After a heroic, dramatic game, Angelique Kerber loses in the #Paris2024 quarterfinals against Qinwen Zheng, thus ending her active tennis career. German tennis legend 🇩🇪
ANALYSIS: A look at future Hall of Famer Angelique Kerber as curtain closes on illustrious career
WTAFriday, 02 August 2024 at 11:56
Angelique Kerber announced ahead of this year’s Olympics in Paris that the games would be her final event. She’s out, which means she’s done, so let’s take a look at what she was able to achieve in her career.
Angelique Kerber was a standout tennis talent for much of her life. She began with the sport very early, at the age of three, because her parents worked at a tennis academy, which exposed her to the sport very early. As she grew older, Kerber started to show more and more promise, eventually turning professional at the age of 15 in 2003. Similar to Rafael Nadal, she is right-handed but plays left-handed in tennis, a choice which would prove meaningful in the later stages of her career. Her first Grand Slam draw was in 2007 at the age of 19 when she made the main draw of Roland Garros and played on the same courts where she would later say goodbye to the sport.
The first full professional season ended with her securing a Top 100 finish at number 84. Getting to the top took a while for Kerber because it didn’t really happen until 2012, when she won her maiden WTA trophy in Suez, France. It wasn’t the first final she played because she played it in 2010 but lost it. Kerber would win another trophy that year and make several finals, finishing the year in the Top 10 with 60 wins on the season.
The next year saw her steadily improve as a player adding more trophies to her tally. In 2015, Kerber won 4 WTA trophies, which foreshadowed what was going to happen the year after when Kerber would ascend to the top of tennis and win a Grand Slam trophy. It happened in January of 2016 when she the made the Australian Open final, beating Serena Williams to win it. Later that year, Kerber would become world number one after the US Open, the biggest achievement of her career. Dethroning Serena Williams to do so made it only better and solidified her legacy as one of the best players in recent years and the best German in a long time.
2017 was a year of challenges for Kerber, as she struggled to maintain her form and dropped out of the Top 20. However, this tough period set the stage for her spectacular comeback in 2018. That year, she soared back to number two in the rankings, clinching the Wimbledon title in a match against Serena Williams, a player she had previously defeated in a Grand Slam final. This victory solidified her position as a formidable force in the world of tennis.
Angelique Kerber retires with her head held high after an incredible career.
Winning your two Grand Slams by beating Serena Williams in the final is truly an iconic achievement that speaks hugely to the legacy she left tennis. She didn’t win it by luck or anything else but took on the best at a time when they were still playing on a high level and defeated them fair and square. The next few years would be tricky for Kerber who would fail to reach the same level as she had in previous years. She would only play four finals after that Wimbledon final and win only two. The last final she ever made was in May of 2022, and it was a hard-fought win over Kaja Juvan. She would never make a final again but will have the memory of winning the last final she ever played.
Later that year, Kerber announced her pregnancy, and after giving birth last year, the German returned this year. It was a valiant comeback attempt, but after a few months, it became increasingly clear that she was not really competitive anymore, and the decision was made - the 2024 Olympics would be her final event. It was a sensible decision because she struggled to compete this year. A few win here and there, and that is not what a player of her calibre plays for. She wanted to prove to herself that she could return from motherhood, and she did. The run she had at the Olympics proved just that.
Beating the likes of Naomi Osaka is a rather impressive feat, as is nearly beating a Top 10 player such as Qinwen Zheng. Ultimately, the Chinese player was able to win a very close and competitive match to advance, sending the German into retirement. She retires as a player who achieved far more than anybody though she could. As talented as she was as a youngster, it wasn’t an easy journey for her. She worked very hard and achieved great success in an era of women’s tennis with many great players. Just the fact that she beat Serena Williams for both of her Grand Slams demonstrates that.
She’s inspired a whole generation of new players both back home and abroad and did a lot for both German and Polish tennis. As a proud German of Polish heritage, Kerber embraced both sides and championed the cause for the whole of her career. She also showed players that you don’t have to be the biggest or strongest to win matches. Despite not having the power of someone like Serena Williams, Kerber still beat her. Her counter-punching style is a dying breed in modern tennis, but it’s a very valid style of play.
It’s still effective if executed right, and who knows, maybe there is a new Kerber somewhere practicing right now. Her tennis legacy has been cemented as a former number one who won two Grand Slam trophies, with 14 overall trophies and a silver medal from the 2016 Olympics. Overall, she’s going to go down as one of the best German players in recent times, and she's certainly the best since Steffi Graf. Her influence on the future of tennis is undeniable, and her legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.
Kerber is officially done but the future Hall of Famer will be fondly remembered as a consummate professional who gave the sport a lot. The only one who might not remember her fondly is Serena Williams but jokes aside, she’s always greatly respected Kerber as we all should. Kerber's impact on the sport of tennis is undeniable, and her contributions will be remembered and appreciated for years to come.
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