Angelique Kerber to retire after the 2024 Paris Olympics

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster

Poisoned Slice

Bionic Poster
giphy.gif
 

ibbi

G.O.A.T.
I've had a very up-and-down relationship with her over the past 15 years, but by 2016 she earned respect beyond measure. Hell of a player she was, with a hell of a pair of legs.

Her comeback has not gone very well, but she still had those semi-decent runs at Indian Wells and Rome as decent sendoffs this year.

Shoutouts to her epic with Sharapova at Wimbledon 2014, the one with Sabine at Wimbledon 2012, the one with Sorribes Tormo at Wimbledon 2021, the sort of semi-epic with Vika at 2015 US Open, and her two Wimbledon matches with Muguruza, the first of which had as good a first set as you will ever see, and the second of which was just awesome from start to finish.
 
I've had a very up-and-down relationship with her over the past 15 years, but by 2016 she earned respect beyond measure. Hell of a player she was, with a hell of a pair of legs.

Her comeback has not gone very well, but she still had those semi-decent runs at Indian Wells and Rome as decent sendoffs this year.

Shoutouts to her epic with Sharapova at Wimbledon 2014, the one with Sabine at Wimbledon 2012, the one with Sorribes Tormo at Wimbledon 2021, the sort of semi-epic with Vika at 2015 US Open, and her two Wimbledon matches with Muguruza, the first of which had as good a first set as you will ever see, and the second of which was just awesome from start to finish.
What happened in your relationship with her?
 

Pheasant

Legend
Wow. MuryGOAT, now 3-slam winner Kerber. This is huge.

Kerber's first slam final in 2016 at the AO was incredibly special. She had to face Serena, the world #1 who hadn't dropped a set on her way to the final(only lost 26 games in 6 matches). But Kerber won that in the 3rd set. Serously, what a crazy way first slam final appearance. It doesn't get better than that.

Kerber had a great career. Congrats to her!
 

ibbi

G.O.A.T.
What happened in your relationship with her?
Well, for one thing, she slept with someone else...

Secondly, beating Lisicki at Wimbledon 2012 :mad:

Thirdly, and most meaningfully, and I know this really isn't her fault, and yet I somehow have never ever managed to get over how totally aloof she was in this moment:

 

Gizo

Legend
She wasn't a player that I particularly liked, but of course props to her for an incredible career, and win or lose she has played in an insane number of thrilling, high quality matches over the years.
 

Moose Malloy

G.O.A.T.
delayed retirement for a few days. I guess Olympic tennis fans don't mind women's night matches at RG, pretty good crowd stayed after Nadal dubs.

 
Last edited:

ND-13

Legend
Perfect definition of a counter puncher . Maximized her talent and great tenacity.

After not winning back to back matches whole of 2011, She burst the scene big time in 2011 at USO SF, lost a close one to Stosur. She was ranked in 90’s then.

The way she won Wimb was also fantastic. All her 4 major finals were good ones
 
Perfect definition of a counter puncher . Maximized her talent and great tenacity.

After not winning back to back matches whole of 2011, She burst the scene big time in 2011 at USO SF, lost a close one to Stosur. She was ranked in 90’s then.

The way she won Wimb was also fantastic. All her 4 major finals were good ones
She did that against Osaka as well. Osaka was winning like 75% of the rallies and still somehow lost in straight sets
 

tennis4me

Hall of Fame
Well, for one thing, she slept with someone else...

Secondly, beating Lisicki at Wimbledon 2012 :mad:

Thirdly, and most meaningfully, and I know this really isn't her fault, and yet I somehow have never ever managed to get over how totally aloof she was in this moment:

That's very bad umpiring. Players never learned that having referee out never helped their case. Afaik, referees always take the umpire's side.
 

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
Kerber was an intelligent force on tour, who was absolutely fearless and had the game to back that up. She was an undeniably bright spot in a very competitive era of tennis, keeping her name in the mix with a legend. She will be missed on tour.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Kerber knocks out Fernandez 6-4 6-3 and she's into the QF in Paris.

She'll face the winner of Navarro/Zheng for a SF spot.

Angie might finish her career with an Olympic medal once more!
 

Gizo

Legend
So Kerber bows out. But only after doing brilliantly to progress so far and play this well including today, and in appropriate fashion, with yet another entertaining, dramatic, titanic 3 set thriller. Win or lose, she has been involved in so many of those during her career.
 
Last edited:
Pretty amazing how she played. Books gave a gift of Zheng +150 in the middle of this when it was apparent Kerber was at her absolute limit to be ahead.
 
Kerber was an intelligent force on tour, who was absolutely fearless and had the game to back that up. She was an undeniably bright spot in a very competitive era of tennis, keeping her name in the mix with a legend. She will be missed on tour.

Which legend are you talking about? Women's tennis hasn't had a legend since Steffi Graf, who retired when Kerber was 11 years old. Since then, not one player has been good enough to win the Grand Slam, which is required for legend status and to be one of the goats. All we've had are "best of the rest" type players such as Serena Williams, who did come close, but ultimately wasn't good enough and could never have done it.

Side note: isn't it an interesting thing about tennis greatness that in the first tier the only thing that matters is getting things done at least once and there is no benefit to doing it twice, but in the second tier, the frequency of victory does matter? To illustrate: all of the winners of the Grand Slams are co-goats, as universally acknowledged. Rod Laver won the Grand Slam twice, but that doesn't make him any greater than Don Budge, Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, or Steffi Graf. All are equally great because they achieved the #1 achievement in tennis. By contrast, Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams are the best of the rest because they won more major titles than other players, and this means that they top tier two even though they were never good enough to win the ultimate prize. I think this is an interesting quirk of tennis greatness in the way that we all calculate it!
 

Tennisfan339

Professional
That was an incredible last match. Tough loss with match point. She would of surely lost to Swiatek but she had a bold chance to get the bronze medal against AKS or Vekic. It would have been a great farewell. Too bad.

I will always remember her for her 3 grand slam finals. The AO match against Serena and the USO match against Pliskova were legitly 2 of the best grand slam finals of the 2010s.
 

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
Which legend are you talking about? Women's tennis hasn't had a legend since Steffi Graf, who retired when Kerber was 11 years old. Since then, not one player has been good enough to win the Grand Slam, which is required for legend status and to be one of the goats.

A player can be a legend of the sport and not be a GOAT. For example, Sampras, King, Borg, Serena, McEnroe, Navratilova, et al., are legends of the sport, but not GOAT players, as they never won the Grand Slam, the GOAT player's defining achievement.
 
A player can be a legend of the sport and not be a GOAT. For example, Sampras, King, Borg, Serena, McEnroe, Navratilova, et al., are legends of the sport, but not GOAT players, as they never won the Grand Slam, the GOAT player's defining achievement.

Nah, you are being too kind. To be a legend of the sport, you must be one of the GOAT players who have won the Grand Slam, tennis's only legendary achievement. The best of the rest are not quite legends, but they are players who will be seen as key parts of their era for as long as tennis is discussed among true fans.
 

Aussie Darcy

Bionic Poster
Nah, you are being too kind. To be a legend of the sport, you must be one of the GOAT players who have won the Grand Slam, tennis's only legendary achievement. The best of the rest are not quite legends, but they are players who will be seen as key parts of their era for as long as tennis is discussed among true fans.
So Djokovic, Federer and Nadal aren't GOAT players because they never won the Grand Slam?

It's reserved for only Court, Laver and Graf? lol.
 
So Djokovic, Federer and Nadal aren't GOAT players because they never won the Grand Slam?

It's reserved for only Court, Laver and Graf? lol.

I used to think as you do, but then I learned from the wise Thundervolley that I was wrong. Winning the Grand Slam is both necessary and sufficient for GOAT status. Thus, Budge and Laver are co-male goats, even though Laver won the Grand Slam twice, because once you are a GOAT, you are a GOAT. However, Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal are all merely among the best of the rest because they weren't good enough to win the Grand Slam and never could have done it. Same with Navratilova, Evert, Serena Williams, etc.

But they all have the consolation of knowing that they were key parts of their eras and there's no shame in that. (This is something I have learned from Spencer Gore).
 

THUNDERVOLLEY

G.O.A.T.
Nah, you are being too kind. To be a legend of the sport, you must be one of the GOAT players who have won the Grand Slam, tennis's only legendary achievement. The best of the rest are not quite legends, but they are players who will be seen as key parts of their era for as long as tennis is discussed among true fans.
Every sport has a hierarchy with the greatest defined by certain achievement, yet some insecure tennis "fans" (not referring to you) refuse to accept what history and the sport had created, accepted and maintained long ago. Being a GOAT is not a catch-all, but some want to believe it is, hence the reason they will start digging up random stats to add to a favorite player's list, as if those stats somehow "raise their boat" to the level of the few who won the most celebrated achievement (deservedly so) in the sport. Next, we will be hearing how Hingis, Nalbandian, Sabatini, Hewitt or Austin are GOAT players for...reasons.
 
Every sport has a hierarchy with the greatest defined by certain achievement, yet some insecure tennis "fans" (not referring to you) refuse to accept what history and the sport had created, accepted and maintained long ago. Being a GOAT is not a catch-all, but some want to believe it is, hence the reason they will start digging up random stats to add to a favorite player's list, as if those stats somehow "raise their boat" to the level of the few who won the most celebrated achievement (deservedly so) in the sport. Next, we will be hearing how Hingis, Nalbandian, Sabatini, Hewitt or Austin are GOAT players for...reasons.

Oh, I completely agree. But you seem to be backtracking on your previous overextension of legend status to include within it the best of the rest. I'm glad that I was able to get you to acknowledge the importance of rigorous standards in our assessments of true GOAThood!
 
Top