How will the year 2020 pan out for Serena Williams? Here are five predictions from us about the player with the highest number of Grand Slams in the open era.
One of the most remarkable sporting moments of this decade was the 2017 Australian Open Women’s singles finals. The Williams sisters, Serena and Venus, were facing each other in a grand slam final for the first time since 2009 Wimbledon Championships. Serena won that match in straight sets to win her seventh Australian Open. A victory where she did not drop a single set throughout.
With the victory, she earned her 23rd singles grand slam. She also went past Stefi Graf and became the leading grand slam winner in the open era. It was revealed later that she was roughly eight weeks pregnant with at that time. A truly remarkable achievement from one of the greatest athletes we have seen since the turn of the century.
But since then, she has not won a single WTA tournament, let alone adding to the 23 Grand Slams. She took a year off from the sport during the birth of her first daughter. Since her comeback in early 2018, she has continuously been plagued with injuries and inconsistent form.
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There have been concerns about whether the great American will ever be able to compete at the highest level and if it is time for her to call it quits. Controversies off the field & run-ins with tournament officials have kept her more in the news than performances on the field.
2019 proved to be a year of false dawns for the former world number one. She did quash doubts about her ability to compete on the highest level by reaching Wimbledon and US Open finals. But her frustrations continued as she fell short in both the grand slam finals. She also lost the finals of the Toronto Open as well as the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
With 2020 most likely to be the final year on the tour for the 38-year old, let us have a look at how the season is expected to pan out.
Australian Open – Too Big a Mountain for her to Climb
Season’s first grand slam has historically been William’s best bet for a grand slam. Since her comeback in 2018, the first half of the season has not been the most productive for her. In the last two seasons, has reached the finals of all four grand slams in the second half of the year (Wimbledon & US Open) but has failed to go past the quarter-finals in the first two slams (The Australian Open and the French Open).
This trend is likely to continue as it will be difficult for her to race out of the blocks at this age. Even though defending champion at Melbourne, Naomi Osaka may not be the favourite for the title this year. Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu are likely to be too strong for the rest of the field for the first slam of the open.
Serena Williams, who is 11/2 to win the Australian Open, is always a formidable player on hard courts and can not be ruled out completely. It is likely that she will not yet be at her best in the first grand slam of the year. She has also not played on the tour since her US Open final loss, and the indications so far from her camp have been that she may take it easy at the start of the season as well.
Our prediction: Williams will have a good showing at the Australian Open, but the title will be a stiff hurdle.
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Williams Will Take it Easy on Clay this Year
Williams has won three French Open titles and has a 65-13 record at the Roland Garros. It is the one slam that she has historically struggled the most in and, at times, taken it easy considering how strong she has always been on the grass. 2020 is likely to be the same.
Williams hasn’t gone beyond the fourth round at the event since 2016. Considering her age and the injury record lately, there is a strong chance that she may take it easy during the clay-court swings this year and even may contemplate giving the French open a miss in order to ensure that she goes in the grass-court season fresh and healthy.
The French Open usually is one of the most competitive slams of the year. Statistically, it is the hardest grand slam to defend for a defending champion. No woman has been able to do it since 2007. It will be logical for Williams to conserve energy in the event with an extremely competitive field.
Simona Halep is one of the best clay-court players around at the moment, and it is expected that she will be the favourite to win at the Roland Garros this year.
Our Prediction: Williams to go easy in the second slam of the season
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Dreaded Wait for 24th Grand Slam Could Continue at Wimbledon
It is almost three years and 11 majors since Williams began the hunt for her 24th Grand Slam. This would put her on par with the great Australian, Margaret Court, who won 24 slams before the Open Era.
For a long time, it only looked a matter of time before the American would equal the number. But off-late, the question has moved towards “if” from “when.” And at times, her desperation to reach the magical number has been clearly visible and has been weighing her down heavily. Four consecutive grand slam final losses have just shown that she has been struggling to deal with the pressure.
Wimbledon has been her most profitable slam along with the Australian Open, both of which she has won seven times. Apart from the 2017 edition that she missed due to pregnancy, Williams has reached the finals at the event for four consecutive occasions, winning twice.
It looks like that it will be her best bet to finally win another slam. She may even contemplate skipping some clay-court events to give herself the best chance of a strong showing at SW19.
It is very much clear to see that she is still a league above everyone else on the grass court. But we feel that the pressure of winning the 24th grand slam and four consecutive final losses in the slams will be too big a hurdle for her to overcome. She is very much likely to make it to the finals once again given her experience & quality. But her mentality is still doubtful when it comes to the pressure moments in finals.
Our Prediction: The agonizing wait for the 24th slam to continue as she falls at the final hurdle once again
Olympic Gold to Quash Big Stage Fright
2020 is the year of the summer Olympics. As the world will gather in Tokyo, Williams will fancy her chances on the hard courts. She is still one of the best players around on the surface.
And despite her age, she still has one of the most potent game for the hard courts. Her problem in the last couple of years has been the pressure of the big stage getting to her. Williams has already won a summer Olympics singles Gold medal at London in 2012 & she is not going to be under any pressure at this year’s event.
This might prove to be a blessing for her. A gold medal finish at Tokyo may just help her get over the dreaded curse of losing in big event finals in the last couple of years.
The three medalists from the Rio 2016 Olympics were Monica Puig (Gold), Angelique Kerber (Silver) and Petra Kvitova (Bronze). Puig hasn’t been able to live up to the expectations since then, but the latter two are still going strong and will be hoping to return to the podium as well.
Our Prediction: Williams to win Gold at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics
Fairy-Tale Finish to the Tear With a Win at the Flushing Meadows
In the last few years, the US Open has become an event for the younger players. The increasing demands of the tour & physically gruelling nature of the women’s game have meant that senior players have tended to struggle at the year-end event.
The last player to win the US Open in her 30s was Italian Flavia Pennetta when she won in 2015. But if there is one player on tour to change that trend, it is Serena Williams.
As mentioned earlier, age is not a problem with her. Despite all the injury concerns, Williams remains the only player to have reached four grand slam finals in the last two seasons.
Gold at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo is likely to free her up from the pressure of failing at big stages. And this possibly being her last ever appearance at the US Open considering that she will be 40 when the event comes around in 2021, she will be eager to bid goodbye with a fairy-tale.
For a player who has defied the odds many times and has set new standards in the sport. It is not beyond her to have a dream August where she wins an Olympic Gold and a grand slam. There have been many indications from her side that 2020 may be her last season in the sport. And she will surely want to go out on a high.
Our prediction: Serena Williams to win the US Open and her 24th Grand Slam.
These are our predictions for Serena Williams, what are yours?
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