Serena & the Slams

Serena Williams lost to unseeded Roberta Vinci in U.S. Open semifinals, thus ending her quest to become the first women’s singles player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to complete the calendar Grand Slam by winning the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in the same year. Had she won, Williams also would have tied her with Graf for the second most career Grand Slam tournament wins and the most since the Open Era, which began in 1968 when professionals were allowed to compete in Grand Slam tournaments.

Serena & the slams

Grand Slam totals

Since turning pro in 1995 and making her Grand Slam debut in 1998, Serena Williams has put together one of the most impressive collections of statistics in major tennis tournaments. Click each number for more info.

Serena year by year

A look at how far Serena Williams advanced in each of the grand slams during her nearly 20 years on tour.

1998

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 53 Serena Williams lost to No. 16 Venus Williams in the Round of 64, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 27 Serena Williams lost to No. 5 Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the Round of 16, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

WIMBLEDON: No. 20 Serena Williams lost to No. 47 Virginia Ruano Pascual in the Round of 32, 7-5, 4-1 (retired).

U.S. OPEN: No. 20 Serena Williams lost to No. 8 Irina Spirlea in the Round of 32, 6-3, 0-6, 7-5.

1999

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 26 Serena Williams lost to No. 15 Sandrine Testud in the round of 32, 6-2, 2-6, 9-7.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 10 Serena Williams lost to No. 37 Mary Joe Fernandez in the Round of 32, 6-3, 1-6, 6-0.

WIMBLEDON: Missed tournament because of injury.

U.S. OPEN: No. 6 Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam by defeating No. 1 Martina Hingis in the final, 6-3, 7-6.

2000

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 4 Serena Williams lost to No. 18 Elena Likhovtseva in the Round of 16, 6-3, 6-3.

FRENCH OPEN: Missed tournament because of injury.

WIMBLEDON: No. 8 Serena Williams lost to No. 5 Venus Williams in the semifinals, 6-2, 7-6.

U.S. OPEN: No. 5 Serena Williams lost to No. 2 Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-2.

2001

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 6 Serena Williams lost to No. 1 Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 3-6, 8-6.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 7 Serena Williams lost to No. 4 Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2.

WIMBLEDON: No. 5 Serena Williams lost to No. 4 Jennifer Capriati in quarterfinals, 6-7, (4-7), 7-5, 6-3.

U.S. OPEN: No. 10 Serena Williams lost to No. 4 Venus Williams in the final, 6-2, 6-4.

2002

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Missed tournament because of injury.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 3 Serena Williams beat No. 2 Venus Williams in the final, 7-5, 6-3.

WIMBLEDON: No. 2 Serena Williams beat No. 1 Venus Williams in the final, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

U.S. OPEN: No. 1 Serena Williams beat No. 2 Venus Williams in the final, 6-4, 6-3.

2003

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 1 Serena Williams beat No. 2 Venus Williams in the final, 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 6-4.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 1 Serena Williams lost to No. 4 Justine Henin in the semifinals, 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.

WIMBLEDON: No. 1 Serena Williams beat No. 4 Venus Williams in the final, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

U.S. OPEN: Missed tournament because of injury.

2004

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Missed tournament because of injury.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 7 Serena Williams lost to No. 6 Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

WIMBLEDON: No.10 Serena Williams lost to No. 15 Maria Sharapova in the final, 6-1, 6-4.

U.S. OPEN: No. 11 Serena Williams lost to No. 8 Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

2005

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 7 Serena Williams beat No. 1 Lindsay Davenport in the final, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.

FRENCH OPEN: Missed tournament because of injury.

WIMBLEDON: No. 4 Serena Williams lost to No. 85 Jill Craybas in the Round of 32, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4).

U.S. OPEN: No. 8 Serena Williams lost to No. 10 Venus Williams in the Round of 16, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2.

2006

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 15 Serena Williams lost to No. 17 Daniela Hantuchova in the Round of 32, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5).

FRENCH OPEN: Missed tournament because of injury.

WIMBLEDON: Missed tournament because of injury.

U.S. OPEN: No. 91 Serena Williams lost to No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo in the Round of 16, 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.

2007

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 81 Serena Williams beat No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the final, 6-1, 6-2.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 8 Serena Williams lost to No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 6-3.

WIMBLEDON: No. 8 Serena Williams lost to No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

U.S. OPEN: No. 9 Serena Williams lost to No. 1 Justine Henin in the quarterfinals, 7-6 (7-3), 6-1.

2008

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 7 Serena Williams lost to No. 4 Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-4.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 5 Serena Williams lost to No. 24 Katarina Srebotnik in the Round of 32, 6-4, 6-4.

WIMBLEDON: No. 6 Serena Williams lost to No. 7 Venus Williams in the final, 7-5, 6-4.

U.S. OPEN: No. 3 Serena Williams beat No. 2 Jelena Jankovic in the final, 6-4, 7-5.

2009

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 2 Serena Williams beat No. 3 Dinara Safina in the final, 6-0, 6-3.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 2 Serena Williams lost to No. 7 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals, 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 7-5.

WIMBLEDON: No. 2 Serena Williams beat No. 3 Venus Williams in the final, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.

U.S. OPEN: No. 2 Serena Williams lost to unranked Kim Clijsters in the semifinals, 6-4, 7-5.

2010

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 1 Serena Williams beat unranked Justine Henin in the final, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 1 Serena Williams lost to No. 7 Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 8-6.

WIMBLEDON: No. 1 Serena Williams beat No. 21 Vera Zvonareva in the final, 6-3, 6-2.

U.S. OPEN: Missed tournament because of injury.

2011

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Missed tournament because of injury.

FRENCH OPEN: Missed tournament because of injury.

WIMBLEDON: No. 25 Serena Williams lost to No. 9 Marion Bartoli in the Round of 16, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).

U.S. OPEN: No. 27 Serena Williams lost to No. 10 Samantha Stosur in the final, 6-2, 6-3.

2012

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 12 Serena Williams lost to No. 56 Ekaterina Makarova in the Round of 16, 6-2, 6-3.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 5 Serena Williams lost to No. 111 Virginie Razzano in the first round, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3.

WIMBLEDON: No. 6 Serena Williams beat No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska in the final, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

U.S. OPEN: No. 4 Serena Williams beat No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in the final, 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.

2013

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 3 Serena Williams lost to No. 25 Sloane Stephens in the quarterfinals, 3-6, 7-5, 6-4.

FRENCH OPEN: No. 1 Serena Williams beat No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the final, 6-4, 6-4.

WIMBLEDON: No. 1 Serena Williams lost to No. 24 Sabine Lisicki in the Round of 16, 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.

U.S. OPEN: No. 1 Serena Williams beat No. 2 Victoria Azarenka in the final, 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1.

2014

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: Top-ranked Serena Williams lost to No. 14 Ana Ivanovic in the Round of 16, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.

FRENCH OPEN: Top-ranked Serena Williams lost to No. 35 Garbine Muguruza in the Round of 64, 6-2, 6-2.

WIMBLEDON: Top-ranked Serena Williams lost to No. 24 Alize Cornet in the Round of 32, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

U.S. OPEN: Top-ranked Serena Williams beat No. 11 Caroline Wozniacki in the final, 6-3, 6-3.

2015

AUSTRALIAN OPEN: No. 1 Serena Williams beat No. 2 Maria Sharapova in the final, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).

FRENCH OPEN: No. 1 Serena Williams beat No. 13 Lucie Safarova in the final, 6-3, 6-7 (7-2), 6-2.

WIMBLEDON: No. 1 Serena Williams beat No. 20 Garbine Muguruza in the final, 6-4, 6-4.

U.S. OPEN: Serena Williams lost to unseeded Roberta Vinci in the semifinal, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

(Note: Numbers listed above are WTA rankings at the time, not tournament seed.)

Grand Slam finals

serena williams

Chris Evert (34), Martina Navratilova (32) and Steffi Graf (31) are the only women to appear in more Grand Slam singles finals. Williams’ 84 percent win rate in finals is the best ever (minimum five titles).

Grand Slam wins

serena williams

Serena Williams won her most recent Grand Slam event at Wimbledon in July, and at age 33, became the oldest woman to win a major.

Serena’s Grand Slam match wins

serena williams

Serena Williams, with her 285-40 record, has won 88 percent of her Grand Slam matches, which ranks third behind Steffi Graf (89.7 percent) and Chris Evert (89.0 percent).

‘Serena Slams’

serena williams

After winning the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open in 2002, Williams won the 2003 Australian Open to become the fifth player to win four straight Grand Slams. Upon victory at the Australian Open, Williams was the active title holder in all four majors, a feat dubbed the “Serena Slam.” She did it again with wins at the U.S. Open in 2014 and the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in 2015.

Australian Open

serena williams

Serena Williams has won the most Australian Open titles in the Open Era. She is 68-9 (88 percent) at the tournament. Her 2003 championship also made her the ninth woman to complete the career Grand Slam.

French Open

serena williams

Serena Williams is 54-11 at Roland Garros (83 percent) and 3-0 in the final.

Wimbledon

serena williams

The All-England Club has seen the Williams sisters meet in a final four times, with Serena winning in 2002, 2003 and 2009, and Venus winning in 2008. Serena is 79-10 (89 percent) at Wimbledon.

U.S. Open

serena williams

At the 1999 US Open, a 17-year-old Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam by beating Martina Hingis. She is 84-9 at the U.S. Open.

Wins as a higher-ranked player

serena williams

She also has only 19 losses against lower-ranked opponents, with the most recent coming in 2014 as No. 1 at Wimbledon against No. 24 Alize Cornet. She is 12-2 in finals as the higher-ranked player. She is 98-7 overall when playing as the world’s No. 1 ranked player.

Wins as lower-ranked player

serena williams

The 2012 Wimbledon final marked the last time Williams has faced a higher-ranked player in a Grand Slam. As the No. 4 ranked player, she defeated No. 2 Agnieszka Radwanska in the final. She is 8-2 in finals against higher-ranked players and 35-19 in all matches as the lower-ranked player.

Serena vs. Venus

serena williams venus williams

Venus Williams won their first three Grand Slam meetings, but Serena has won nine of their last 11. Serena is 7-3 against her sister in finals, including four straight championship wins between 2002 and 2003. This was the only time in the Open Era two women met in four straight Grand Slam finals.

Serena vs. players who have been ranked No. 1

serena williams

Venus Williams, Justine Henin and Jennifer Capriati are the only players in this group to defeat Serena more than once at a Grand Slam. Her most frequent victims have been Victoria Azarenka (No. 1 in 2012; 0-10 against Williams), and Maria Sharapova (No. 1 in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012; 1-6 against Williams).

Written by Sal Cacciatore. Designed by Anthony Carrozzo