How has Serena Williams fared at the US Open?
American star Serena Williams has been included on the entry list (women's singles) for the upcoming US Open edition. The 23-time Grand Slam champion will feature in the US Open main-draw for the 21st time. Notably, she is also in the draw for tune-up events in Toronto and Cincinnati. Earlier this year, Serena suffered a first-round exit at Wimbledon after receiving a wildcard entry.
Why does this story matter?
Serena, who has won a record 23 Grand Slam women's singles titles, is ranked 399th currently (WTA Rankings). She has not played just one match in over a year (2022 Wimbledon). Serena required a wild card to feature at Wimbledon this year as she has slipped out of the top 1,000. The American will chase a record seventh US Open title this time.
Serena has clinched six US Open titles
Serena has six US Open titles (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014), the joint-most with Chris Evert in the Open Era. She clinched the first of her 23 majors by winning the US Open in 1999. By winning another, Serena can have the joint-second-most US Open titles (7) with Helen Wills (all-time list). She has a win-loss record of 106-14 at the US Open.
Serena has appeared in 10 US Open finals
Serena has appeared in 10 US Open finals, having won six of them. Meanwhile, Williams has reached the semis stage 14 times in the tournament. She last won the US Open in 2014. Ever since the American has lost three semi-finals and two finals. In 2020, Serena lost the US Open semi-finals to Belarusia's Victoria Azarenka.
Other records of Serena at US Open
Serena has won the US Open without losing a set thrice (2002, 2008, and 2014). She is one of the two women to have won over 100 US Open matches, the other being Evert (101). Among active players, Venus Williams is behind Serena in terms of match-wins (79). Serena has the third-best win percentage (88.3) at this Slam among women with over 50 wins.
The Grand Slam drought of Serena
Serena last won a Grand Slam title in 2017 at the Australian Open. The American has qualified for two Wimbledon (2018-19) and two US Open finals (2018-19) and ever since. She also reached the semi-finals at US Open (2020) and Australian Open (2021). Prior to this drought, Serena had won at least one Grand Slam for six straight years (2012-2017).
Serena eyes these milestones
Serena has an opportunity to capture her 24th Grand Slam singles title. She is only behind former world number one Margaret Court on the tally (24). The former has played as many as 33 Grand Slam finals. By playing one more, she could match the record of Chris Evert (34). Notably, Serena would appear at a Slam for the 81st time in her career.
