Angelique Kerber Wins Wimbledon as Unforced Errors Undermine Serena Williams

After a remarkable run to the Wimbledon final, Serena Williams fell short to Angelique Kerber, one of the fastest—and most relentless—women in tennis.

Kerber, who won 6-3, 6-3 Saturday, chased down the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s attacks and forced her into long rallies, which led to mistakes by Williams. The American had 24 unforced errors in the match compared to five for her German opponent.

When Kerber won the final point—on a Williams miss—she fell to her back in joy. Williams and Kerber then embraced.

“She played unbelievable today,” said Williams of Kerber.

“It was such an amazing tournament for me—I was really happy to get this far,” Williams said immediately after the match. The American, who gave birth to her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. in September of last year, added, “All the moms out there, I was playing for you today and I tried.”

“You’re a great person and a champion,” Kerber said to Williams. “I am sure you will have your next Grand Slam very soon.”

The defeat denied Williams, 36, her 24th Grand Slam title, which would have tied her with Margaret Court for the most. Kerber took her third Grand Slam championship of her career.

Williams’s last major title came at the Australian Open in 2017. She was pregnant at the time and missed the rest of the season. With her daughter’s birth, she suffered many complications, including a blood clot problem.

“It’s no secret I had a super-tough delivery,” Williams said prior to the match. “I lost count after, like, four surgeries because I was in so many surgeries. It was just routine every day, I had to have a new surgery. Because of all the blood issues I have, I was really touch-and-go for a minute.”

But Williams said she never planned to quit tennis. She considered resuming her career at the Australian Open earlier this year, but announced she wasn’t ready. When she started to play tournaments in March, she didn’t look strong. But at the French Open, Williams seemed to be on her way back. She won three matches before having to withdraw because of pain in her right pectoral muscle, a problem that didn’t bother her at Wimbledon.

“I didn’t know a couple of months ago where I was, where I would be, how I would do, how I would be able to come back,” Williams said after the match.


“I think these two weeks have really showed me that, OK, I can compete,” she added.

But on Saturday, she wasn’t able to overwhelm a swift opponent like Kerber, who had beaten Williams in a Grand Slam final before. In 2016, she survived in three sets to beat Williams in the Australian Open final.

Williams rebounded from that match to win the Wimbledon final against Kerber in the same year, in straight sets.

For Williams, making the championship match was remarkable in itself. Before Wimbledon began, she had played just seven matches since she took her sabbatical last year. Her next chance to win a major title will be at the U.S. Open, which begins in August.

Kerber said she has loved Wimbledon since she was a child when she watched Steffi Graf, Germany’s greatest player who won the event seven times.

“My first memories [were] watching Steffi here, to winning all the matches,” Kerber said. “I think Wimbledon is something special. I think it’s traditional. To [win] here, it’s forever. I think nobody can take the title away from me now.”

Asked about the performance of Williams, Kerber said, “She came back after all this up and downs, after having a baby now, playing tennis like she’s playing now, that’s great.”
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