The American Serena Williams and the German Angelique Kerber went to the finals of Women’s Singles in Wimbledon 2016, which was held today at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London.

Williams beat Angelique Kerber winning the two sets (7-5, 6-3) and is crowned as the Wimbledon champion.

Serena Williams
Serena Williams just beat Angelique Kerber at Wimbledon 2016 Women’s Singles. Credit: USA.hir-portal.hu

Serena thanked everyone who worked with her during the preparation for the match and during the entire championship. Once the game was finished, she went to the press area where several media channels recorded her saying thank you and sharing her excitement with the audience.

“It’s such a great feeling to be out here. Angelique, I love playing her, she’s such a great opponent. When we walk off court, she’s such a great person to be around, always smiling. Thank you for being that great person. It’s been incredibly difficult not to think about the title, I had a couple of tries this year, lost to two great opponents. Thank you for being out here to say number 22, I love you guys so much. This court definitely feels like home. I have a match out here in doubles, so I’ll be back out here later on,” she said to The Guardian’s journalist.

The Venus Rosewater Dish: Prizes in Wimbledon

Williams received the Ladies’ Singles Trophy for the 7th time in her career. The dish exists since 1886 and is an object from ancient English traditions that went later an ornament object only.  The actual dish is in the museum of All England Club, and the trophy that actually ends up in the champion’s hands is a replica made of sterling silver. The decoration of the dish is mostly mythological, and it represents some values that Wimbledon, as a world championship, aims to embody in their champions.

Along with the dish, Serena Williams will receive £2,000,000 while Kerber will receive the amount of  £1,000,000 as a Runner-Up.

Winning these titles and prizes is a major hit in a sports career since Wimbledon is the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament among the Grand Slam that is composed by Wimbledon and three more: The Australian, French and U.S. Open. 

More about the champion and the runner-up

Serena Williams has been ranked by the Women’s Tennis Association as the number 1 tennis player in six opportunities. The record of Williams puts her at the top, holding the most titles combined among active professional tennis players. She has broken some records, mostly related to the amount of titles received in Grand Slam tournaments.  Serena and her sister, Venus, who is also a major professional tennis player, won three Olympic gold medals in women’s double, which is also a record without precedents.

The Runner-Up, Angelique Kerber, made her professional debut in 2003 and was ranked second the Women’s Tennis Association. Although she holds the German-Polish citizenship and is a resident in Poland -where she practices and teaches tennis in an Academy built in her name- she represents Germany at every tennis tournament.

Source: The Guardian