sep-81
9 Venus Williams 17-Jun-80
10 Madison Keys 17-Feb-95
20 Sloane Stephens 20-Mar-93
29 Coco Vandeweghe 6-Dec-91
61 Shelby Rogers 13-Oct-92
62 Madison Brengle 3-Apr-90
64 Varvara Lepchenko 21-May-86
66 Christina McHale 11-May-92
72 Irina Falconi 4-May-90
74 Louisa Chirico 16-May-96
76 Nicole Gibbs 3-Mar-93
80 Alison Riske 3-Jul-90
85 Bethanie Mattek-Sands 23-Mar-85

It is also interesting to note that half of the women are younger than 25 and half are older. Of the players who are 25 years or younger, only Stephens, Keys, and possibly Vandeweghe have the potential to win Grand Slam events after the Williams sisters retire. Of the older players, only Serena Williams is capable of winning a Grand Slam singles title.

Next stop, U.S. Open – with the exception of the few players who will participate in the Olympics. Look for another strong performance by the American women at Flushing Meadows.

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