Serena Williams is bowing out, and she will end her remarkable career at the place she truly broke onto the world stage.
Williams' upcoming appearance at Flushing Meadows won't just be her last at the US Open, but her last in any tournament. She is retiring at the age of 40, with 23 grand slam singles titles to her name.
That is a record haul for any player, male or female, in the Open Era, but it is one short of Margaret Court's all-time tally.
Barring an unlikely charge for a first major win since the 2017 Australian Open, Court's record will remain intact for now.
The first slam singles title for Williams came way back in 1999, at the US Open. She has had ups and downs at the tournament through the years, but here Stats Perform looks at Williams' greatest Flushing Meadows achievements.
1999: Maiden grand slam success
Williams missed Wimbledon through injury but returned with a victory in Los Angeles at the JPMorgan Chase Open, setting the stage for an incredible maiden grand slam triumph. She defeated WTA greats Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martínez, Monica Seles and defending champion Lindsay Davenport to reach the final in New York. World number one Martina Hingis stood in her way, but the Swiss was no match – Williams won 6-3 7-6 (7-4) to truly make her mark at the age of 17.
2002: Sibling rivalry
Williams reached the final of the 2001 tournament, but it was her older sister Venus who triumphed. It was the first grand slam tournament to be contested by two sisters during the Open Era. The following year, the super siblings matched up in three of the four majors, and it was Serena who came up trumps in all three, capping that off with a 6-4 6-3 triumph at the US Open. The younger Williams sibling went on to win the Australian Open in 2003 too, sealing the 'Serena Slam' and making her the first player to hold the four major titles simultaneously since Steffi Graf in 1994.
2012: Azarenka challenge
Williams has enjoyed plenty of thrilling rivalries down the years, and, Venus aside, arguably the standout of them all has been the battle she has enjoyed with Victoria Azarenka. The pair have contested 23 matches in total, with Serena holding an 18-5 winning record. Their first meeting in a grand slam final came in 2012 at Flushing Meadows, in a season that had already seen Williams beat the Belarusian three times, including in the semi-finals of Wimbledon and in the last four of the London Olympics, also held at the All England Club, and she continued that run with a hard-fought 6-2 2-6 7-5 triumph in New York, battling back from 5-3 down and within two points of defeat in the deciding set to win a 15th major.
2014: Three in a row kick-starts Serena Slam II
Williams went on to defeat Azarenka again in the 2013 final, and she made it three US Open titles on the bounce with a straight-sets defeat of Caroline Wozniacki a year later. It saw Williams equal the Open Era record of 18 singles major titles, matching Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, and she did not lose a set across the entire tournament. This triumph also paved the way for her second 'Serena Slam', as like in 2002-03, Williams went on to win all four majors in a row.
2020: History maker
No stranger to records, it is fitting that the last time Williams appeared at the US Open – before this year – she went on to etch her name into the Flushing Meadows history books yet again. A 7-5 6-3 first-round win over Kristie Ahn was hardly the most convincing of starts, but it saw Williams reach 102 match wins at the tournament, overtaking six-time champion Evert for the most career singles wins at the competition by a male or female player. She reached the semi-finals, becoming the first player in history to reach the last four of a major in four different decades (the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s), but lost to old foe Azarenka, who in turn went down to Naomi Osaka in the showpiece.
Sabalenka goes the distance again to progress at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka was forced to go the distance again at the Madrid Open as she battled past Robin Montgomery on Sunday.
Sabalenka, the reigning Madrid Open champion, needed three sets to win her second-round tie against Magda Linette on Friday, and the second seed did not have an easy ride against American Montgomery.
However, she eventually got over the line, triumphing 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to tee up a last-16 meeting with Danielle Collins, who defeated Jaqueline Cristian 3-6 6-4 6-1.
Collins has now reeled off 15 straight wins, having won the Miami Open and Charleston Open in recent weeks, and has progressed to the last 16 in Madrid for the first time in her career.
The American said: "I've been doing so well the last couple of weeks, I think the girls know that when they come out and play me, they've got to go for it.
"That certainly was taking place the last two matches, some big shots that I've had to counter, and be able to react quickly."
Data Debrief: Sabalenka up there with Serena
Sabalenka has now won 14 of her 17 matches at the Madrid Open, which she won in 2023 and 2021.
Since the inception of the tournament, only Serena Williams (15) has won more of her first 17 matches at the event.
Alcaraz's pursuit for third straight Madrid Open crown continues by defeating Seyboth Wild
Carlos Alcaraz boosted his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open title as he comfortably beat Thiago Seyboth Wild to reach the fourth round on Sunday.
Back in his home country of Spain, Alcaraz eased to a 6-3 6-3 triumph to set up a fourth-round clash with Jan-Lennard Struff, whom he beat in last year's final.
The first six games of the opening set went to serve, but Alcaraz found a crucial break in the seventh and ninth games of the set to put him in pole position for victory, a lead he would not relinquish as he overcame being broken in the seventh game of the second set to seal his safe progression.
Holger Rune was a surprise casualty as the world number 12 was defeated 6-4 4-6 6-3 by Tallon Griekspoor, though world number eight Andrey Rublev eased through with a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Data debrief
With his triumph over Seyboth Wild at the Madrid Open, Alcaraz has now won 93.3 per cent of his games at the tournament. That is the highest win percentage of any player with at least 10 games played in a single ATP-1000 event since the format was introduced in 1990.
Against Seyboth Wild, Alcaraz won 27 of his 31 first-serve points, also recording 19 winners to his opponent's 10 as he dominated the contest on his way to victory.
Rybakina eases past Sherif to reach Madrid Open last 16
Elena Rybakina cruised past Mayar Sherif in straight sets to reach the last 16 of the Madrid Open on Sunday.
World number four Rybakina rarely looked like being troubled by Sherif, easing to a 6-1 6-4 triumph, winning 22 of her 26 first-serve points on her way to victory.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion broke Sherif's serve twice in the first set to gain control of the match, before holding her serve five times in the second to ensure victory.
Also into the last 16 in Madrid are Yulia Putintseva and Daria Kasatkina, who beat Caroline Dolehide and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova respectively, both in straight sets. However, world number seven and reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova is out after she was upset by Mirra Andreeva, losing 7-5 6-1.
Data debrief
In reaching the Madrid Open last 16, Rybakina again showed her class on clay. Her victory over Sherif saw her become only the fourth player in the last 10 years to win 14 straight WTA matches on clay, alongside Serena Williams, Simona Halep and Iga Swiatek.
Additionally, Rybakina's 475 winners at WTA-1000 events in 2024 are 112 more than the next best, Danielle Collins with 363.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
