Former world number one Serena Williams has finally ended her trophy drought by winning the WTA tournament in Auckland, New Zealand. The 23-time Grand Slams champion defeated fellow American player Jessica Pegula 6-3 6-4 in the final to claim her first WTA crown since becoming a mother in 2017. The last title that Serena Williams had won was the Australian Open in January 2017 and now she has no less than 73 WTA titles to her name.
The 38-year-old American is now in her fourth decade in the WTA tour and came close to major titles both in 2018 and 2019, losing the Wimbledon and US Open finals. After her victory in Auckland she announced that the prize money would be donated to the Australian bushfire appeal. "It feels good. It's been a long time, I think you could see the relief on my face," said Williams. "I have been playing for so long and been through so much and I'm happy to be doing something I love."
The first title for Serena Williams came all the way back in 1999, when she won the Open Gaz de France. Since then she went on to break all kinds of records but perhaps the biggest challenge of her career was coming back to the circuit after becoming a mother. Now she can consider that challenge passed and will most likely focus on winning a Grand Slam tournament again. She is just one title away from the all-time most Grand Slam titles record, held by Margaret Smith Court.
The first opportunity to equal that record will be next week at the Australian Open, Serena Williams is 4/1 at NetBet to win it while current world number one Ashleigh Barty is priced at 8/1.
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