Five women who have reached the final of both French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since 1999 ft. Steffi Graf and Serena Williams
Performing well both on clay, which is the slowest surface, and grass, which is the fastest one, is a difficult thing to do in tennis. Before the era of the 'Big Three', Bjorn Borg achieved the Channel Slam, which amounts to winning both the French Open (on clay) and Wimbledon (on grass) in the same year, thrice in his career.
Meanwhile, in women's tennis, seven players in the game's history have won the Channel Slam. In this article, we will take a look at five women, who have reached the final of both French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since 1999. Let us get on with the list:
#5. Jasmine Paolini (2024):
Paolini became a household name in Italy, her homeland, by reaching her maiden Grand Slam final at the French Open in 2024. She dropped three sets in the process and then met top-seed Iga Swiatek in the final. Swiatek thrashed Paolini in the final, but the latter's win over fourth-seed Elena Rybakina made the world take notice.
Paolini has already proved that her exploits in Paris was no fluke by reaching the Wimbledon final. She beat Donna Vekic in a thriller of a semifinal, but had only lost a solitary set prior to that. It remains to be seen whether the diminutive Italian's robust game and good court-coverage, which are good qualities to have on any surface, can win her the Wimbledon title.
#4. Justine Henin (2006):
Henin was a much better player on clay than she was on grass. However, she performed reasonably well at Wimbledon, reaching the final twice in the tournament. One of those finals was in 2006, when the Belgian did not drop a set until the summit clash with Amelie Mauresmo, which the latter win.
However, prior to that, she managed to win the third of her four French Open titles. Henin, in fact, reached the final of all four Grand Slams that year. A common factor between Henin's runs at French Open and Wimbledon in 2006 was that she beat her compatriot Kim Clijsters in both those tournaments.
#3. Venus Williams (2002):
Venus was more comfortable playing on faster surfaces. She reached the No. 1 ranking in the world in 2002 and began her campaign at Roland Garros as the topmost player in the world. She reached the final of the French Open without much difficulty, but lost to her younger sister Serena in the summit clash.
She was the hot favorite to win the title at Wimbledon that year on her most preferred surface. However, Serena once again beat her in the final to become the new World No. 1.
#2. Serena Williams (2002, 2015 and 2016):
As mentioned earlier, Serena won the Channel Slam in 2002 at the expense of her elder sister in both the tournaments. However, she then had to wait until 2015 to reach the final of both French Open and Wimbledon once again. Serena beat Lucie Safarova in the final to win the French Open title and then beat Garbine Muguruza to win her sixth Wimbledon title.
However, Muguruza got her revenge at the French Open in 2016 by beating Serena in the final in straight sets to win her first Major. Serena, however, continued her wonderful run at Wimbledon by reaching the final once again and beat Angelique Kerber to win her 22nd Grand Slam to equal Steffi Graf's record.
#1. Steffi Graf (1999):
It is a bit surprising that Graf managed this feat in 1999, when she was into her thirties and not much far from her retirement. She won the French Open in the hardest way by grinding out three consecutive three-set wins over Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis.
However, Davenport got her revenge in the Wimbledon final a month later by beating Graf in straight sets. Davenport was in imperious form at Wimbledon that year and did not lose a set in the entire tournament. However, Graf's impressive runs in the two tournaments at a time when she was clearly past her prime, stood out.