Angelique Kerber was finally able to unwind when on holiday in the Maldives. After an exhausting 2021 season with many highs and lows, it was something she visibly relished. It had been a year that she could look back on positively saying, “I’m so happy with everything I’ve achieved and I feel all the patience and hard work have paid off.”
After the unfortunate start to the season, the new Porsche supported WTA tournament in Bad Homburg marked the turning point. “Holding the trophy high as the winner was one of the moments, I work so hard for,” said the Porsche Brand Ambassador looking back. “I was so happy that fans were back in the stadium, and I could show them that I’m still around and I can still win.”
Afterwards in Wimbledon, she reached the semifinals and then went on to play impressively at the US Open. She had previously won the two grand slam tournaments during the course of her career, plus the Australian Open. However, the successes Germany’s top women’s player enjoyed in the past years did not come overnight as she says: “To be successful, one has to work hard on oneself, one needs lots of discipline and patience but also passion and fun. One has to pick oneself up after defeats and continue down one’s path. One can’t have the wins without the losses.”
She fulfils her tennis dream in Wimbledon
It was not always easy for her to come to terms with people’s expectations, especially after her fantastic year in 2016 when she catapulted up to the top of the world rankings – the first German to achieve the feat since Steffi Graf in 1997. After falling into a hole afterwards, she then fought her way back and fulfilled her big tennis dream when winning in Wimbledon in 2018. En-route to becoming the world No. 1, she had overcome setbacks and had learned from victories and losses. Her achievements are a spur not only for the talented young hopefuls that Porsche fosters together with the German Tennis Association within the Porsche Talent Team. Her strong will and her irrepressible belief in herself make her a role model for young people far beyond the bounds of sport.
Angelique Kerber has been a Porsche Brand Ambassador since 2015. Her fighting spirit coupled with her stamina and dynamism are attributes that are also a feature of Porsche. The feeling of going out onto court with the Porsche patch is something she also enjoys as a member of Porsche Team Germany in the Billie Jean King Cup. However, being a Brand Ambassador is something personal she says, special and for an individualist like herself, it takes on even greater magnitude. “I’m proud and happy to be able to represent such a prestigious company like Porsche as a brand ambassador. It’s a big honour for me.”
Angelique Kerber was born in Bremen on 18 January 1988. Her mother Beata is German, father Slawek comes from Poland. She has played tennis for as long as she can think. As a teenager she was a competitive swimmer but after passing her school leaving exams at the age of 16, she decided to embark on a career as a professional tennis player. Angelique Kerber’s big breakthrough came in 2011 when, unseeded, she was the first German to reach the semi-finals of the US Open for 15 years. In February 2012, she claimed her first title on the WTA Tour by winning the indoor tournament in Paris.
Wonderful memories of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
As the team’s No. 1, she led Porsche Team Germany to the Fed Cup final in 2014. In 2015, she won four WTA tournaments – including the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart for the first time. 2016 was not only most successful year of her career up until then due to her claiming the grand slam titles in Melbourne and New York. She was also the runner-up in Wimbledon, at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and the WTA Finals in Singapore – and repeated her win at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. “I associate so many wonderful memories with Stuttgart,” she says.
She celebrated her 34th birthday at the 2022 Australian Open. What still drives her every day to work hard on her game? “My passion for tennis. I love the sport, the feeling of going out onto court and winning,” she says. “The emotions give me trust in my ability and the respect of my fellow players. Most of them know that they are going to have to play their best tennis to beat me.”
After so many years as a Porsche Brand Ambassador, Angelique Kerber is still amazed when she experiences the “huge excitement Porsche generates no matter on which continent or in which city I find myself at the time”.