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In tennis, the WTA Big Three is the three-way rivalry involving Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, Serena Williams of the United States of America and Maria Sharapova of Russia. They are considered to be one of the most dominant trios in women's tennis today.

Serena Williams started on the WTA Tour in 1998, followed by Maria Sharapova in 2003 and more recently Victoria Azarenka in 2006. Williams and Sharapova first met at Miami in 2004, Sharapova first met Azarenka at the 2007 Kremlin Cup and Williams and Azarenka first met at the 2008 Australian Open. Serena Williams leads her head-to-heads with Maria Sharapova 11–2 and Victoria Azarenka by 11–1, whilst Azarenka leads Sharapova 7–5 in their head-to-head.

The trio enjoyed a very dominant 2012 season, winning four of the Grand Slam titles during the year. Azarenka won her first Grand Slam title by defeating Maria Sharapova in the final of the Australian Open, Sharapova won the French Open, whilst Serena Williams won both Wimbledon and the US Open, defeating Azarenka in the latter final. Additionally, two of the three shared the four Premier Mandatory titles during the year, with Azarenka defeating Sharapova to win Indian Wells and Beijing and Williams defeating Azarenka to win Madrid (Miami was won by Agnieszka Radwańska). Additionally, all three reached the semi-finals at the 2012 WTA Tour Championships.

Since the 2011 French Open, at least one Grand Slam final has been contested by a member of the WTA's Big Three, with two of them being contested by two of the three (Azarenka vs. Sharapova at the 2012 Australian Open and Azarenka vs. Williams at the 2012 US Open).

Before 2002
Serena Williams started out on the WTA Tour in 1998, making her Grand Slam main draw debut at the 1998 Australian Open. Dominant female players at the time included Lindsay Davenport, Martina Hingis and Steffi Graf, among others. Williams won her first Grand Slam title at the age of 17 on her seventh attempt, winning the 1999 US Open, and has since followed it up with a further fourteen Grand Slam titles, the most recent being the 2012 US Open.

2002–2005
Williams completed the "Serena Slam" (winning all four Grand Slam tournaments simultaneously) by winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open in 2002, as well as the Australian Open in 2003, the same Grand Slam tournament in which Maria Sharapova would make her main draw debut. All were achieved by defeating her older sister Venus in each final. Williams would also win Wimbledon in 2003, however would struggle for the rest of the season with a knee injury and would not play again until March 2004. It was also the same Grand Slam in which Roger Federer would begin his dominance in the men's sport, winning the men's title.

The 2004 season would see the rise of Maria Sharapova into the ranks. Though she made her Grand Slam debut one year earlier, it was actually in 2004 that Sharapova would become noticed in the tennis world. She reached her first Major quarter-final at the French Open, losing to Paola Suárez. She emulated Serena Williams in winning her first Grand Slam title at 17, and on her seventh Grand Slam attempt, when she upset Williams to win the Wimbledon title. Sharapova would later defeat Williams again in the final of the 2004 WTA Tour Championships, coming from 0–4 down in the deciding set to win in three sets.

The first Grand Slam tournament of 2005 would see Sharapova and Williams face off in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, their first meeting at a Grand Slam since the Wimbledon final the previous year. After Sharapova took the first set, Serena Williams would rally and win the match in three sets. Sharapova had the chance to serve out the match in the second and third sets, and also held match points in the third set, but errors started to creep into her game and Williams pounced. This would be their last meeting until exactly two years later, in the final of the 2007 Australian Open.

In August that year, Sharapova became the first Russian woman to claim the World's No. 1 ranking. Her performances at the Majors that year were solid, reaching the semi-finals at each Major except the French Open, but she was defeated by eventual champions at each of them.

The 2005 season saw Victoria Azarenka dominate the junior circuit, being ranked World No. 1 and winning the Australian and US Open junior tournaments.

2006–2007
The 2006 season would see Serena Williams struggle with injury throughout the year, to the point to which she dropped out of the Top 100 for the first time since 1997. However, she was able to make the fourth round of the US Open, after having made the third round of the Australian Open and missing both the French Open as well as Wimbledon. In contrast, Sharapova enjoyed a very solid 2006 season, winning her second Grand Slam title at the US Open and reaching the semi-finals at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon, repeating her performances from the year before. Additionally, Sharapova finished the year as the World No. 2, behind Justine Henin-Hardenne, her highest year-end ranking.

Victoria Azarenka would make her Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open at the start of the year, but it wouldn't be until the US Open where she would win her first main draw match, upsetting former French Open champion Anastasia Myskina in the first round. She would enter the world's Top 100 late in the year, and finished 2006 ranked World No. 96.

The first Major of the 2007 season saw Sharapova and Williams facing off at the 2007 Australian Open once again. Sharapova was the top seed (World No. 1 Justine Henin missed the tournament following the breakdown of her marriage) and the favourite, but she was crushed in the championship match by the then-World No. 81 Williams. Williams had not played competitively since the previous year's US Open, but the victory, which was her eighth success at a Major, put her career back on track. 2007 also saw Sharapova face off against Victoria Azarenka for the first time, with Azarenka winning their second round match at the Kremlin Cup. During the season, Azarenka reached her first fourth round at a Major, at the US Open, ending the career of Martina Hingis en route. In contrast, Sharapova was knocked out in the third round by Agnieszka Radwańska, and Serena Williams lost to Justine Henin in the quarter-finals for the third consecutive time at a Major.

2008–2009
The first Major of the 2008 season saw Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka face each other for the first time, in the third round of the Australian Open. Serena Williams won in straight sets, on her way to reaching the quarter-finals where she was defeated by Jelena Janković. Maria Sharapova would go on to win her third Major title, defeating Ana Ivanovic in the final, but it would be her last success at a Major until the 2012 French Open.

Serena Williams had a poor first half of 2008, as she was knocked out in the third round of the French Open by Katarina Srebotnik. However, she would reach the finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open, winning at the latter tournament and returning to the world's top ranking for the first time since 2003. Azarenka's performances at the Majors were mixed, as a fourth round showing at the French Open were followed by third round losses at Wimbledon and the US Open. Maria Sharapova struggled after Wimbledon, where she was defeated in the second round, and subsequently submitted to shoulder surgery in October, ending her season and leaving her sidelined for up to ten months.



The surgery subsequently forced her to miss the first Major of the 2009 season, the Australian Open. Her withdrawal subsequently dropped her out of the WTA's Top 10 for the first time since July 2004. Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka met in the tournament's fourth round, with Williams advancing after Azarenka was forced to retire in the second set after fainting on court. Williams went on to win the tournament by crushing Russia's Dinara Safina in the final, and, in doing so, reclaimed the World No. 1 ranking again after Jelena Janković failed to defend her semi-final points.

At the Miami Masters, Azarenka would win what was, at the time, her biggest career title, defeating Williams in the final. To date, it would be Azarenka's only official victory over Williams.

The French Open would mark a milestone, as it would be the first Major in which all three players would make the quarter-finals of the same Major tournament. Azarenka reached her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the French Open, knocking out defending champion Ana Ivanovic in the fourth round en route. After 10 months out of the sport, Sharapova, then ranked World No. 102, miraculously reached the final eight by winning her first four matches in three sets, before succumbing to Dominika Cibulková in straight sets. Williams was defeated by eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in her quarter-final.

Whilst Maria Sharapova was knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round for the second year in a row, Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka would meet in a Major quarter-final for the first time. Williams defeated Azarenka on her way to winning her first Wimbledon title since 2003. The year's final Major, the US Open saw Azarenka and Sharapova both defeated in the third round whilst Williams went on to make the semi-finals, where she was controversially defaulted against Kim Clijsters for making a threatening gesture towards a line judge.

Outside the Majors, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova met twice during the second half of the year, with Sharapova winning on both occasions. Sharapova also won her first WTA Tour title since shoulder surgery, winning the Toray Pan Pacific Open after her opponent Jelena Janković retired in the final.

2010–2011
The first Major of the 2010 season saw Maria Sharapova suffer her first defeat in the opening round of a Major since the 2003 French Open when she lost to Maria Kirilenko in three sets in the first round of the Australian Open, in her first appearance at the tournament since winning the title in 2008. Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka met once again at the Australian Open, this time in the quarter-finals, with Williams coming from a set and 0–4 down in the second set to conjure a miraculous three-set victory, on her way to successfully defending her title.

At the French Open, Victoria Azarenka suffered her first opening round exit at a Major since 2007 when she lost to Gisela Dulko in the first round. Maria Sharapova didn't fare any better, losing in the third round to Justine Henin whilst Serena Williams lost a thrilling quarter-final to eventual finalist Samantha Stosur in three sets. At Wimbledon, Azarenka made an early exit to Petra Kvitová, whilst Williams and Sharapova met at the tournament for the first time since the 2004 final. Williams took out her revenge on Sharapova by winning in straight sets, on her way to winning the title.

However, in the aftermath of Williams' Wimbledon victory, she would suffer a mysterious foot injury which would sideline her for eleven months. The foot injury ended up being very serious enough to necessitate surgery, and as a result, was forced to miss her first US Open since 2003, and also had to withdraw from the 2010 WTA Tour Championships at the end of the season. Subsequently, Williams relinquished her top ranking to Caroline Wozniacki in October.

Azarenka and Sharapova would meet in a tournament final for the first time, at the Stanford Classic in July, where Azarenka would win her first title since April 2009, and the first of two titles in 2010. This was the first of two finals Sharapova would lose in the space of a fortnight, also losing the Cincinnati final to Kim Clijsters two weeks later. This win would later come at a cost for Azarenka, as she was forced to miss the Mercury Insurance Open the following week with a shoulder injury, and then she was upset in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters by Ana Ivanovic.

At the season's final Major, Azarenka collapsed whilst trailing Gisela Dulko 1–5 in the first set in the second round. Azarenka was subsequently taken to hospital in a wheelchair where she was diagnosed with mild concussion and later released a statement saying that a mishap in the gym, and not the heat, caused her to collapse during the match. Maria Sharapova fared better, reaching the fourth round for the first time since she won in 2006, but lost to Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. 2010 marked the first year since 2003 in which Sharapova failed to reach the quarter-finals of a Major during the calendar year, whilst Azarenka won only seven matches at the Majors that year, equalling her 2007 tally.

Despite progress in her recovery from foot surgery, Serena Williams opted to miss the first Major of 2011, the Australian Open, to give herself more time to recover. Azarenka and Sharapova both lost in the fourth round to Li Na and Andrea Petkovic, respectively. They would meet in the final of the Miami final in April, with Azarenka winning her second title there at Sharapova's expense.

At the French Open, both Azarenka and Sharapova were defeated in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively, by the eventual champion Li Na. Earlier, Sharapova defeated Azarenka in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters after Azarenka retired due to injury.

Serena Williams would make her comeback to tennis at Wimbledon, but she was defeated in the fourth round by Marion Bartoli, a result which would see Williams crash to World No. 175 (a 150-place drop), her lowest ranking since November 1997. Azarenka and Sharapova were, for the second Major in a row, beaten in succession by the eventual champion, in the semi-finals and the final, respectively, by Petra Kvitová.

Serena Williams' comeback would gain momentum when she won the 2011 US Open Series by virtue of winning titles in Stanford and Montreal. She defeated Sharapova in the quarter-finals of the former tournament, and Azarenka in the semi-finals of the latter tournament. These results saw her return to the World's Top 30, and she was subsequently seeded 28th for the year's final Major, the US Open, whilst Sharapova and Azarenka were seeded 3rd and 4th respectively. Williams would defeat Azarenka in the third round, en route to reaching the final, which she lost to Samantha Stosur. Sharapova did not perform well, losing to Flavia Pennetta in the third round. Sharapova had enjoyed a build-up to the US Open, winning the title in Cincinnati.

The end of the season saw Azarenka reach a career high of World No. 3, by virtue of winning the title in Luxembourg and reaching the championship match of the year-end championships, which she lost to Petra Kvitová. Sharapova finished the year ranked World No. 4, her highest year-end ranking since 2007, and Williams finished outside the Top 10 for the first time since 2006.

2012–present: Dominance
The beginning of the 2012 season saw Victoria Azarenka face off against Maria Sharapova for the first time at a Major, in the final of the Australian Open. After Sharapova took the first two games of the match, Azarenka would win twelve of the next thirteen to record an easy two set victory in one hour and twenty-two minutes to win her first Grand Slam title, and rise to World No. 1 for the first time. There were five further meetings between the pair that year, with Azarenka winning three of them, including in the semi-finals of the US Open, and at Indian Wells and Beijing. However, Sharapova would win their semi-final meeting at the year-end championships, to advance to the final at Azarenka's expense.

The 2012 season saw fourteen matches played between the trio all year, with Azarenka winning four of her six meetings against Sharapova and Serena Williams winning all five of her meetings against Azarenka and all three of her meetings against Sharapova. Williams defeated both Sharapova and Azarenka in the quarter-finals and the final respectively of the Madrid Masters to win her second title of the season, and re-enter the world's Top 10 for the first time in two years.

The French Open saw Serena Williams suffer her first ever opening round exit at a Major, when she lost to then-World No. 111 Virginie Razzano. Azarenka lost in the fourth round to 15th seed Dominika Cibulková, leaving Sharapova as the highest seed left in the draw and the favourite to win the title. Sharapova ultimately won the title, defeating Sara Errani (one of only two players outside of the Big Three to reach a Major final during the year) in the final and completing the Career Grand Slam. Sharapova briefly took over at the top of the WTA rankings, before Azarenka reclaimed the ranking after Wimbledon.

Serena Williams won the grass court Major title, defeating Azarenka in the semi-finals en route, whilst Maria Sharapova lost in the fourth round to Sabine Lisicki, thereby handing her top ranking back to Azarenka. By winning the title, Williams re-entered the Top Four at the expense of Petra Kvitová, the defending champion, whom Williams defeated in the quarter-finals. At the Olympics, Williams would dominate both Azarenka and Sharapova, in the semi-finals and final, respectively, to win the Olympic Gold Medal whilst Sharapova took the Silver Medal and Azarenka the Bronze. However, Azarenka would win the Gold Medal in the mixed doubles tournament, defeating the British pairing of Andy Murray and Laura Robson. Murray had earlier won the Gold Medal in the men's tournament.

The year's final Major, the US Open, saw all three proceed to the semi-finals of the same Major for the first time. Serena Williams would win the title after defeating Azarenka in the championship match; Azarenka had earlier defeated Sharapova in the semi-finals. Azarenka was the only player to win a set from Williams the entire tournament after Williams had won her preceding six matches all in straight sets.

Following Beijing, which Azarenka won by defeating Sharapova in the final, Serena Williams rose to World No. 3 despite not playing in Beijing; this occurred after Agnieszka Radwańska failed to defend titles in Tokyo and Beijing. The 2012 WTA Tour Championships saw all three reach the semi-finals, with Williams defeating Sharapova in the championship match. This capped off a dominant season for Williams who went through the tournament undefeated and without dropping a set. The end of the season would see Azarenka, Sharapova and Williams finish the season ranked first, second and third respectively.

At the first Major of the 2013 season, the Australian Open, all three reached the quarter-finals, where Serena Williams was beaten in three sets by Sloane Stephens and Maria Sharapova was beaten convincingly by Li Na in the semi-finals, having won her first five matches losing only nine games en route. Azarenka successfully defended her title, and her World No. 1 ranking, defeating Li in the championship match in three sets. Defeat would have seen Serena Williams reclaim the World No. 1 ranking for the first time since 2010, however, Williams would overtake Sharapova at World No. 2 after the Russian failed to make the final. Eventually, Williams would reclaim the top spot upon reaching the semi-finals in Doha. There, she defeated Maria Sharapova before losing the championship match to Victoria Azarenka, who defeated Williams for the first time since 2009.

2011–present
A indicates the player met Victoria Azarenka at that tournament. S indicates the player met Maria Sharapova at that tournament. W indicates the player met Serena Williams at that tournament.

Head-to-Head records
As of February 18, 2013, the trio have played a collective 38 matches against each other.

1 Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka were due to meet in the semi-finals of the 2013 Brisbane International, but Azarenka withdrew due to a toe infection.

S. Williams vs. Sharapova

 * Serena Williams leads Maria Sharapova 11–2

The first meeting between Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova took place in the Round of 16 at the 2004 Miami Masters. However, it was their meeting at Wimbledon in 2004 which was the most famous match in their rivalry. Serena Williams was going for her third consecutive Wimbledon title, having won in 2002 and 2003, but it was the then little-known 17-year-old Sharapova who prevailed in straight sets. Sharapova would later repeat the dose at the year-end championships in Los Angeles, winning in three sets after Williams led 4–0 in the deciding set. That would be the last time that Sharapova would defeat Williams to date, with Williams winning their next ten meetings in succession. Serena Williams leads 3–1 in Grand Slam matches, 3–2 in championship matches, 2–1 in matches that have reached a deciding set, 2–0 in clay court matches, 7–1 on hard court matches, and 2–1 on grass court matches.

Azarenka vs. S. Williams

 * Serena Williams leads Victoria Azarenka 11–2

The first meeting between Victoria Azarenka and Serena Williams took place in the Round of 32 at the 2008 Australian Open, with Serena Williams winning in straight sets. The most famous match in this rivalry was the final of the 2009 Miami Masters, where Azarenka upset Williams to win what was, at the time, the biggest title of her career. To date, it would be the only time that Azarenka would defeat Serena Williams in an official WTA Tour match. Since then, Williams has won their last nine meetings in succession, including five consecutive times at Majors. Their most notable match was the final of the 2012 US Open, where Serena Williams prevailed in three sets after Azarenka led 5–3 in the deciding set. Serena Williams leads in most categories: 7–0 in Grand Slam matches, 2–1 in matches that have reached a deciding set and 3–1 in championship matches, however, Victoria Azarenka leads 2–1 in Premier finals. Williams leads 7–1 in hard court matches, 3–0 in grass court matches and 1–0 in clay court matches.

Azarenka vs. Sharapova

 * Victoria Azarenka leads Maria Sharapova 7–5

The first meeting between Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova took place in the Round of 16 at the 2007 Kremlin Cup, where, despite Sharapova being the favourite, Azarenka won in straight sets. Their first meeting in a final was at the Stanford Classic, with Azarenka winning in straight sets for her third career title. Their most notable match was the final of the 2012 Australian Open, with Azarenka winning in straight sets to win her first (of two) Major title. Azarenka has won both of their Grand Slam meetings, five of their six meetings in championship matches and seven of their ten meetings on hard courts, however Sharapova has won their two matches on clay and two of their three meetings that have reached a deciding set. As of 2013, they have never met on grass.