There aren’t many stars who can say that they had a career on the WTA Tour as impressive as Williams.

Surpassing Steffi Graff’s record of Grand Slam wins was once seen as impossible, but the American did so in style, always impressing whenever she stepped onto the court.

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After 27 years in the sport, she retired in 2022, and Williams recently revealed whether she misses playing tennis.

Williams’ career was full of big wins and dominant displays, but things didn’t quite go to plan for her back in September 2015.

Roberta Vinci: The woman who ended Serena Williams’ 26-match unbeaten run at the US Open

Williams was the dominant force on the WTA Tour in 2015, having won the first three Grand Slams of the year.

She seemed a favorite to complete the illusive Calendar Grand Slam, as she entered her semi-final match at the US Open against Roberta Vinci with a 26-match winning streak at the event.

The American had won the tournament in 2012, 2013, and 2014, and it seemed inevitable that she would take home her fourth consecutive title in 2015.

Things started well for Williams, who took the first set 6-2 against her unseeded opponent, before things quickly unravelled.

Vinci remarkably won the second and third sets 6-4, as she dumped the world number one out of the tournament advancing to her first-ever Grand Slam final.

She was stunned having completed one of the biggest upsets in tennis history.

Former Grand Slam winner Tracy Austin described it as such after the match.

“This is monumental, it’s a shocker,” she said.

“This is one of the biggest upsets in the history of tennis, because of what was on the line.”

Vinci qualified for the final with the result, as she came up against her childhood friend Flavia Pennetta, in the first-ever all-Italian Grand Slam final.

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It wasn’t to be in the end for Vinci, as she lost to Pennetta in straight sets, but she was happy to see her friend lift the trophy in New York, knowing that she’d already written her name into the history books with her semi-final win.

She never did win a Grand Slam title in singles, but by 2015 had already picked up five in doubles alongside her partner Sara Errani.

The pair completed the doubles Career Slam, as they won the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open between 2012 and 2014, reaching world number one in the process.

Vinci eventually retired from tennis in 2018, having reached a career-high of seventh in the world, and winning ten singles titles.

The Italian didn’t stay away from the court for too long, however, as she picked up Padel, in 2022.

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Vinci finished her first year on the professional tour as world number 66, as she quickly picked up the new discipline having retired from tennis.

She last won a tournament in 2023, as she seems to have called time on her second career on the court at 41.

Did Serena Williams ever win another US Open title?

Williams must’ve brushed off her defeat to Vinci as a mere blip, having enjoyed so much success at Flushing Meadows in the lead up to 2015.

The American was sitting pretty with six US Open titles, and would have been expected to add to her tally in a big way in the coming years.

What followed instead, was a series of disappointments that saw Williams finish her career without winning another title in New York.

Year
Lost in
Opponent
Score

2015
SF
Roberta Vinci
6-2, 4-6, 4-6

2016
SF
Karolina Pliskova
2-6, 6-7

2018
F
Naomi Osaka
2-6, 4-6

2019
F
Bianca Andreescu
3-6, 5-7

2020
SF
Victoria Azarenka
6-1, 3-6, 3-6

2022
3R
Ajla Tomljanovic
5-7, 7-6, 1-6

Serena Williams’ late career US Open struggles
She came close, reaching the final against Naomi Osaka in 2018, and Bianca Andreescu the year after, but she could never quite get her hands on the trophy again.

Williams played her final-ever match at the US Open in 2022, as she battled to defeat against Ajla Tomljanovic, in a hearty three-set performance.

Her career came to a close, having established herself as the greatest WTA player in the history of the sport, winning 23 Major titles, and spending over 300 weeks as world number one.