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The Azarenka–S. Williams rivalry is between tennis players Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Serena Williams of the United States of America, who are engaged in a modern day tennis rivalry. They have played each other twelve times with Serena Williams leading their head-to-head 11–1 and 7–0 in Grand Slam matches.[1] Serena Williams eventually won the championship in nine out of the eleven times she has defeated Victoria Azarenka.
Victoria Azarenka (left) and Serena Williams (right)
The rivalry between these two players started to intensify in 2012, with five meetings between the pair that year. Early in the 2012 season though the rivalry was overshadowed by Victoria Azarenka's rivalries with Maria Sharapova and Agnieszka Radwańska, however, since their meeting in the Madrid final Azarenka and Williams have played some exceptional matches during the year. Their most recent meeting was at the 2012 WTA Tour Championships with Serena Williams victorious 6–4, 6–4.
They had been due to meet in the semi-finals of the 2013 Brisbane International,[2] however Victoria Azarenka was forced to withdraw due to a toe injury.[3]
2008 Australian Open Third Round
The pair's first meeting took place in the third round of the 2008 Australian Open. Serena Williams was the seventh seed and the defending champion, whilst Victoria Azarenka was seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time in her professional career, being seeded No. 26. Serena Williams won 6–3, 6–4.[4]
2009 Australian Open Round of 16
The pair's next meeting would again take place at the Australian Open, in the Round of 16 at the 2009 Australian Open. Serena Williams was once again victorious, after Azarenka was forced to retire due to illness having taken the first set 6–3 but trailing 2–4 in the second.[5] Serena Williams wound up being the eventual champion.
2009 Miami Masters Final
This was the second (of three) meeting between the pair in 2009. This match was significant as it would mark the first (and so far only) time that Victoria Azarenka would defeat Serena Williams in their head-to-head.[6] This was also their first meeting in a WTA Tour final.
2009 Wimbledon Quarter-final
Their quarter-final at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships was their third meeting in a Grand Slam, but their first in a Grand Slam quarter-final. Again, Serena Williams emerged victorious, and again Williams wound up being the eventual champion.[7]
2010 Australian Open Quarter-final
This was the third year in a row the pair met at the Australian Open, though this time it was in the quarter-finals. Azarenka's best chance to defeat Williams went begging after she let slip a set and 4–0 second set lead to go down 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–2.[8] This was the third year in a row in which Azarenka lost to Williams at this event, after losses in 2008 and 2009. Again, Serena Williams ended up being the eventual champion.
2012 Wimbledon Semi-final
Their meeting in the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2012 was, to that point in time, the biggest match the pair played between each other. Serena Williams was the four-time champion and the sixth seed whilst Victoria Azarenka entered the match having not dropped a set in the five matches she played. Once again Serena Williams proved to be too good, winning 6–3, 7–6, advancing to her seventh Wimbledon final at Azarenka's expense. Despite this defeat, Azarenka regained the World No. 1 ranking after Agnieszka Radwańska's failure to win the title.[9]
2012 Olympics Semi-final
Barely four weeks later, the pair met yet again at the 2012 London Olympic Games. This match would see Serena Williams record her biggest ever win over Victoria Azarenka, with a scoreline of 6–1, 6–2. This represented the worst defeat Azarenka suffered in 2012.[10] Serena Williams would then go on to win the Gold Medal, whilst Azarenka settled for Bronze after defeating Maria Kirilenko in the Bronze Medal match.
2012 US Open Final
This was the biggest meeting between the pair. They had already met in two finals and numerous Grand Slam quarter-finals and semi-finals but until the 2012 US Open they had never met in a Grand Slam final. Serena Williams looked headed for yet another easy win against Azarenka after she won the first set 6–2 but the Belarussian fought back to level the match 6–2. In the deciding set, Azarenka built a 5–3 lead and was two points away from the championship on Williams' serve, but the American held her serve, giving Azarenka the chance to serve for it at 5–4. Serena then broke Azarenka's serve to level the set at 5–5 before winning the next two games to eventually win the championship.[11]
| Grand Slam tournaments (7) | |
| WTA Championships (1) | |
| Olympics (1) | |
| Premier Mandatory/Premier 5 (3) | |
| International (1) |
Azarenka–S. Williams (1–11)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Round | Winner | Score | Azarenka | S. Williams |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 2008 | Australian Open | Hard | Third round | S. Williams | 6–3, 6–4 | 0 | 1 |
| 2. | 2009 | Australian Open | Hard | Round of 16 | S. Williams | 3–6, 4–2 ret. | 0 | 2 |
| 3. | 2009 | Miami | Hard | Final | Azarenka | 6–3, 6–1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4. | 2009 | Wimbledon | Grass | Quarter-final | S. Williams | 6–3, 6–2 | 1 | 3 |
| 5. | 2010 | Australian Open | Hard | Quarter-final | S. Williams | 4–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–2 | 1 | 4 |
| 6. | 2011 | Rogers Cup | Hard | Semi-final | S. Williams | 6–3, 6–3 | 1 | 5 |
| 7. | 2011 | US Open | Hard | Third round | S. Williams | 6–1, 7–6 | 1 | 6 |
| 8. | 2012 | Mutua Madrid Open | Clay | Final | S. Williams | 6–1, 6–3 | 1 | 7 |
| 9. | 2012 | Wimbledon | Grass | Semi-final | S. Williams | 6–3, 7–6 | 1 | 8 |
| 10. | 2012 | Olympics | Grass | Semi-final | S. Williams | 6–1, 6–2 | 1 | 9 |
| 11. | 2012 | US Open | Hard | Final | S. Williams | 6–2, 2–6, 7–5 | 1 | 10 |
| 12. | 2012 | Istanbul | Hard | Round Robin | S. Williams | 6–4, 6–4 | 1 | 11 |
| 13. | 2013 | Brisbane | Hard | Semi-final | S. Williams | Walkover1[3] | 1 | 11 |
1The 2013 Brisbane International semi-final does not count as a Serena Williams victory, nor a Victoria Azarenka loss. Azarenka withdrew before the match due to a toe infection.
Head-to-head tallies
- All matches: S. Williams, 11–1
- Grand Slam matches: S. Williams, 7–0
- Matches lasting three sets: S. Williams, 2–0
- All finals: S. Williams, 2–1
- Grand Slam finals: S. Williams, 1–0
- Premier finals: Tied, 1–1
Results on each surface
- Hard courts: S. Williams, 7–1
- Clay courts: S. Williams, 1–0
- Grass courts: S. Williams, 3–0
Since 2008
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
- Bold = players met during this tournament
| Player | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | |
 Victoria Azarenka |
3R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 4R | QF | QF | 3R | QF | 1R | 3R | 2R | 4R | QF | SF | 3R | W | 4R | SF | F | W | SF | 2R | F |
 Serena Williams |
QF | 3R | F | W | W | QF | W | SF | W | QF | W | A | A | A | 4R | F | 4R | 1R | W | W | QF | W | 4R | W |
- Azarenka–Sharapova rivalry
- WTA Big Three
- List of tennis rivalries
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