10 Facts About The 2019 Wimbledon Women’s Final

WIMBLEDON: Serena Williams and Simona Halep will lock horns on Saturday for the chance to win the 133rd edition of the Wimbledon Championships.

11th seed Williams currently leads their head-to-head 9-1 and won their match earlier this year at the Australian Open in three sets. Halep’s sole victory took place in the 2014 WTA Finals when she thrashes the American 6-0, 6-2. At that time, it was the heaviest defeat Williams had suffered on the tour since 1998.

Heading into this year’s Wimbledon final, both players have spent almost the same amount of tour on the court. Halep’s time is eight hours and 34 minutes, which is only 23 minutes longer than her rival. Williams also has a slight edge when it comes to games won (79 to 78) and the average ranking of her opponent (75th to 83rd).

Ahead of the Saturday clash at the All England Club, here are 10 things to know about the 2019 Wimbledon women’s final.

1. Halep is the first Romanian woman to ever reach the Wimbledon final. The only other person from the country to ever go this deep in the tournament was Ilie Nastase, who finished runner-up in 1972 and 1976.
2. No active player has won more grass-court matches than 37-year-old Williams on the WTA Tour. Heading into Saturday, the American has won 107 matches and eight Wimbledon titles. At Wimbledon, she has won 200 sets, which is the joint-second highest of all time along with Chris Evert. Nine-time champion Martina Navratilova holds the record with 249 sets won.
3. Williams is the oldest grand slam finalist in the Open Era at 37 years and 291 days. Overtaking Navratilova’s record set during the 1994 Wimbledon Championships (37 years and 258 days).
4. Should Halep win, she would become the 10th active player to have multiple grand slam titles. The former world No.1 won her first major title at the French Open last year.

   Active players with multiple grand slam titles
   -Williams (23)
   -Venus Williams (7)
   -Maria Sharapova (5)
   -Angelique Kerber (3)
   -Victoria Azarenka (2)
   -Svetlana Kuznetsova (2)
   -Petra Kvitova (2)
   -Garbine Muguruza (2)
   -Naomi Osaka (2)

5. Since 2015 only one woman has managed to defeat Williams on the grass. That was Angelique Kerber in the 2018 Wimbledon final. During that period, she has achieved a win-loss record of 26-1.
6. Halep is hoping to become the 12th woman to win Wimbledon on her debut in the final. The first player to achieve the milestone was Evonne Goolagong in 1971 and the last was Petra Kvitova back in 2011.
7. Williams is aiming to become the first woman in the Open Era to win a 24th grand slam title and equal Margaret Court’s all-time record. She hasn’t won a title since the 2017 Australian Open.
8. By reaching the final, Williams has surpassed the $90M mark in prize money earned. This is twice more than any other woman in the sport. Overall, only Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have won more.
9. Halep will rise to fourth in the WTA rankings when they are updated on Monday. Meanwhile, Williams will be elevated to ninth. However, she will go up to eighth if she wins the trophy.
10. Williams has served faster than any other woman in the tournament this year with her best being at 122 mph.

Williams’ average service speed by round

The women’s final will get underway at 14:00 GMT on Saturday.