In 2010, Kerber made her first WTA final, at the Copa Colsanitas where she finished runner-up to Mariana Duque-Mariño. She also recorded the first top-50 finish of her career that year, at world No. 47. The following year, her breakthrough occurred at the US Open where, as the world No. 92, she soared to her first Grand Slam semifinal where she fell in three sets to the ninth seed and eventual champion Samantha Stosur. After the tournament, she rose into the world's top 40, and eventually finished the year ranked No. 32.
In February 2012, Kerber scored her maiden career title, at the Open GDF Suez before reaching her first Premier Mandatory semifinal in Indian Wells where she lost to eventual champion Victoria Azarenka. Her second career title came shortly later, in April, at the Danish Open where she beat former world No. 1, Caroline Wozniacki. She then achieved her career-best result at the French Open by making the quarterfinals, before posting a runner-up result in Eastbourne and a semifinal showing at Wimbledon where she lost to Agnieszka Radwańska. A few weeks later, Kerber progressed to the quarterfinals of the London Olympics, falling to Azarenka once more.[2] before upsetting Serena Williams en route to her maiden Premier 5 final in Cincinnati. Kerber cracked the world's top 5 before the WTA Championships that year, and subsequently finished the year ranked world No. 5.
Between 2013 and 2014, won one title at the Linz Open in 2013, while making Premier 5 finals in Tokyo (2013) and Doha (2014), and advancing to her second quarterfinal at Wimbledon in 2014, where she lost to eventual runner-up Eugenie Bouchard. 2015 saw Kerber reverse her previous season's 0–4 record in singles finals by winning her first four finals in succession, which includes her maiden titles on clay and grass courts, at the Family Circle Cup and Aegon Classic, respectively. She also won her first title on home soil in 2015, doing so in Stuttgart where she beat Wozniacki in the final. Her other finals in 2015 came in Stanford and Hong Kong, the former being her fourth and final title win of the year.
In 2016, Kerber posted a runner-up finish in Brisbane International, and then lifting her maiden Grand Slm title at the Australian Open, where she overcame Serena Williams in the final in three sets. Kerber ascended to a new career-high ranking of world No. 2 as a result. In April, she defended a title for the first time by winning her second title of the year in Stuttgart. On grass, Kerber was a runner-up at the Wimbledon Championships. She then reached back-to-back finals at the Rio Olympics and the Cincinnati Open. At the US Open, Kerber avenged her defeat to Karolína Plíšková in Cincinnati by defeating the Czech in the final in three sets to win her second Grand Slam singles title. Kerber also became the world No. 1 for the first time in her career, after winning the US Open, and is the oldest player to ascend to the top ranking. She then finished runner-up to Dominika Cibulková at the WTA Finals and subsequently concluded the year as world No. 1.
In 2018, Kerber once again beat Serena Williams in a Grand Slam tournament final, this time at Wimbledon, a rematch of their final in 2016, to win her third Grand Slam title, leaving just the French Open as the Grand Slam tournament she has yet to win. Kerber would finish that year as world No. 2.
Performance timelines
Key
W
F
SF
QF
#R
RR
Q#
P#
DNQ
A
Z#
PO
G
S
B
NMS
NTI
P
NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record; .
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Only results in WTA Tour (incl. Grand Slams) main-draw, Olympic Games and Fed Cup/Billie Jean King Cup are included in win–loss records.[3]
Note: All Billie Jean King Cup matches were singles. United Cup: singles 1–4, mixed doubles 1–1. Hopman Cup: singles 8–0, mixed doubles 4–4. Levels in which Germany did not compete in a particular year are marked "NP".
^The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Total Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009 to 2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021. In 2024, both tournaments were WTA 1000 events.