# Henin–S. Williams rivalry

The Henin–S. Williams rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Justine Henin and Serena Williams,
who met 14 times between 2001 and 2010. When Henin was an active player, their rivalry was one of the most heated and competitive on the WTA Tour; their contests were not just athletic in nature, but also personal as Henin made a controversial gesture during their 2003 French Open semifinal encounter. Williams leads their head-to-head, 8–6.

## Head-to-head

| Legend | Henin | Williams |
| Grand Slam | 4 | 3 |
| WTA Tour Championships | 0 | 1 |
| WTA Tier I | 2 | 3 |
| WTA Tier II | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 6 | 8 |
Justine Henin–Serena Williams (6–8)
| No. | Year | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Round | Winner | Score | Length | Sets | Henin | Williams |
| 1. | 2001 | US Open | Major | Hard | Round of 16 | Williams | 7–5, 6–0 | 1:16 | 2/3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2. | 2001 | WTA Tour Championships | Tour Finals | Carpet | Quarterfinals | Williams | 6–3, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$ | 1:22 | 2/3 | 0 | 2 |
| 3. | 2002 | German Open | Tier I | Clay | Final | Henin | 6–2, 1–6, 7–6$^{(7–5)}$ | 2:17 | 3/3 | 1 | 2 |
| 4. | 2002 | Italian Open | Tier I | Clay | Final | Williams | 7–6$^{(8–6)}$, 6–4 | 1:58 | 2/3 | 1 | 3 |
| 5. | 2002 | Sparkassen Cup | Tier II | Hard (i) | Semifinals | Williams | 6–4, 6–2 | 1:10 | 2/3 | 1 | 4 |
| 6. | 2003 | Charleston Open | Tier I | Clay | Final | Henin | 6–3, 6–4 | 1:06 | 2/3 | 2 | 4 |
| 7. | 2003 | Roland Garros | Major | Clay | Semifinals | Henin | 6–2, 4–6, 7–5 | 2:20 | 3/3 | 3 | 4 |
| 8. | 2003 | Wimbledon | Major | Grass | Semifinals | Williams | 6–3, 6–2 | 1:10 | 2/3 | 3 | 5 |
| 9. | 2007 | Miami Open | Tier I | Hard | Final | Williams | 0–6, 7–5, 6–3 | 2:26 | 3/3 | 3 | 6 |
| 10. | 2007 | Roland Garros | Major | Clay | Quarterfinals | Henin | 6–4, 6–3 | 1:18 | 2/3 | 4 | 6 |
| 11. | 2007 | Wimbledon | Major | Grass | Quarterfinals | Henin | 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 | 1:45 | 3/3 | 5 | 6 |
| 12. | 2007 | US Open | Major | Hard | Quarterfinals | Henin | 7–6$^{(7–3)}$, 6–1 | 1:37 | 2/3 | 6 | 6 |
| 13. | 2008 | Miami Open | Tier I | Hard | Quarterfinals | Williams | 6–2, 6–0 | 1:20 | 2/3 | 6 | 7 |
| 14. | 2010 | Australian Open | Major | Hard | Final | Williams | 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 | 2:07 | 3/3 | 6 | 8 |

## Breakdown of the rivalry

* All courts: Williams, 8–6
* Hard courts: Williams, 4–1
* Clay courts: Henin, 4–1
* Grass courts: Equal, 1–1
* Carpet: Williams, 2–0
* Grand Slam matches: Henin, 4–3
* Grand Slam finals: Williams, 1–0
* Year-End Championships matches: Williams, 1–0
* Year-End Championships finals: None
* Fed Cup matches: None
* Matches won after saving match points: Williams, 1–0
* All finals: Williams, 3–2
* Sets Won: Williams, 19–14
* Games Won: Williams, 164–146

## Performance timeline
### Grand Slam tournaments

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
* Bold = players met during this tournament

#### By Year
##### 1998–2003

| Player | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1998 | 1999 | 1999 | 1999 | 1999 | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | 2001 | 2001 | 2001 | 2001 | 2002 | 2002 | 2002 | 2002 | 2003 | 2003 | 2003 | 2003 |
| Player | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA |
| Justine Henin | | | | | A | 2R | A | 1R | 2R | A | 1R | 4R | 4R | SF | F | 4R | QF | 1R | SF | 4R | SF | W | SF | W |
| Serena Williams | 2R | 4R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 3R | A | W | 4R | A | SF | QF | QF | QF | QF | F | A | W | W | W | W | SF | W | A |

##### 2004–2009

| Player | 2004 | 2004 | 2004 | 2004 | 2005 | 2005 | 2005 | 2005 | 2006 | 2006 | 2006 | 2006 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2007 | 2008 | 2008 | 2008 | 2008 | 2009 | 2009 | 2009 | 2009 |
| Player | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA |
| Justine Henin | W | 2R | A | 4R | A | W | 1R | 4R | F | W | F | F | A | W | SF | W | QF | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Serena Williams | A | QF | F | QF | W | A | 3R | 4R | 3R | A | A | 3R | W | QF | QF | QF | QF | 3R | F | W | W | QF | W | SF |

##### 2010–2015

| Player | 2010 | 2010 | 2010 | 2010 | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 | 2011 | 2012 | 2012 | 2012 | 2012 | 2013 | 2013 | 2013 | 2013 | 2014 | 2014 | 2014 | 2014 | 2015 | 2015 | 2015 | 2015 |
| Player | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA | AUS | FRA | WIM | USA |
| Justine Henin | F | 4R | 4R | A | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A |
| Serena Williams | W | QF | W | A | A | A | 4R | F | 4R | 1R | W | W | QF | W | 4R | W | 4R | 2R | 3R | W | W | W | W | SF |