WIMBLEDON, England — The focus has understandably been on Serena Williams’s comeback this season.
She was the tennis superstar returning from childbirth with Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles in her sights.
She was the one showing the way, at age 36, for working mothers and older athletes to keep striving for more.
But Angelique Kerber’s comeback has some lessons for the wider world as well: about persistence, about overcoming weaknesses by developing your strengths, and about sticking to your very fine game plan in a Wimbledon final against an opponent of superior power and experience.
Kerber struggled last season after winning two Grand Slam titles in 2016 and moving up to the No. 1 ranking. But at 30, she has made an emphatic return to the top, reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in January and then winning the trophy she has long wanted most by defeating Williams, 6-3, 6-3, on Saturday.
“No way,” said Kerber as she stared at her name on the board of champions inside the clubhouse after the match. “That was always a dream of mine.”
Williams has spoken about the delights of playing freely with nothing to lose during her matches at Wimbledon this year, but on Saturday she played and sounded like a champion who was feeling the pressure, some of it self-imposed.
She finished with 24 unforced errors and 23 winners, struggled at the net and failed to dominate with her imposing serve as Kerber broke her four times and lost her own serve just once.
Kerber played a marvelous match. Williams, focused on competing for a greater cause, did not.
“To all the moms out there, I was playing for you today, and I tried,” Williams said, tearing up in her post-match interview as the Centre Court crowd cheered to offer its support.
Williams played — and won — the 2017 Australian Open while two months pregnant, but she did not play again on tour until 13 months later. She gave birth to her daughter, Olympia, on Sept. 1, 2017, and suffered complications after her cesarean section, including a pulmonary embolism.