Tag: Serena

Serena Leads Strong Performance by American Women at Wimbledon

horvath Leave a comment

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.

It’s Three in a Row for Serena

horvath Leave a comment

The 2016 French Open was the third Grand Slam in a row where Serena Williams was upset in the finals by an unlikely competitor. This time her loss came at the hands of the rising Spanish star, Garbine Muguruza.

Even with the loss, Williams remains almost untouchable. So far this season she is 24-4 in 5 tournaments, bringing her career singles win-loss record to 761-127. This year Williams has won 1 tournament, lost in the finals of 3 tournaments and bowed out in the round of 16 in the other tournament. Impressive!

Serena Williams was one of 18 American women playing at the 2016 French Open.

First round losers for the Americans were:
• Samantha Crawford
• Sachia Vickery
• Lauren Davis
• Bethanie Mattek-Sands
• Madison Brengle
• Nicole Gibbs
• Varvara Lepchenko
• Christina McHale
• Alison Riske

The following American women were 1-1 and bowed out in the second round:
• Taylor Townsend
• Louisa Chirico
• Irina Falconi
• Coco Vandeweghe

Sloane Stephens held her #19 seed and exited in the third round with a 2-1 record.

Venus Williams, #9 seed, and Madison Keys, #15 seed, had solid tournaments finishing with 3 wins and 1 loss each. They bowed out in the round of 16.

Shelby Rogers had the best tournament of her career. She finished 4-1, while losing in the quarterfinals to Muguruza.

Overall the American women had a strong tournament with a combined total of 22 wins and 18 losses.

There is also good news with the American junior girls. Amazingly, they all won their first round matches.

In the second round, the following girls were defeated and finished with1-1 records:
• Maria Mataes
• Caty McNally
• Claire Liu
• Alexandra Sanford
• Morgan Coppoc

In the third round 4 girls lost and finished the tournament with 2-1 records:
• Usue Maltano Arconada
• Kayla Day
• Sofia Kenin
• Michaela Gordon
Kenin held her #10 seed by reaching the third round.

Amanda Anisimova held her number two seed and lost 7-5, 7-5 in the finals to the number 12 seed, Rebeka Masarova of Switzerland. Overall, the Americans girls posted a cumulative 18-10 record.

Wimbledon is right around the corner and hopefully there will be more good news for the American women and girls.

Serena Still the Most Dominant Player in Women’s Tennis

horvath Leave a comment

Bummer! Serena Lost!

After being the most dominant player in women’s tennis for the past decade, it is disappointing that Serena Williams was not able to cap off 2015 with a calendar Grand Slam.

At the same time the fairy tale finish of Italian finalists Roberta Vinci and Flavia Pennetta gives hope to underdogs everywhere. They demonstrated that even against the most staggering odds, it is possible for unseeded and lower ranked players to win matches they are “supposed” to lose.

Day-in and day-out Serena Williams has been the player to beat at the U.S. Open since her first match there in 1998. Her win-loss record in the tourney is 84-10; she has won the championship six times, and has been the runner-up on two occasions.  Even though Serena has dominated the U.S. Open, she has raised the bar for how the sport should be played and she has made her competitors better players.

Overall, the American women were a force to be reckoned with. In addition to Serena’s strong showing her sister, Venus, reached the quarters while Madison Keys and Varvara Lepchenko were ousted in the 16s.

American Women 1st Rd 0-1 2nd Rd 1-1 3rd Rd 2-1 16s 3-1 Qrtrs 4-1 Semis 5-1 Finals
Serena Williams X
Bethanie Mattek-Sands X
Coco Vandeweghe X
Sloane Stephens X
Madison Keys X
Irina Falconi X
Samantha Crawford X
Venus Williams X
Madison Brengle X
Anna Tatishvili X
Lauren Davis X
Vania King X
Sofia Kenin X
Alison Riske X
Jessica Pegula X
Nicole Gibbs X
Louise Chirico X
Christina McHale X
Jamie Loeb X
Varvara Lepchenko X
Shelby Rogers X
Sachia Vickery X
TOTAL W-L 13-9 7-6 4-3 2-2 1-1 0-1

Combined, the 22 American women had a solid 27-22 win-loss record.

It is exciting to see promising Americans working their way through the ranks as top junior players. Over the next three months they will have a chance to hone their skills in China and neighboring countries in hopes that some day they can fill the void that will be left when the Williams sisters retire.

Next stop! Australian Open January 18, 2016