Halep Wins Wimbledon, Stops Williams’ Bid for 24th Slam

Winner Romania's Simona Halep and second placed United States' Serena Williams (R) pose with their trophies after the women's singles final match on day twelve of the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, on July 13, 2019. Tim Ireland/AP Photo

WIMBLEDON, England—Clutching her trophy 20 minutes after becoming Wimbledon’s champion, Simona Halep checked out the board inside Centre Court that lists tournament winners. Below all of the mentions of Serena Williams, her opponent in Saturday’s final, there already was inscribed: “Miss S. Halep.”

Halep was not concerned with preventing Williams from winning a 24th Grand Slam title. All Halep cared about was winning her first at the All England Club. And she played pretty much perfectly.