The 21st century
Germany · born Troisdorf, 1989 · right-handed · Wimbledon finalist 2013 and Birmingham champion 2011
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F
Wimbledon 2013, lost to Marion Bartoli 6-1, 6-4
5
Wimbledon quarter-finals or better in five appearances, 2009 to 2014
131 mph
Fastest serve then recorded by a woman, Stanford 2014
2011
Birmingham champion, then a Wimbledon semi-finalist as a wildcard
12
Career-high ranking, May 2012
Sabine Lisicki was born in Troisdorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, in 1989 and was coached from childhood by her father, a sports scientist. She turned professional in 2006 and won her first WTA title on clay at Charleston in 2009, the year she also reached her first Wimbledon quarter-final. An ankle injury at Indian Wells in 2010 put her on crutches and out for five months, and her ranking fell outside the top 200.
She came back on grass. In June 2011 she won Birmingham, received a Wimbledon wildcard and reached the semi-finals. She won four WTA singles titles in all (Charleston, Birmingham, Dallas and Hong Kong) and four in doubles, reached a career high of No. 12 in May 2012 and finished fourth in the mixed doubles at the London Olympics. Her best result came at Wimbledon in 2013, where she beat Serena Williams and reached the final.
Injuries cut into her later career, including a torn anterior cruciate ligament in 2020. She returned in 2022 and won an ITF title in Calgary in 2023. The WTA lists her as inactive.
| Birmingham 2011 | Beat the fourth seed Daniela Hantuchová 6-3, 6-2 in a final held over from the Sunday because of rain |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon 2013 | Seeded 23rd, beat the top seed Serena Williams 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 in the fourth round and Agnieszka Radwańska in the semi-finals, then lost the final to Marion Bartoli 6-1, 6-4 in 81 minutes |
| Wimbledon, 2009 to 2014 | Quarter-finals 2009 (lost to Dinara Safina), semi-finals 2011 as a wildcard (lost to Maria Sharapova), quarter-finals 2012 (lost to Angelique Kerber), final 2013, quarter-finals 2014 (lost to Simona Halep) |
| French Open champions beaten at Wimbledon | Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009, Li Na in 2011, Maria Sharapova in 2012 and Serena Williams in 2013 |
| Wimbledon doubles | Final in 2011 with Samantha Stosur, lost to Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik 6-3, 6-1 |
| Birmingham | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Women's singles | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I love this court so much, it's such a special place for me."
The person behind the player.
Birmingham, June 2011
A year after an ankle injury left her on crutches, she won Birmingham and was given one of the last two Wimbledon wildcards the day before the final. "If I hadn't been given the wild card, I would have been playing the qualifying tomorrow," she said. "There were so many doubters."
Source: Tennis.comCentre Court, July 2013
Williams had won 77 of 80 matches since the 2012 French Open and came in on a 34-match streak. Lisicki beat her in two hours and four minutes. "I'm still shaking, I'm so happy," she said.
Source: Al JazeeraWimbledon final, July 2013
Overcome in the second set, she cried at 4-1 down after two double faults in a row. She then saved three championship points, broke Bartoli as she served for the title and reached 5-4 before Bartoli closed out the match with an ace.
Source: RTÉCentre Court, June 2014
By tradition the defending ladies' champion plays the opening ladies' match on Centre Court. Bartoli did not compete in 2014, so the runner-up took her place and opened against Julia Glushko.
Source: Wimbledon Compendium 2025Stanford, July 2014
In the first round of the Bank of the West Classic against Ana Ivanovic she served at 131 mph (210.8 km/h), beating Venus Williams's 129 mph from 2007. Guinness World Records presented her with a certificate before the US Open. "It's an honor to achieve a Guinness World Records title for the fastest serve," she said.
Source: Guinness World RecordsFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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