
Welcome to Winner's Circle, a segment where we review each winner of every ATP and WTA tournament during the truncated 2020 season.
This week, we shall join 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams on her quest to claim an elusive WTA title, having not captured any since her triumph at the 2017 Australian Open.
ASB Classic 2020 Winner: Serena Williams
Having not played a match since the 2019 US Open final (lost to Andreescu), many were in doubt about Williams's mindset and fitness. The 38-year old American had recently become a mother, and spent the rest of the 2019 season with her daughter.
Regardless, her stellar play during the previous year saw her enter the ASB Classic as the top seed. She faced Camila Giorgi in the opening round, breezing past the Italian 6-3 6-2.
Williams faced much tougher opposition in the second round, battling past compatriot Christina McHale 3-6 6-2 6-3 in two hours.
Awaiting Williams in the quarterfinal was veteran Laura Siegemund, who had lost her sole previous encounter against the American. Williams cruised past her German opponent 6-4 6-3 to secure her spot in the semifinals.
Other participants at the event included 2019 champion Julia Goerges[4], American teenager Amanda Anisimova[3] and Caroline Wozniacki[5]. There was talk of a final Williams-Wozniacki showdown, as the Dane had recently announced she would be retiring after the Australian Open.
Williams seemed eager to face her good friend one last time on the WTA circuit. The top seed swept past Anisimova 6-1 6-1 in just 43 minutes to book her place in the final. However, after defeating defending champion Goerges, Wozniacki was upset by unseeded American Jessica Pegula 6-3 4-6 0-6.
This would be the first meeting between Williams and the 82nd-ranked Pegula. Despite a valiant attempt, Pegula was unable to withstand the power and experience from her higher-ranked opponent. Williams prevailed 6-3 6-4 in an hour and 35 minutes, claiming her first title in three years.
This victory saw Williams rise a spot in the WTA rankings, moving from No.10 to No.9. The American would subsequently donate her prize money to an Australian bushfire relief fund.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdBiOPh6NAg[/embed]
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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