LONDON -- Serena Williams had a fairly easy road to the Wimbledon final in her return to the All England Club. Angelique Kerber, a former world No. 1, made sure that road came to an end.
The 30-year-old German beat the seven-time Wimbledon champion 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday to win her third career major. In the process, Kerber denied Williams a 24th career Grand Slam title, which would have tied Margaret Court's all-time mark.
"It was such an amazing tournament for me," an emotional Williams said after the match. "I was really happy to get this far. It's obviously disappointing, but I can't be disappointed. I have so much to look forward to. I'm literally just getting started."
Williams left the tour after winning the Australian Open in January 2017. After giving birth to her daughter, Olympia, on Sept. 1, Williams dealt with health complications that included blood clots and led to what she said were multiple operations.
Williams played doubles with her sister Venus Williams at the Fed Cup in February. Williams returned to the tour in March, making limited appearances without much success. After another two months away, she played in the French Open in May, withdrawing in the fourth round with an injured pectoral muscle.
Two months later, she returned to the All England Club as the No. 25 seed -- ranked No. 181 in the world -- in just her fourth tournament since becoming a mother. As top-10 seeded players kept losing in the first week, Williams kept advancing -- though she didn't face a seeded player until she beat No. 13 Julia Goerges in the semifinals.
"I'm just me, that's all I can be," Williams said about playing as a mother. "To all the moms out there, I was playing for you today, and I tried. Angelique played really well, played out of her mind."
Kerber is one of just five women to beat Williams in a Grand Slam final -- having also beat her to win the 2016 Australian Open -- and joined Venus as the only ones to do it twice as Williams fell to 23-7 in the final of a major.
"I knew that I had to play my best tennis against a champion like Serena," said Kerber
Now she just needs to win the French Open to complete the career Grand Slam.
Kerber played as cleanly as can be against Williams, covering the court so well and picking her spots for big shots as she cruised through the first set.
She continued that momentum in the second set, collapsing on the grass court in jubilation after converting match point.
"This is something special," Kerber said. "And to hold this trophy now, it is something that I can't describe."
The usual 2 p.m. start time was pushed back as the men's semifinal match between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal was played to a finish having been carried over from Friday.
In a role reversal from her wedding -- at which Williams was a guest in May -- Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, watched her friend alongside sister-in-law Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, from the royal box.
Also supporting Williams on Centre Court were golfer Tiger Woods and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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