Sport
She’s back: Serena Williams reclaims No. 1 ranking
Women’s US Open 2012 champion, Serena Williams with the trophy. PHOTO/Timothy Clary/Getty Images
Serena Williams has returned to the top of women’s tennis, overcoming a series of potentially career-ending injuries since 2010 to become the oldest woman to hold the No. 1 ranking.
The 31-year-old Williams rallied from 4-1 down in the third to beat former Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open on Friday. She needed to reach the semifinals to replace Victoria Azarenka at No. 1 when the rankings come out next week.
Williams held up one finger after clinching the match with an ace and wiped away the tears as she addressed the cheering crowd.
“I never thought I would be here again,” Williams said. “Oh my gosh, I’ve been through so much. I never thought I would be here.”
Chris Evert held the top ranking in 1985 just shy of her 31st birthday.
It has been a long journey back to the top for Williams.
Shortly after winning Wimbledon in 2010, she cut her feet on broken glass while on her way out of a restaurant in Germany. That led to two operations on her right foot. Later, she had blood clots in her lungs and needed to inject herself with a blood thinner. She needed to go to the hospital when those shots led to a pool of blood under her skin.
Williams lost the top spot to Caroline Wozniacki in 2010 and tumbled down the rankings. But she made a comeback worthy of a No. 1 in 2012, winning Wimbledon, the Olympic gold medal, the U.S. Open and the season-ending WTA championships. She lost only one match in 2012 after her first-round exit at the French Open.
“There were often times that I never thought I’d play again. Then I thought I’d never be able to win tournaments or Grand Slams,” Williams said. “No. 1 was so far off. I mean, it was always a dream, but, you know, I was No. 1 when tragedy struck, and it was just an awful thing to happen. So I’m happy that I’m back.”
She’ll face third-ranked Maria Sharapova in the semifinals.
WTA chairman Stacey Allaster called it an “amazing accomplishment” for a “superstar champion who has played an integral role, over the past 15 years, in solidifying tennis as the global leader in women’s sports.”
It wasn’t a dominating performance on Friday from the 15-time Grand Slam winner. Erratic at times and appearing to favor her right ankle that she injured at the Australian Open, Williams committed 31 unforced errors throughout the match and hit eight double faults.
She also struggled early on with the Czech’s serve and forehand in the first set. But her own serve saved her, especially in the second set when she went on to win 13 of the final 14 points — pumping her fist several times and screaming, the first signs of emotion so far in the tournament.
Down 4-1 in the third, Williams broke Kvitova when she double-faulted to make it 4-3. Though it seemed the match would go to a tiebreaker, Williams broke with a wicked crosscourt backhand to make 6-5 and won it with one of her 14 aces.
“I stuck in there, and I just never gave up. I always felt like if I can just keep fighting and I can just try to do it,” Williams said. “I definitely did not play great. With that being said, I think Petra played unbelievable, and I think she was just hitting shots I had no chance to get. I don’t think anyone on this tour could have gotten.”
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.