For basically 20 years now, anyone hoping to win their first Wimbledon title probably hoped someone else had knocked out Serena Williams before the final. Serena has seven Wimbledon victories, after all, and while she hasn’t won a singles title since the 2017 Australian Open, she’s still pretty clearly at the top of the sport when she’s in form.
Simona Halep is also in form, though, rolling through to today’s final as the #7 seed, and she basically played Serena off the court, winning 6-2, 6-2.
Halep had one grand slam victory heading into today, at last year’s French Open; if today’s tennis is any indicator she could easily rack up a few more.
For Serena, this was her first slam final since last year’s infamous U.S. Open final, when she was assessed a dubious series of behavior violations that overshadowed Naomi Osaka’s first ever major title. At 37, Williams obviously has a dwindling number of slam finals remaining, but that she’s still so competitive is a testament to her obvious greatness, and she should still be a contender at the U.S. Open in August.