Serena Williams Is Really Good, And The Secondary Ticket Market Proves It

It has been a flawless 2015 for Serena Williams.

At 33 years young, the best female athlete in the world now finds herself in Flushing, Queens for the 2015 US Open, where she looks to become just the fourth player in history to claim the ever-elusive calendar year Grand Slam.

And while the competition heats up as she plays further into the tournament, Williams isn’t just pursuing history on the court; she’s also making a monster impact on the secondary ticket market.

According to resale aggregator TiqIQ, tickets to the Women’s Final on Sept. 12 are now more expensive than the Men’s Final the following day for the first time since at least 2010, when the company began tracking secondary market ticket data.

The average secondary price for Women’s Final tickets is now $1,132.51, 21.4 percent higher than the $932.68 average the Men’s Final currently owns on TiqIQ.

Planning on just getting past the gates next Saturday? The cheapest ticket is now listed for $184.

Williams has won the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament each year since 2012. Such a streak has allowed ticket prices to increase consistently with each passing year, but nothing comes remotely close to the skyrocketing trend between this year and last.

The average secondary market price for 2014 Women’s Final tickets was $390.32, marking a 190 percent jump for tickets to 2015’s match.

Williams’ 2012 victory served as the fourth US Open title of her career, and her three-year streak will be looking to continue for a little longer with a win next weekend.

Being a six-time US Open champion is enough to make any fan turn her head, but Williams’ shot at the history books this year carries with it a different level of excitement.

Pending a seventh victory at Arthur Ashe Stadium next weekend, Williams would tie Steffi Graff for second most Grand Slam wins all-time at 22. That level of dominance is trumped only by Margaret Court’s leading 24 titles, which Williams will come within striking distance by next year.

Many can argue that LeBron James is the best athlete of his generation, but there’s plenty of evidence to support Williams for that title.

Since first stepping onto the court professionally in 1995, she owns an astounding career record of 732-122. That marks a 85.81 winning percentage, the fifth highest in the Women’s Tennis Association since its inception in 1973.

She finished each week of 2014 as the No. 1 female tennis player in the world. Not many people can say they've finished first in their fantasy football league, let alone dominated the professional WTA circuit for 12 months.

She has won 69 career titles and grossed more than $73.2 million in prize money over the last two decades, making her the wealthiest female tennis player of all-time and fourth wealthiest overall behind Rafael Nadal ($~73.7 million), Novak Djokovic (~$83 million) and Roger Federer (~$93.1 million).

James may hold the torch in terms of global popularity, but his two NBA Finals' rings pale in comparison to the hardware in Williams' trophy case.

Williams has gone up against a seemingly unending amount of criticism during her 20-year career, which has made her accomplishments all the more noteworthy.

From stomaching reproachful comments about her uncanny physique to being ostracized for her interest away from tennis and into the fashion world, she has proved the naysayers wrong with her long-term dominance on the court.

And though Williams has been put to the fire for her seemingly unfair muscular frame, her ability to celebrate her figure both while playing and on social media outlets is nothing short of admirable.

Perhaps, her next venture will be in the studio with rumored new boyfriend and rap superstar Drake. Fans shouldn’t hold their breath for long, though, as her continuous success in the tennis world is far from reaching an end.