• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
The Cut
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
Style
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Parties & Red Carpet
  • Fashion Shows
  • Cathy Horyn
  • The Cut Shop
Self
  • Health & Wellness
  • The State of the Uterus
  • Parenting
  • Advice
  • Sex & Relationships
  • Horoscopes
Culture
  • Books
  • Television
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Celebrity
Power
  • Politics
  • Work
  • Money
  • Rebecca Traister
More
  • Latest Stories
  • Video
  • About Us
  • nymag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
going the distance
September 9, 2015

A Timeline of Serena Williams’s Splits

By Susan Rinkunas

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
Photo: Bryan Smith/CORBIS

If Serena Williams seems to go after shots that other players would let sail by, it’s because she knows she can get there. She hurtles herself toward the ball and makes contact, often extending into a split that’s at once powerful and graceful. Whether or not she wins the point, it makes for thrilling tennis. In her exhilarating U.S. Open quarterfinal match last night against sister Venus, she lunged for a backhand shot, slid into a split, and then quickly whipped her head around and popped back up.

She won the match 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, and advanced to the semi-finals, the next step in her quest to become the first person to win a calendar Grand Slam (that is, all four majors in the same year) since Steffi Graf in 1988.

Serena is showing off those splits again! #USOpen 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/l5CzF1RWdN

— BuzzFeed Sports (@BuzzFeedSports) September 9, 2015

Here is a look at Serena’s splits through history, from her days of beaded hair to her New York Fall Fashion Issue shoot with Norman Jean Roy.

View
1 / 14 Photos
The First Documented Split  A 17-year-old Serena lunged for the ball at the 1999 Lipton Tennis Championships only to watch it go foul. She won ... The First Documented Split  A 17-year-old Serena lunged for the ball at the 1999 Lipton Tennis Championships only to watch it go foul. She won the match. Photo: SHAWNA MORROW
The Racquet-Prop Split Using her racquet to get up at the 2004 WTA Tour Championships. Photo: Robert Laberge/2004 Getty Images
The Blinking Split At the 2005 Australian Open, she literally did it with her eyes closed. Photo: The AGE/Fairfax Media
The Sister Split Serena looking dejected during her 2008 U.S. open quarterfinal match against Venus, though she went on to beat her sister and wi... The Sister Split Serena looking dejected during her 2008 U.S. open quarterfinal match against Venus, though she went on to beat her sister and win the Open. Photo: John G. Mabanglo/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Traditional Split Serena lunges in her Wimbledon whites in 2009. Photo: Hamish Blair/2009 Getty Images
The Fist-Pump Split This may be the first fist-pump split on record, and it is glorious. Serena won her 2009 Rogers Cup match against Yaroslava S... The Fist-Pump Split This may be the first fist-pump split on record, and it is glorious. Serena won her 2009 Rogers Cup match against Yaroslava Shvedova but lost in the semi-finals. Photo: Cyril Ma/Icon SMI/Icon Sports Media, Inc www.iconsportsmedia.com sales@iconsmi.com 818-576-1559
The Caught-Myself Split Serena rests on her left fingertips during the 2010 Australian Open as only Serena can. Photo: PAUL CROCK/2010 AFP
The Comeback Split  After winning Wimbledon in 2010, Serena didn’t play for almost an entire year thanks to a foot injury and a blood clot in h... The Comeback Split  After winning Wimbledon in 2010, Serena didn’t play for almost an entire year thanks to a foot injury and a blood clot in her lungs. She was understandably thrilled to win this point, and she later won the tournament. Photo: MARK BLINCH/© Corbis. All Rights Reserved.
The Hopeful Split  Waiting to see if she made a shot in the 2011 U.S. Open final against Victoria Azarenka. She did, and she won the match, too... The Hopeful Split  Waiting to see if she made a shot in the 2011 U.S. Open final against Victoria Azarenka. She did, and she won the match, too. Photo: JESSICA RINALDI/Reuters/Corbis
The Dolphin Split For the 2014 Sony Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Serena wore Miami Dolphins colors and employed the racquet boost. Photo: Cliv... The Dolphin Split For the 2014 Sony Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Serena wore Miami Dolphins colors and employed the racquet boost. Photo: Clive Brunskill/2014 Getty Images
The Wide Split  This lateral extension during her semi-final match of June’s French Open may be even more mind-blowing than the others. Photo:... The Wide Split  This lateral extension during her semi-final match of June’s French Open may be even more mind-blowing than the others. Photo: Clive Brunskill/2015 Getty Images
The Casual Split Practicing the move suspended on the rings, as you do.
The High-Fashion Split At her recent New York photo shoot with Norman Jean Roy, she wears a bodysuit with a cutout framing her insane abs.
The Split Heard 'Round the World  Williams arrived at the 2015 U.S. Open facing mounds of pressure as she vied to become the first person to wi... The Split Heard 'Round the World  Williams arrived at the 2015 U.S. Open facing mounds of pressure as she vied to become the first person to win a calendar Grand Slam since 1988. Her double-fist-pump split in a third-round match against Bethanie Mattek-Sands was caught on Vine and looped more than 1 million times, and made headlines everywhere. Photo: Bryan Smith/CORBIS
1 / 14

Tags:

  • love and war
  • serena williams
  • going the distance
  • tennis
  • u.s. open
  • us open 2015
  • More

More Galleries

oscars 2023 Mar. 12, 2023
Oscars Red Carpet 2023: Every Look  Rihanna! Florence Pugh! Michelle Yeoh! They’re all here. 
celebrity Feb. 19, 2023
All the Best Looks From the 2023 BAFTAs Red Carpet  Florence Pugh, Barry Keoghan, and Angela Bassett brought color to the red carpet. 
grammys 2023 Feb. 5, 2023
Every Look From the 2023 Grammys Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Adele, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Mary J. Blige, Sam Smith, and more.
By Brooke LaMantia
Jan. 10, 2023
All the Looks From the 2023 Golden Globes  Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jenna Ortega, Jessica Chastain, Julia Garner, Jeremy Allen White, Angela Bassett, and more. 
parties! Sept. 23, 2022
Katie Holmes, Chloë Sevigny, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Chanel, Mejuri, and more celebrate. 
parties! Sept. 16, 2022
Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Fendi, Frame, and Coach all celebrated NYFW. 
emmys 2022 Sept. 12, 2022
Emmys 2022: All the Red Carpet Looks  Updating: What Hollywood is wearing to the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards. 
By Olivia Luppino
nyfw spring 2023 Sept. 9, 2022
Gigi Hadid, Chlöe Bailey, and More of the Bestest Party Pics of the Week  Saks Fifth Avenue, Longchamp, and more celebrate the beginning of NYFW. 
rip Sept. 9, 2022
The Queen Sure Did Love to Color-Coordinate  Monochrome for decades. 
red carpet Sept. 6, 2022
The Venice Film Festival Is a Major Fashion Event  Valentino and Gucci and Armani, oh my. 
red carpet June 5, 2022
All the Best Looks at the 2022 MTV Movie and TV Awards  Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Hudgens, Jay Ellis, and more! 
parties! May 20, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Harry Styles > everyone! 
parties! May 13, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Bury me in Dove Cameron’s Saint Sintra skirt. 
parties! May 6, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Cue the Met Gala after-party FOMO. 
met gala 2022 May 2, 2022
Met Gala 2022: All the Looks [Photos]  Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Yeoh, Hailey Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Blake Lively, and more. 
parties! Apr. 29, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  This one goes to Olivia Rodrigo and her sweater vest. 
parties! Apr. 22, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  “Fuck those Zoom tops.” 
celebrity style Apr. 18, 2022
The Best Looks From Coachella 2022  From Harry Styles’s sparkling Gucci set to Megan Thee Stallion’s metallic bodysuit. 
style Apr. 13, 2022
A Look Inside the New Museum’s Spring Gala  Featuring all the best looks. 
grammys 2022 Apr. 3, 2022
Grammy Awards 2022 Red Carpet: All the Looks  Lady Gaga, Olivia Rodrigo, Lenny Kravitz, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and more. 
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
  • About The Cut
  • About New York Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • We’re Hiring
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Accessibility
The Cut is a Vox Media Network. © 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.