Kerber proved it to Serena, and more importantly, to herself. Her win didn’t turn out to be a blip, and she wouldn’t be a one-Slam wonder. Instead, for the rest of 2016, she continued to raise her game when the lights grew brightest. She reached her first Wimbledon final, where she fell to Serena in two competitive sets. She won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics. And she capped her annus mirabilis with her first US Open title. Again she won 6-4 in the third in the final, this time over Karolina Pliskova.
By then, the normally reticent Kerber, who would take over the No. 1 ranking from Serena the following day, couldn’t help but express her joy and amazement.
“It’s just incredible what I did this year,” she said in New York. “I’m really so happy and so proud about everything that’s happened now about my team, about my game, and about my improvement as well.”
What was the secret to her 2016 success? It wasn’t, according to Kerber, very complicated. After the 2015 season, she and her coach, Torben Beltz, sat down and decided to focus on improving her game. Not raising her ranking. Not winning more tournaments. Certainly not taking home two Grand Slam trophies. Just improving everything she did, and seeing where that took her.
To be back here 10 years later, winning 2016 the trophy, I think everything changed since then. Angelique Kerber on The Big T podcast
“Focusing not to play in semis or finals, or winning tournaments,” she said. “More like to improve my game, my personality, and also going out there to try to play every single match my best tennis, focusing more on the bigger ones. That was actually our conversation.”
“Making the transfer on the match court, that was the challenge,” she said. “Because I know that when I practice I can be aggressive.”
If you play competitive tennis at any level, those last words may sound familiar. Before that season, Kerber didn’t have trouble hitting with power and confidence on the practice court, but when it came to matches, she tightened up and grew defensive. In 2016, she was determined to play the way she knew could play in matches, too.
That’s why Kerber’s breakout season is worth remembering 10 years later. She’s proof that you don’t have to settle for less than your full potential, and you can still make vast improvements even well into your playing career.
And if an opponent gives you an opening on match point, you never know what you might be able to do with it.
