Serena Slam
The Serena Slam is the term coined for
Williams won the 2002 French Open, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the 2003 Australian Open. The term was coined after she captured the U.S. Open singles title, in anticipation of the possibility of the accomplishment.
Critics of the achievement dubbed it a Sister Slam: Williams encountered her sister, Venus Williams, in the finals of each of these four tournaments, creating for some people the impression that perhaps in some of the tournaments the best player had not won.
The player who came closest to stopping the "Serena Slam" was Belgian Kim Clijsters, who held two match points against Williams in the third set of the semifinals of the 2003 Australian Open, before falling, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Williams's Grand Slam streak was ultimately halted by Belgian Justine Henin, who defeated her in the semifinals of the 2003 French Open.
Prior to this streak, Williams had only won one Grand Slam singles title, the 1999 U.S. Open. Since this streak was severed at the 2003 French Open, she has won three Grand Slam singles titles (2003 Wimbledon and the 2005 and 2007 Australian Open).
Similar achievements
The International Tennis Federation officially established the "new" Grand Slam rules when Martina Navratilova was in the middle of winning six consecutive Grand Slam titles: the 1983 Wimbledon, U.S. Open, and Australian Open (which at that time was held in December), and the 1984 French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open. When she won the French Open in 1984, the ITF awarded her the Grand Slam distinction. It has also been achieved by Steffi Graf, who's Grand Slam was called the "Golden Slam" (she won all the majors in 1988, as well as the Olympics). She also won the 1993 French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open, and the 1994 Australian Open. Ironically, Monica Seles, who had reached the last eight Slam finals that she played in (From the Australian Open of 1991 to the same tournament in 1993. Monica did not play Wimbledon in 1991 because of injury). Many believed that Graf may not have achieved a "second" Grand Slam had Monica played (Monica was stabbed by a deranged Steffi Graf fan a little over a month before the 1993 French Open). Monica at the time was in her era of dominance and had been Graf's Archilles' heel at the time.
"True" Grand Slams, in which a player has won all four Grand Slams in a calendar year, have been won by female players Maureen Connolly (1953), Margaret Smith Court (1970), and Steffi Graf (1988), and male players Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 & 1969).
Talk of a "Roger Slam" emerged when Roger Federer played for the French Open in 2006, as he entered the event holding the other three Grand Slam titles. However, Federer would fall short of this feat by one match, losing to Rafael Nadal in the final. Federer met a similar fate at the 2007 French Open, losing to Nadal in four sets. Federer however holds the record for most consecutive Grand Slam finals reached, a staggerring 10 in a row. Ironically, the last time he did not make the final was at the French Open in 2005 when he lost to Rafael Nadal.
Tiger Woods completed a "Tiger Slam" by winning the four Men's Golf major tournaments in succession, although not in the same year, from the 2000 U.S. Open to the 2001 Masters. Like Williams' "Serena Slam," the "Tiger Slam" was begun with the second tournament of the calendar year.
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