US Open—New York, New York
No. 20 seed Naomi Osaka defeated No. 17 seed Serena Williams at the US Open on Saturday, claiming her first Grand Slam title by a 6-2, 6-4 scoreline.
The match, which was largely played under dramatic scenes, saw Williams receive numerous code violations from chair umpire Carlos Ramos throughout the second set.
Williams, who lost to Osaka earlier this year in easy fashion at the Miami Open, found similar difficulty against her younger opponent during today’s encounter. Osaka, who hit six aces, won 76 percent of her first serve points and broke serve on four occasions, needed one hour and 19 minutes to claim the biggest title of her career.
Williams, who was aiming to tie Margret Court’s record of 24 Major titles, also lost in the Wimbledon final earlier this Summer to Angelique Kerber.
Osaka will be ranked No. 7 in the world on Monday as a result of her victory. The Japanese champion also took home $3.8 million for her victory.
What an incredible day in history for women’s tennis…. for so many reasons! As we all know, the history of women fighting for their place in this sport dates back, well, a long time ago….but not that long ago….. It’s been a long road and the more we now about where we’ve been, the more empowered we will be moving forward! I just finished Julie Heldman’s memoir, Driven: A Daughter’s Odyssey. Julie was one of the pioneer’s in this industry and her book, is simply AWESOME. It was such an insightful reflection on her journey as a “Tennis Royal.” I learned so much about her, her mom and the incredible life she fought for. I can’t recommend this book enough, I found it on Amazon!