The 2015 Serena Williams tennis season officially began on 19 January with the start of the 2015 Australian Open and ended with the 2015 US Open. Williams entered the season as the number one ranked player and the defending champion at seven tournaments, including the US Open and the WTA Finals.
During the season, Serena logged her 700th career victory by defeating Sabine Lisicki during the Miami Open, becoming the 8th woman to accomplish the feat. On October 5, Williams surpassed Chris Evert for third-most weeks ranked world no. 1. Williams finished the year at no. 1, and held the ranking for the entire year. She became the first person since Steffi Graf in 1990 to hold the top ranking for two consecutive years. It is also fifth time that Williams ended as the number 1 player in the year. She was also voted WTA Player of the Year for the seventh time in her career, and on December 14, 2015, it was announced that Sports Illustrated named Serena their 2015 Sportsperson of the Year, the third solo woman to earn this honor. On December 22, 2015, Serena announced as the 2015 ITF World Champion for the fourth consecutive year and the sixth time in her career.
Year in detail
Australian Open Series
Hopman Cup Williams began preparation for the first grand slam of the year at the Hopman Cup, where she partnered compatriot John Isner to represent team USA. The pair played their first tie against Italy. Williams got off to a slow start in her singles match against Flavia Pennetta, unable to win a game in the first set. However, a mid-match coffee helped the American turn things around and win the match in three sets. She then teamed up with Isner to win the mixed doubles in a super tiebreak. In the second tie of the exhibition, Williams faced off against Canadian youngster Eugenie Bouchard. The American suffered her first loss in her Hopman Cup history, having previously gone undefeated in her last two campaigns, managing to win only three games. Later Williams teamed up with Isner to win their mixed doubles match in straight sets. In the final round-robin tie of the tournament, Williams came up against Czech lefty Lucie Šafářová in an encounter that lasted over two and a half hours, with the American narrowly clinching victory in a third set tiebreak, 8 points to 6. Team USA also won their mixed doubles match, putting Serena in the Hopman Cup final for the third time in as many attempts. In the final Williams met Poland's Agnieszka Radwańska, to whom she had never lost before. The world No. 5 was in inspired form and took the match in three sets. Williams' teammate Isner managed to salvage and send the tie in to a live mixed doubles rubber after winning his singles match against Janowicz; however, the Poles proved too strong for the Americans and took the Hopman Cup with a two set victory.
Australian Open
At the first major of 2015 Williams opened her campaign for a 6th Australian Open title against Alison Van Uytvanck of Belgium. The world No. 1 was dominant in taking the first set without dropping a game in 21 minutes. A tighter second set followed giving the American her 15th first round win at the tournament in as many tries. In the second round Williams came up against former world No. 2 Vera Zvonareva, a rematch of the 2010 Wimbledon final. Williams fell behind and then responded by rattling off ten consecutive games to win in two sets and advance to the final 32. Serena was also scheduled to play doubles with her sister Venus, drawing Anabel Medina Garrigues and Yaroslava Shvedova in the first round; however, the pair pulled out without giving an official reason before the doubles tournament began and were replaced by an alternate team. In the third round Williams came up against Ukrainian counter-puncher Elina Svitolina and after overcoming a slow start, which saw her drop the first set, she fought back to take the match in three sets, hitting 45 winners to her opponent's 27. The trend of sluggish starts continued in the fourth round where Williams came up against her conqueror from the previous year's French Open, Garbiñe Muguruza. As in their previous meeting the young Spaniard took the opening set from a flat-footed Williams. The pair exchanged breaks early in the second set but the world No. 1 raised her level to earn the decisive break in the eighth game and take set two. After a difficult opening service game in the third set, in which Williams saved six break points, the American blasted a total of 15 winners to take the third set and the match. At the quarterfinal stage Williams earned her most comfortable victory of the tournament against the previous year's surprise finalist Dominika Cibulková. The top seed hit 15 aces and dropped just four games en route to setting up a final four meeting with her sister's conqueror Madison Keys. Williams had never failed to win the title in Melbourne once making it to the semifinal stage; however, she was broken in the first game and struggled to get into her Fed Cup teammate's service games. Williams eventually broke back in sixth game and won the set in a tiebreak. The world No. 1 coasted in set two and closed out the match on her ninth match point. With passage in to her 23rd Grand Slam final Williams secured she would maintain the number 1 ranking. In the final she came up against her long-time rival and world No. 2 Maria Sharapova to whom she had not lost to in 15 consecutive meetings. Williams began the match aggressively and broke Sharapova's serve immediately. The match continued with serve until the pair traded breaks in the seventh and eighth games, then the world No. 1 broke to love to take the first set from the 2008 champion. The second set was more tightly contested with both women creating break point opportunities but ultimately going with serve to a tiebreaker. Sharapova saved two championship points on her own serve, but Williams' won on her third championship point for her 19th major title. Williams ended the match with 38 winners, including 18 aces and only 25 unforced errors to Sharapova's 21 winners, including 5 aces and 15 unforced errors. With this win Williams broke her tie with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova for second most Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era and put herself only three major wins behind Steffi Graf's 22.
Fed Cup World Group II
Fresh off her victory in Melbourne, Williams flew to Buenos Aires to represent the USA in their tie against Argentina in the Fed Cup World Group II. Serena was nominated to play her first rubber against Argentine No. 2 María Irigoyen. Williams initially struggled to adapt to the clay as the pair went with serve for most of the first set. Williams then won the final eight games of the match to win in straight sets. Williams was nominated to play her second singles rubber against Argentine No.1 Paula Ormaechea; however, she was replaced by CoCo Vandeweghe due to illness. USA won the tie 4–1 and advanced to the Fed Cup World Group play-offs.
Indian Wells and Miami
Indian Wells Masters Shortly after winning the first Grand Slam of the season, Williams, in an exclusive column for TIME magazine, announced her intention to end her 13-year boycott of Indian Wells and return to the tournament for the first since winning the title in 2001. Her highly anticipated opening match was set for 13 March when Monica Niculescu advanced to the second round. Williams' return to Stadium 1 at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden was welcomed with rapturous applause and a standing ovation from those in attendance, including tournament owner Larry Ellison, co-founder of Microsoft Bill Gates and tennis legend John McEnroe. Despite the warm reception Williams was tense and was broken immediately by Niculescu, who went on to serve for the opening set in the tenth game, but Williams' resilience saw her win three consecutive games to take the set. In the second set, the pair traded breaks early on and, just as in the first set, the American got the decisive break in the twelfth game to win the match. In the third round Williams made quick work of an error-strewn Zarina Diyas, losing only two games, concluding with a second set bagel. In the round of 16, Williams faced compatriot Sloane Stephens. A sharp and engaged Stephens got an early lead, taking the first three games, but Williams responded by winning the next three to level the match. The set remained on serve with Stephens saving a set point in the tenth game to force it to a tiebreak, which the younger American won. Williams fought back breaking Stephens' serve a collective four times over the final two sets to advance to the final eight. At the quarterfinal stage Williams took on an in-form Timea Bacsinszky whom advanced to the final eight off the back of winning back-to-back titles in Mexico. The Swiss led the opening set in its early stages; however, as in her opening match, Serena came from behind and claimed the first set, with the decisive break coming in the twelfth game. The second set started with four consecutive breaks of serve. Williams righted the ship with a break of serve in the eighth game, which she backed up by serving out the match to 15 to secure a spot in the semifinals. Williams finished the match with 23 winners to her opponents' 11, including 7 aces. Williams was set to face world No. 3 Simona Halep at the semifinal stage but had to withdraw before the match due to a right knee injury. After her withdrawal was announced to those in attendance Williams came out on to Stadium 1 court to address the crowd, apologize for her withdrawal and reassure fans that she would be back in 2016.
Miami Open