Serena Williams has won her 16th Grand Slam title and her first French Open championship in more than a decade.
Williams beat Maria Sharapova at Roland Garros on Saturday, 6-4, 6-4.
The Daily Mail writes:
"Williams theatrically seized the title from Sharapova with her 10th ace. She threw her racket into the air and sank to her knees. She walked about dazed and elated. She fanned her face with her hand and she was, for all the world, at that moment a teenager in love rather than the oldest woman, at 31 years and 256 days, to win this championship since Evert claimed a record seventh title in 1986."
"Eleven years," Williams said in French during the trophy ceremony. "I think it's unbelievable. Now I have 16 Grand Slam titles. It's difficult for me to speak because I'm so excited."
Since her shocking loss last year in the first round of the French Open to 111th-ranked Virginie Razzano, Williams has gone 74-3, winning at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the London Olympics and the WTA Championships.
At 31, Williams is the oldest woman to win a major title since Martina Navratilova took honors at Wimbledon in 1990 at age 33, according to The Associated Press.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.