Doesn’t get much better than this: Serena Williams ROCKS!

Champion
Serena Williams

Chris Oddo pens a true champion’s “Impossibly Good” season

Editing, end comment by

Carolyn Bennett

With her title in Istanbul (Turkey) ─ winning the WTA Championships for a fourth time ─ SERENA Williams crowns a remarkable season: 57 titles, exceeding Monica Seles’ 53, Lindsay Davenport’s 55 and Virginia Wade’s 55 on the WTA’s all-time title list.

Serena at Istanbul

Serena’s milestones 

(2013 records)

New Prize Money Record: $12,385,572 in prize money finishing season, $4 million above the previous record; only 26 players, according to the WTA, have earned $10.8 million in their whole careers. Williams beat that by $1.5 million in one season!

Grand Slam Title 16th and 17th: Serena ties Roger Federer and is one Slam away from Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert.

Career Most Matches Played (record): Williams played more than 80 matches for the first time (year she turned 32) in her career.

Oldest Player to Hold No. 1 Ranking: Serena Williams took over the WTA’s top spot again on February 17, becoming the oldest player in WTA history to do so.

On court at Istanbul, Turkey

Career Best Titles: Sunday in Istanbul, Serena Williams achieved her 11th title; she is the 10th player in Open Era WTA history to have won 10 or more.

Largest Single Prize Money Purse earned in Tennis History:  Williams’ $3.6 million payout at this year’s U.S. Open is the largest in tennis history (ties Rafael Nadal).

Career Best Winning Streak: Williams reached 34 consecutive wins before falling to Sabine Lisicki at Wimbledon.

600-Win Plateau reached: Williams won her 600th career match at Wimbledon this year; one of two active players to have won as many; Venus Williams, Serena’s sister, is the other.

Career Best Winning Percentage achieved: Serena Williams finished the 2013 season at 78-4, a winning percentage of .951, which is good for ninth all-time among WTA players.

Seventh on the All-Time Title List achieved

Serena's Serve/return of serve

Serena

Serena Williams is “known for her serve.” By most if not all accounts, she is the best server in history of women’s tennis

Serena Williams’ masterful return of serve in 2013 enabled her to keep potential rivals at bay

Serena Williams, Return, 2008-2013

For the first time since 2008 (the WTA began compiling year-end statistics in 2008), Williams is in the top three of all return categories.

It is the first time that the 17-time Grand Slam champion has been in the top 10 of all four categories (points won against first serve, points won against second serve, break points converted and return games won).

YEAR	1ST SERVE RETURN RANK / %	2ND SERVE RETURN RANK / %	BP % CONVERTED RANK / %	% RETURN GMS WON RANK / %
2013	2nd / 44.7	3rd / 61.6	3rd / 54.1	2nd / 53.9
2012	5th / 42.4	5th / 59.8	NOT TOP 10	6th / 46.8
2011	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10
2010	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10
2009	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10
2008	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10	NOT TOP 10

2013 marks the first time that Williams has won more 50 percent of her return games in a season since the WTA began compiling numbers.

Serena

In 2013, five different players won more than 50 percent of their return games for the first time. Prior to 2012, there are no records of anybody winning more than half of their return games over the course of a season. In 2012, two players (Victoria Azarenka and Sara Errani) won more than half their return games.

Winning 50 percent of return games, since 2008

YEAR/ PLAYER	% RETURN GAMES WON	MATCHES PLAYED
2013 / AZARENKA	54.8	52
2013 / S. WILLIAMS	53.9	82
2013 / ERRANI	50.4	67
2013 / MEUSBURGER	50.2	27
2013 / HALEP	50.1	62
2012 / AZARENKA	52.5	78
2012 / ERRANI	51.2	72

Champion
Billie Jean King

T

Billie Jean King

ennis great Billie Jean King founded the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in 1973. It is the principal organizing body of women’s professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. The WTA’s corporate headquarters is in St. Petersburg, Florida; the European headquarters in London, the Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing.

Billie Jean King

 

It doesn’t get much better than this.

Sources and notes

By Chris Oddo/ Sunday, October 27, 2013: http://www.tennisnow.com/News/Statisfaction-10-Mindblowing-Stats-about-Serena-Wi.aspx

See more at: http://www.tennisnow.com/News/10-Mindblowing-Stats-About-Serena-Williams-Impossi.aspx#sthash.MBrSkxzp.dpuf

“Serena Williams’ Returns: Vastly Improved STATS (satisfaction) 2013” by Chris Oddo / Thursday, October 31, 2013, http://www.tennisnow.com/News/Statisfaction-Serena-Williams-Return-Was-Vastly-Im.aspx

See more at: http://www.tennisnow.com/News/Statisfaction-Serena-Williams-Return-Was-Vastly-Im.aspx#sthash.5eyhuTml.dpuf

ALSO:

http://www.wtachampionships.com/page/WelcomeWTA

http://www.wtachampionships.com/

http://www.wtachampionships.com/articles/20131027/finals-gallery_2267567_3513765?imageNo=19#picture

WTA brief from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_Tennis_Association

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