Serena Williams has dominated tennis this year, and besides her trophies, her prize money, her entourage, and shadow, the buzz about a possible Grand Slam year has followed her on tour. Typically “Grand Slam” talk is saved until June, after the French Open when a player is already half way there, or better said, if a player is halfway there. However, this year Serena’s sheer dominance of the WTA has started the chatter early—and often. Serena is 17-1 on tour this year, and has only lost a total of five matches dating back to July of last year, three of which were walkovers or retirements. Tennis pundits will be seeking to make a story that will draw in new viewers and experienced tennis fans alike. This summer will be a summer of Serena slam conversation.
Women’s tennis hasn’t had a true Grand Slam champion since 1988 when Steffi Graf won all four slams in the calendar year. Prior to this, there had been an eighteen year drought; the legendary Margaret Court won all four majors in 1970. There have many near misses during the open era of women’s tennis; Billie Jean King (’72), Court (73), Navratilova (’83, ’84), Graf ( ’89, ’93, ’95,’96), Seles (’91, ’92), Hingis (’97), and the ever famous Serena Slam of ’02/03 where Serena held all four trophies, but not in the correct order (she held the French, Wimbledon, US, and Australian, whereas the latter is meant to come first). To say that women’s tennis, or professional tennis in general, isn’t quivering with anticipation to see history made is an understatement.
After a slump at the Grand Slams in early 2014, Serena recaptured her major tournament brilliance at the 2014 US Open and has been terrorizing the tour ever since. With the Australian Open already under her belt, and her level of play only improving, the question must be asked: what will stand in Serena’s way from claiming her history making calendar year Grand Slam? What will keep Serena from firmly cementing herself as one of the all-time greatest athletes in sports?
The answer may lie in the crushed red brick clay of the French Open itself. The historic and fabled clay of Roland Garros has created a topsy-turvy slam fraught with upsets, drama, and free radical players claiming slams. Over the past fifteen years, players like Mary Pierce, Iva Majoli (thwarting Hingis’ Slam bid), Anastasia Myskina, Francesca Schiavone, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and Li Na have all claimed major success here.
Maria Sharapova and Serena have restored some order over the past three years, with Maria claiming two crowns, and Serena one; however, players like Sara Errani and Simona Halep have reached their first—and only—singles slam final. Serena’s results at the French have been anything but consistent over the years. Who can forget Serena’s strange loss to Garbine Muguruza at last year’s French Open? Serena lacked all fight and grit in that encounter—so strange for someone who is known for her fearless and daunting stature on the court.
In 2012, flat-hitting, grass-preferring, French journeywoman Virgine Razzano defeated Serena in the first round. In 2010, she suffered a more respectable quarter-final loss to a very in-form Samantha Stosur, which was preceded by a 2009 quarter-final exit to the future 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova. Just as grass proved a constant nemesis to Monica Seles, and the French clay was always a thorn in the side of the likes McEnroe and Sampras, Serena will have to prove to be the best on a surface where she is at her least dominant.
However, this is still Serena Williams, who is a two-time French Open Champion. And even though those two championships pale in comparison to the number of times she has won the other majors, she has still won it multiple times. She has nine other Masters championship victories on clay, including a win in Madrid and multiple Italian Opens.
She is the dominating force on a tour where over the past year no single person has been able to step up and provide a true challenge to her reign. Serena is a champion for a reason; she has proven time and time again that she has the courage to will herself to victories, no matter how pretty or ugly the play may be, no matter how far behind or ahead she may be in a set, no matter the amount of prestige and honor weighing on the swing of her formidable serve.
Let the Grand Slam talk begin, thrive, and grow. Let the tension build as we head to the French Open. Let viewers, journalists and commentators alike scout her draws and analyze her chances with a fine tooth comb. Serena has always enjoyed a challenge, and tennis fans everywhere deserve the thrill of her chase for history.
