How Angelique Kerber rose to the pinnacle of the game

Angelique Kerber, the only active Hologic WTA Tour player to win singles titles at three of the four Grand Slams, will conclude her career this coming week at the Olympic Games.

Kerber, 36, announced her decision on Thursday in Paris. The celebrated German left-hander was part of the Olympic draw ceremony, where play begins Saturday. She will face fellow former World No.1 Naomi Osaka in the first round.

Angelique Kerber: A career in photos

“The finish line,” Kerber wrote on social media. “Before the Olympics begin, I can already say that I will never forget #Paris2024, because it will be my last professional tournament as a tennis player. And whereas this might actually be the right decision, it will never feel that way. Simply because I love the sport with all my heart and I’m thankful for the memories and opportunities it has given me.

“The Olympics, I’ve participated in so far, have been more than just competitions as they represent different chapters of my life as a tennis player: the climb, the peak… and now, the finish line.

“The Olympics in #London2012 came at a time, when I had my breakthrough season on the tour. I was climbing the rankings steadily and every win helped me overcome my doubts & strengthened my self-belief. It all felt like new beginnings and I was carried by excitement to new heights. The year before, in 2011, I had almost turned my back on tennis and given up on my childhood dreams.

“When I arrived at the Olympics in #Rio2016 🥈, I had just won my first Grand Slam title in Australia at the beginning of the year. My silver medal run was embedded in a rush of emotions that led to my second Grand Slam title in New York and the top of the rankings. The descent in the following year was hurtful, but I learned my lesson and Wimbledon 2018 was my biggest reward.

“And now: #Paris2024 will mark the finish line of the most incredible journey I could have ever dreamed of growing up with a racket in my hand. There are many more things I want to say and people to thank, which I will do once I completed my last match…but for now, I will take the time and soak up every second of this final episode on court. Thank you all for your support – it means the world to me.”

Her versatility, the diversity in her game, can be seen in those major titles: the 2016 Australian Open, 2016 US Open and 2018 Wimbledon. Kerber triumphed in vastly different conditions and circumstances — a tribute to her determination and the ability to problem solve.

She was twice a quarterfinalist on the red clay at Roland Garros, the only championship missing from her major resume. Seven of her 14 titles came on hard courts, four on clay and three on grass.

Kerber finished her career with 14 WTA tournament wins and spent 34 weeks atop the rankings. She is one of only nine women to take home more than $30 million in prize money. Her record of 680-377 works out to a stellar winning percentage of .643. Only Venus Williams has more match-wins among active players. Kerber’s best surface was grass (84-34), but she was almost equally adept on hard courts.

From 2012-2018, Kerber won more matches than any other WTA Tour player and finished in the Top 10 six of seven years. Look at the company she kept during that seven-year stretch: Kerber (343-152), Caroline Wozniacki (312-140), Serena Williams (305-32), Agnieszka Radwanska (305-135), Simona Halep (304-120).

Her 2016 season was one of the best in recent memory. Kerber won 63 matches, finished the year at No.1 and was voted WTA Player of the Year. Kerber also reached the championship match of the WTA Finals.

“All the dreams came true this year,” she said.

The same can be said of her career.

A formidable idol

The year Stefanie Graf walked away with the Golden Slam — all four majors and the Olympic gold medal — Kerber was born in Bremen, West Germany. That was 1988. It wasn’t long after that Kerber would be holding a racquet at the age of 3. Perhaps inevitably, Graf would become her idol.

Kerber was a late-bloomer. She never won a junior title and was already 28 years old when she broke through in Melbourne. But she had a wonderfully complete game, the strength and endurance to defend relentlessly.

Kerber was an effective counter-puncher but also ruled the baseline with raw power off both wings. Her signature shot, that terrific squatting forehand, wasn’t something they teach in the academies, but it was effective for her.

And while her game might be one that is hard to replicate, like Graf she has become a role model for young German girls aspiring to play professional tennis.

When she hit her stride, Kerber was lethal.

Imagine the emotions when Kerber, an enormous underdog to Serena Williams, won that 2016 Australian Open in a three-set final, an upset that prevented Serena from equaling Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles. Fittingly, it marked the first time a German had won a major since Graf in 1999.

“I took my chance to be in the final,” said Kerber, who saved a match point in the first round. “And I’m honored. It’s my dream come true. Now I can say I’m a Grand Slam champion.”

Graf sent her a congratulatory text.

“I think it’s so good for Germany, for German tennis,” Kerber said. “After Steffi now someone won a Grand Slam.”

Sustained excellence

Her 2016 season, one she entered vowing to be more aggressive, was the high-water mark.

After winning the Australian Open, she reached the final at Wimbledon, this time falling to Williams. Her summer run was phenomenal. She tore up the Olympic field in Rio de Janeiro, winning her first five matches before losing the gold medal match to Monica Puig. Kerber made the final in Cincinnati, beating Halep in the semifinals before Karolina Pliskova took the title. Kerber got her revenge at the US Open, defeating Pliskova in a three-set final.

Through tears, Kerber blew kisses to the crowd and held her head in her hands on the changeover chair. Kerber became only the second woman to win her first two Grand Slams after turning 28, joining Li Na, who won the 2011 French Open at 29 and, three years later, the Australian Open.

Kerber’s Grand Slam trilogy was completed on the grass at Wimbledon in 2018. She was the No.11 seed, but Kerber buzzed through a gauntlet in her last five matches, defeating Naomi Osaka, Belinda Bencic, Dara Kasatkina, Jelena Ostapenko and, in the final, Serena Williams — all in straight sets.

“This is one of the best moments of my career,” Kerber said, adding that it had been her dream since childhood to win at the All England Club.

An inspiring return

Kerber left the game for a period of time after playing Wimbledon in 2022. Her last title had come a month earlier, in Strasbourg back in May.

Her daughter, Liana, was born in February 2023.

“We see the moms can come back, also winning big titles,” Kerber said from her home in Poland. “And I hope I can also be one of them, inspiration for new moms and women to come back to doing their business.”

After an 18-month break, Kerber came back to play in Australia at the United Cup for Germany at the beginning of this year and rounded into familiar form, reaching the Round of 16 at both Indian Wells — her favorite tournament — and Rome. At Indian Wells — at the age of 36 — she beat two Top 20 players, Jelena Ostapenko and Veronika Kudermetova.

And now, after a fitting victory lap, Kerber returns to the Olympic venue, where she won the silver medal in singles eight years ago in Brazil.

What’s next?

Well, at 17 months, Liana is a handful. Kerber is also the tournament ambassador for the event she helped create in Bad Homburg, oversees a personal skincare line and runs the Angie Kerber Tennis Academy not far from her home in Puszczykowo, Poland.

“I play with the young children,” Kerber said the last time she stepped away from tennis. “Not so intense, but I’m there. This makes me happy. I’m also looking forward to the new life and what next year will bring for me.”