TennisArena.eu

Current loadout

Racquet Yonex

String —

Tension—

Grip—

In use since1 Jan 2003

Signature shotLeft-handed counter-punch

Awaiting verification. This setup is reported but not yet confirmed against a source we can cite.

Career

683–378Singles W–L · 64.4%

14Singles titles

3Grand Slam singles titles

59–64Doubles W–L · 48.0%

0Doubles titles

34Weeks at No. 1

Playing styleLeft-handed counter-puncher with outstanding defence, speed and a two-handed backhand.

CoachesTorben Beltz

Training / academyGrew up in Kiel, where her parents worked at a tennis academy.

Biggest rivalsSerena Williams, Karolína Plíšková

Sources: Wikipedia: Angelique Kerber · WTA: Angelique Kerber · Sports Illustrated: Kerber retires after Olympic exit

Background

Angelique Kerber was born in Bremen on 18 January 1988 and grew up in Kiel, where her parents worked at a tennis academy. Naturally right-handed, she played left-handed with a two-handed backhand and became one of the finest defenders and counter-punchers of her generation.

She was a late developer. Her breakthrough came at the 2011 US Open, where she reached the semifinals while ranked No. 92. The great leap followed in 2016. In January she beat Serena Williams in the Australian Open final for her first major title. In August she won the silver medal at the Rio Olympics, losing the final to Monica Puig in three sets, and in September she won the US Open against Karolína Plíšková in three sets; on 12 September 2016 she became world No. 1. She finished the year at No. 1 and held the ranking for 34 weeks in total.

In 2018 she won her third major at Wimbledon, beating Serena Williams again in the final, this time in straight sets. Her coaches over the years included Torben Beltz, with whom she reunited in 2020, Wim Fissette, Rainer Schüttler and Dieter Kindlmann.

Kerber won 14 singles titles and finished with a 683–378 singles record. Her prize money of more than 32.5 million US dollars placed her 11th on the all-time list. After maternity leave she returned to the tour and announced that the 2024 Paris Olympics would be her final event. There, aged 36, she beat Naomi Osaka in the first round and Leylah Fernandez on the way to the quarterfinals, where she won the first set against China's Zheng Qinwen in a tiebreak before losing the deciding set's tiebreak 8–6. That match, on 31 July 2024, was the last of her career. In doubles at those Games she and Laura Siegemund lost in the first round.