title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber began 2014 the same way she did in 2013, logging in quarterfinal or better results in both Brisbane and Sydney, going one round better in the latter this time around by making the final but there, she was stunned by qualifier Tsvetana Pironkova in straight sets. She made the fourth round of the Australian Open once more, falling to 28th seed Flavia Pennetta in three sets this time around. At the Open GdF Suez, former champion Kerber made the quarterfinals where she lost to eventual champion Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. In Fed Cup quarterfinal play against Slovakia, Kerber contributed to the German team's victory by winning both her singles rubbers, over Dominika Cibulková and Daniela Hantuchová.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: At the Qatar Open, Kerber sailed into her first quarterfinal in the Middle East with wins over Karolína Plíšková and Klára Koukalová. She subsequently moved into her second final of 2014 with wins over qualifier Petra Cetkovská and fifth seed Jelena Janković. There, she lost to Simona Halep in straight sets. After a two-match losing streak across Dubai and Indian Wells, fifth-seeded Kerber made her first quarterfinal showing in Miami, where she lost to defending champion Serena Williams in straight sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: In April, Kerber helped put her country in the Fed Cup final, with Germany taking on Australia in the last four, by winning both her singles rubbers, against Samantha Stosur and Casey Dellacqua. However, she then endured a three-match losing streak to begin her season on clay, snapping it on home soil in Nuremberg with a quarterfinal appearance, where she was beaten by Plíšková. At the French Open, Kerber made the last 16 for the second year running, falling to rising star and 18th-seeded Bouchard this time around. On grass, Kerber enjoyed better results this year, starting off with her second appearance in the championship match at the Eastbourne International but finished runner-up once more, her third of 2014, this time to youngster Madison Keys in three sets. At Wimbledon, Kerber was seeded ninth and entered the second week for the fourth Grand Slam tournament running, with victories over the likes of defeated Urszula Radwańska, Heather Watson, and previous year's semifinalist Kirsten Flipkens. In the round of 16, she prevailed over reigning French Open champion and fifth seed Sharapova in three sets to move into the her second last eight showing here. There, she lost to eventual runner-up Bouchard in straight sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber opened her US Open Series campaign in Stanford where she was the third seed. She defeated Coco Vandeweghe in three sets in her opener, to reach quarterfinals where she saw off Garbiñe Muguruza. A win over Varvara Lepchenko, where she had to save a match point, put her in her fourth final of the year, but she had to settle for the runner-up position again, for the fourth time in 2014 when she lost to Serena Williams. After a string of early exits in Montreal and Cincinnati, Kerber made the third round of the US Open with wins over Russian qualifiers, Ksenia Pervak and Alla Kudryavtseva, but lost to unseeded youngster Belinda Bencic.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber posted deep runs in Tokyo and the inaugural Wuhan Open the following month, reaching the semifinals and quarterfinals, respectively. In her final tournament of the season, Kerber made the third round of the China Open where she lost to Svetlana Kuznetsova. Kerber did not qualify for the WTA Finals in 2014 but entered the tournament as an alternate, and would finish the season ranked world No. 10. Kerber finished the year by representing Germany in the Fed Cup final, where the team took on the Czech Republic. After dropping her first match to Lucie Šafářová, she came up against Petra Kvitová. There, Kerber dropped the first set tiebreak, and then avoided a bagel down 0–3 in the second set by coming back to win it 6–4. She came up short in the decider, however, as Kvitová launched her comeback from 1–4 down to win it 6–4, ensuring the Czech team an unassailable 3–0, and the title.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber started her year of 2015 by posting deep runs in both Brisbane and 2015 Apia International Sydney, with quarterfinal and semifinal results, respectively. However, at the Australian Open, she crashed out in the opening round to Irina-Camelia Begu, and it was the first time Kerber lost at the first hurdle of a Grand Slam tournament since Wimbledon in 2011. Representing Germany in the Fed Cup quarterfinals where the Germans faced Australia, Kerber scored a win out of her two matches played, over Samantha Stosur, but the 2014 runner-ups would progress by winning the tie 4–1. Her form however did not improve further across the months of February and March as she netted just two wins across five tournaments played, and by the start of April, she had fallen out of the top 10, for the first time since May 2012.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: At the Charleston Open, fifth seed Kerber overcame a 4–2 third-set deficit to defeat Evgeniya Rodina in her opening match, and then cruised past Lara Arruabarrena to reach the last eight. Her run continued with a win over Begu in two tight sets, followed by another straight-set victory, over fellow German and defending champion Andrea Petkovic, to advance to her first final of 2015. There, Kerber faced seventh seed Madison Keys and she fought back from a 4–1 deficit in the third set to claim her fourth WTA title and her first since the fall of 2013, besides it being her first tournament triumph on clay. In the Fed Cup semifinals, where Germany faced Russia, Kerber won her only rubber played, against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets, dropping just one game. The win, however, was not enough as Germany lost the deciding doubles match.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber was unseeded in Stuttgart to open her season on red clay, and defeated Alexa Glatch in straight sets, before upsetting three-time defending champion Maria Sharapova in three sets. In the quarterfinals, she saw off Ekaterina Makarova, before beating Madison Brengle to reach her second final of the year. There, she fought back from a set and 5–3 down to prevail over Caroline Wozniacki, thus scoring her fifth career title, also her first on home soil, which saw her extend her winning streak on clay to 11 matches. That streak, however, expired in the hands of Stosur in the opening round of Madrid. At the Italian Open, Kerber reached the second round after defeating Alizé Cornet but lost to Begu once more. After a semifinal run in Nuremberg, Kerber exited the French Open in the third round from a set up, in the hands of Garbiñe Muguruza.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: On grass, Kerber had a bright start, by lifting the title at the Birmimgham Classic where she was the fourth seed. En route, she advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating Tsvetana Pironkova and Jelena Janković. She then beat Kateřina Siniaková in straight sets to set up an all-German semifinal where she faced Sabine Lisicki, their first meeting since Wimbledon in 2012. Kerber won in straight sets and subsequently advanced to her third final of the season where she defeated Karolina Plíšková in a tight three-setter for her sixth career title, her first on grass. This marked the first time Kerber had won more than two titles in a season. At the Wimbledon Championships, Kerber advanced to the third round where she crossed paths with Muguruza once more, and lost to the eventual runner-up in three sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kicking off her US Open Series campaign in Stanford, fifth-seeded Kerber defended her runner-up result from a year ago by beating Daria Gavrilova and Ana Konjuh to make the last eight where she edged past second seed Agnieszka Radwańska in a three-set marathon to reach the last four. She then beat Elina Svitolina to make the final where she met Plíšková, and defeated the Czech in three sets once again, this time to lift her seventh career title, and became the only player to win titles across all surfaces in 2015. Kerber did not enjoy better results on American hard courts in her following tournaments with early losses in Toronto and Cincinnati. At the US Open, she was the 11th seed came up short in the third round again, this time in a three-set defeat to 20th seed and two-time runner-up Victoria Azarenka in an epic encounter.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber bounced back with stronger results in the Asian swing, starting off with a quarterfinal showing in Tokyo where she lost to Wozniacki in three sets. At the Wuhan Open, Kerber reached the last eight after dispatching Jelena Janković and Camila Giorgi, before moving past Coco Vandeweghe via retirement. In the semifinals, she lost to Muguruza once again, this time in straight sets. At the China Open next, Kerber advanced to the last eight where she lost to Radwańska in straight sets. Kerber would then reach her fifth final of the year at the Hong Kong Open but finished runner-up for the first time this season, falling to Janković in three sets. It was announced on 21 October that Kerber had qualified for the WTA Finals, marking her third appearance here. As the sixth seed, she was drawn into the same group with Muguruza and fellow left-handed players Petra Kvitová and Lucie Šafářová. She exited in the round-robin stage, managing just one win that came over Petra Kvitová. Having spent patches of 2015 out of the top 10, Kerber eventually concluded the season as world No. 10, maintaining her season finish from 2014.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber began the year at the Brisbane International, posting a runner-up result, with wins over Camila Giorgi, Madison Brengle, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Carla Suárez Navarro en route to the final, where she lost to former champion Victoria Azarenka. In Sydney, Kerber defeated Elina Svitolina in the opening round but then withdrew with an illness.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber was the seventh seed at the Australian Open and defeated Misaki Doi in the first round, having been a match point down. She then scored a triplet of straight-set wins over Alexandra Dulgheru, Brengle, and compatriot Annika Beck to reach her first quarterfinal in Melbourne, completing the sweep of quarterfinal appearances at all four Grand Slams in the process. In the quarterfinals, she avenged her Brisbane loss by defeating two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in straight sets, her first win against the Belarusian, to advance to the third Grand Slam semifinal of her career, her first since Wimbledon in 2012. There, Kerber defeated Grand Slam semifinal debutante Johanna Konta in straight sets to reach her maiden Grand Slam final. She defeated defending champion and world No. 1, Serena Williams, earning her first Grand Slam title and becoming the first German to do so since 1999. Besides becoming the first player to win a Grand Slam having been down match point in the first round, she also recorded her best ranking to date as world No. 2 following the achievement, surpassing her prior career-high of No. 5 set that she had set in 2012.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Representing Germany in the Fed Cup quarterfinals where the Germans faced the Swiss team, Kerber went 1–1 in her singles matches, with Germany losing the tie in the end. Kerber then endured a dry spell across the Qatar and Indian Wells Opens, dropping both her openers. However, she bounced back with a run to the semifinals in Miami where she was stopped by eventual champion Victoria Azarenka. At the Charleston Open, top seed and defending champion Kerber sailed into her consecutive semifinal but this time, retired to eventual champion Sloane Stephens due to a viral illness. In the Fed Cup World Group Play-offs, the German team faced Romania and Kerber duly emerged victorious in her both her singles rubbers, over Irina-Camelia Begu and Simona Halep, losing only four games to the latter, and also her first ever win over her, to keep Germany in the World Group as the team would win the tie 4–1.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber was the defending champion in Stuttgart, and successfully defended a title for the first time in her career. After a first-round bye, she beat Beck, Carla Suárez Navarro, and Petra Kvitová to reach the final. There she faced compatriot and qualifier Laura Siegemund and won ten games in a row from 2–4 down in the first set to defeat Siegemund and score her second title of the year and ninth of her career. Another losing streak ensued to close her clay season, however, which includes a loss to Kiki Bertens at the French Open, Bertens then becoming an eventual semifinalist herself.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Prior to Wimbledon, Kerber attempted to defend her title at the Birmingham Classic and sailed into the last eight where she met Suárez Navarro once again but lost to Spaniard. At Wimbledon, fourth-seeded Kerber did not drop a set, with wins over Laura Robson, Varvara Lepchenko, Carina Witthöft, Doi and fifth seed Halep, en route to her second semifinal here. There, she moved past former champion Venus Williams to reach the final, where she was defeated by Serena Williams, in a rematch of their Australian Open championship encounter earlier in the year, in straight sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: After Wimbledon, Kerber played at the Swedish Open where she withdrew before her second round match due to an injury. She then reached her first quarterfinal at the Canadian Open with three-set wins over Mirjana Lučić-Baroni and Svitolina. She then beat Daria Kasatkina to make the last four when lost to eventual champion Halep. At the Olympics, Kerber defeated Mariana Duque-Mariño, Eugenie Bouchard, Samantha Stosur to record her second Olympic quarterfinal appearance. Two more wins, over Konta and Madison Keys, saw Kerber book her spot in the gold medal match, where she was defeated by surprise finalist Monica Puig of Puerto Rico in three sets. Kerber's strong summer continued at the Cincinnati Open where she had her first opportunity to dethrone Serena Williams as the world No. 1 but needs to win the title to do so. Kerber did make the final where she faced 15th seed Karolína Plíšková but lost in straight sets. Nevertheless, Kerber's strong results throughout the year thus far ensured herself qualification for the WTA Finals, which was announced on 22 August following the conclusion of the Cincinnati tournament.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: At the US Open, Kerber beat the likes of Polona Hercog, Lucic-Baroni, CiCi Bellis and 14th seed Petra Kvitová to make the quarterfinals here for the first time since her semifinal run back in 2011. She continued with wins over eighth seed and 2015 runner-up Roberta Vinci, and a resurgent Caroline Wozniacki to reach her third Grand Slam final. Her win over Wozniacki, in the semifinals, combined with Serena Williams' defeat to 10th seed Plíšková in the same round meant that Kerber would unseat Serena Williams as the world No. 1 when the new rankings were released on 12 September the following week. In the championship match, Kerber gained her revenge over Plíšková by prevailing over the Czech in three sets to claim her second Grand Slam title, the 10th title overall of her career.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: At the Wuhan Open, her first tournament since claiming the world No. 1 ranking, Kerber reached the third round where she fell short to Kvitová in a 3-hour-long match. She then fell in the same round at the China Open, this time to Svitolina. Her penultimate tournament appearance of 2016 came at the Hong Kong Open where she lost in the quarterfinals to Daria Gavrilova. On 17 October 2016, Serena Williams pulled out of the WTA Finals in Singapore due to a shoulder injury, and that withdrawal secured Kerber's spot at the summit of the WTA rankings for the rest of the year, including the year-end No. 1 ranking, another first in Kerber's career. As the top seed of the Tour Finals, Kerber was drawn in the same group alongside Halep, Keys, and Dominika Cibulková. She won all of her round robin matches, scoring back-to-back wins here for the first time in her career as well, en route to her first semifinal here. She then defeated defending champion Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets to reach the final where she faced Cibulková once again that week, to whom she lost in straight sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: At the start of the 2017 season, Kerber competed at the Brisbane International as the top seed, and won her opening match against Ashleigh Barty in three sets but then lost to Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals. The following week in Sydney, she dropped opening match to Daria Kasatkina. As the top-seeded player and defending champion at the Australian Open, Kerber overcame a mid-match lapse to see off Lesia Tsurenko in the first round, where she squandered a match point in the second set. Kerber then defeated compatriot Carina Witthöft in the second round and Kristýna Plíšková in the third round. In the fourth round, Kerber lost to eventual semifinalist Coco Vandeweghe in straight sets. Serena Williams, who lost to Kerber in the championship match here 12 months ago, won the tournament this time and amassed enough points to take back the top ranking from Kerber.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: After a winless showing in Doha, Kerber made the last four in Dubai where she lost to eventual champion Svitolina. The following month, in Indian Wells, Kerber reached the round of 16 where she lost to another eventual champion, this time in Elena Vesnina, but it was enough for Kerber to regain the world No. 1 ranking owing to Serena Williams' withdrawal from the event. This was then followed by a quarterfinal appearance in Miami where she lost to Venus Williams, and then a runner-up showing in Monterrey, where in a rematch of the 2013 final, Kerber fell short to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber's season on clay began with her ranking at world No. 2, and a loss in her opener in Stuttgart to eventual runner-up Kristina Mladenovic. At the Madrid Open, Kerber won back-to-back wins to reach the third round where she retired against Eugenie Bouchard with a back issue, but returned to world No. 1 after the tournament's conclusion nevertheless. At the French Open, Kerber became the first female top seed in history to be ousted in the first round here, falling in straight sets to Ekaterina Makarova. However, she fared better as the season moved to grass courts, by making the quarterfinals in Eastbourne where she was defeated by Johanna Konta. At Wimbledon, Kerber made the second week, falling in the round of 16 to the eventual champion Garbiñe Muguruza in three sets. Due to Kerber's early exit and Simona Halep's loss to Konta in the quarterfinals, Karolína Plíšková became the new No. 1 after the tournament.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Across the US Open Series, Kerber's struggles in 2017 continued as she netted just one victory across three tournament appearances in the North American hard court summer, which includes a first-round loss to Naomi Osaka at the US Open, where she was the defending champion. With this loss Kerber dropped out of the top 10. The following month, at the Pan Pacific Open, Kerber recorded her best result since Monterrey back in April, as she took revenge on Osaka and then defeated Kasatkina and Plíšková, before falling in the last four to Pavlyuchenkova. The said win over Plíšková in Tokyo was Kerber's best win by ranking since the 2016 WTA Finals. She would go on to score just one more win for the rest of the year, however, in the first round of the China Open where she beat Osaka once again. After dropping both her two matches in the group stage at WTA Elite Trophy, to Pavlyuchenkova and Barty, Kerber dropped out of top 20 for the first time since 2012, and finished the year ranked world No. 21. Shortly after, on 16 November 2017, Kerber announced that she had parted ways with longtime coach Torben Beltz and has hired Wim Fissette as new coach.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber started her 2018 season with a first ever appearance at the Hopman Cup, where she partnered with Alexander Zverev. She went undefeated in her singles matches and helped the team cruise into the final where they lost to Switzerland. Kerber followed up that performance with her first title in more than a year, at the Sydney International next. To make the final, she edged past Lucie Šafářová and Venus Williams, saving a match point against the former, to make the quarterfinals where she beat Dominika Cibulková. She set up a championship match with home star Ashleigh Barty after moving past Camila Giorgi. There, she beat the Aussie in straight sets for her 11th career title. At the Australian Open, 21st-seeded Kerber moved into the fourth round with wins over Anna-Lena Friedsam, Donna Vekić and former world No. 1 Maria Sharapova, all in straight sets and dropping no more than four games a set. There, she saw off Hsieh Su-wei in three sets to move into her second quarterfinal here, where she swept aside Madison Keys. In the semifinal, a clash against world No. 1, Simona Halep, both had two match points in the third set but neither were converted. The match then ended 9–7 in the third set, with Halep prevailing. Following her strong Australian summer, Kerber returned to the top 10 once again, ranked world No. 9.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber then made the last eight at the Qatar Open where she lost to world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in three-sets. The following week in Dubai, she lost to Elina Svitolina in the semifinals for the second year in a row, that being her fifth consecutive loss as well. At the Indian Wells Open, 10th seed Kerber beat Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina, avenging her defeat to the latter here a year ago, to reach the last 16 where she beat Caroline Garcia. She lost in the quarterfinals to Daria Kasatkina. Kerber carried on her good form through the Miami Open by sailing into the quarterfinals, defeating Johanna Larsson, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Wang Yafan en route, where she was stopped by eventual champion Sloane Stephens, thus ensuring the latter her top-10 debut.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: In the Fed Cup semifinal tie against Czech Republic, Kerber dropped both her matches, to Karolína Plíšková and Petra Kvitová. both of her matches she lost in straight sets, the latter defeat ensuring the Czechs a spot in the final. She gained her revenge over Kvitová at first hurdle of the Stuttgart tournament the week after, before retiring against Anett Kontaveit in the following round. She was forced to skip the tournament in Madrid as a result, but bounced back at the Italian Open by making the last eight here for the second time, her first since 2012, but fell victim to eventual champion Svitolina, for the sixth time running. At the French Open, 12th seed Kerber snapped her losing streak here by defeating compatriot Mona Barthel in the first round. After seeing off Ana Bogdan, Kerber took down 18th seed Kiki Bertens, who had defeated her in the first round here two years ago, and then saw off seventh seed Caroline Garcia to make her second quarterfinal here, her first since 2012. In the quarterfinal, Kerber lost to top-ranked player and eventual champion Simona Halep from a set up. Nevertheless, the result is Kerber's equal-best result here, after her 2012 quarterfinal run.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber started the grass court swing as the second seed in Mallorca, where she lost in the first round to Alison Riske. In Eastbourne, she made the semifinals, falling to eventual champion Caroline Wozniacki, Kerber entered Wimbledon as the 11th seed. She defeated 2010 finalist Vera Zvonareva and 2017 junior champion Claire Liu to reach the third round where she moved past 18th seed Naomi Osaka. She then saw off unseeded Belinda Bencic to make the last eight by when she was the highest seed left in the draw. There, she avenged her loss in Indian Wells earlier in the year to Daria Kasatkina, needing seven match points to seal the revenge and then defeated 12th seed Jeļena Ostapenko to reach her second Wimbledon final. There, in a rematch of the 2016 final, she turned the tides this time around by taking down 25th seed Serena Williams in straight sets for her third Grand Slam title. With this victory, Kerber found herself one Grand Slam tournament shy of the Career Grand Slam, and also returned to world No. 4 in the rankings.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber did not enjoy the same success moving to the US Open Series, suffering a trio of early losses. First, at the Canadian Open, fourth seed Kerber lost her opener to Alizé Cornet in straight sets. At the Cincinnati Masters, Kerber lost in the third round to Keys. This culminated in third-round defeat in the hands of 29th seed Cibulková at the US Open despite having led by a set. However, her strong results in the preceding months of the year ensured her a spot at the WTA Finals, sealing her qualification on 10 September. The Asian swing in 2018 was another uneventful outing for Kerber as she lost in the third round of both Wuhan and Beijing, to Barty and Zhang Shuai, respectively.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: In her fifth appearance at the season-ending WTA Finals, the final edition to be held in Singapore, Kerber was drawn into the same group as Osaka, Stephens and Bertens. There, she got her sole win of the tournament over the former, defeating the Japanese player in three sets. Kerber subsequently concluded 2018 as world No. 2, her second-best finish to a season.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: In November, Kerber announced a new partnership with Rainer Schüttler as her new coach, having split with Fisette a month prior.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber kicked off the 2019 season with her second appearance at the Hopman Cup, alongside Alexander Zverev once again; they lost in the final to Switzerland in a rematch of last year's final. In Sydney, Kerber failed in her title defence bid with a loss to eventual champion Petra Kvitová in the quarterfinals. At the Australian Open, second-seeded Kerber moved into the last 16 with straight-set wins over the likes of Polona Hercog, Beatriz Haddad Maia (gaining her 100th Grand Slam match win) and Kimberly Birrell, only to be upset by eventual semifinalist Danielle Collins in straight sets. The following month, Kerber made the semifinals at the Qatar Open where she lost to eventual champion Elise Mertens. At the Dubai Tennis Championships, Kerber lost in the third round to eventual semifinalist Hsieh Su-wei in three sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: At the Indian Wells Open, Kerber reached a Premier Mandatory final for the first time in her career, which is also her first at the Premier Mandatory or Premier 5 stage since Cincinnati in 2016. En route to the final, she defeated Yulia Putintseva to begin, and followed up with two three-set wins over Natalia Vikhlyantseva and world No. 9 Aryna Sabalenka, which put her in the last eight. She then advanced to her first semifinal here since 2013 with a win over Venus Williams, where she saw off Belinda Bencic. In the final, young wildcard Bianca Andreescu defeated Kerber in three sets to win the title. At the Miami Open next, Kerber crossed paths with Andreescu once again, in the third round this time, and lost. in three sets. Kerber notably called her opponent "biggest drama queen ever" during their handshake after the match, owing to the multiple medical time-outs the latter had taken during the match. She then recorded a semifinal run at the Monterrey Open where she was the top seed but lost to Victoria Azarenka in three sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber her clay season in Stuttgart where she made the quarterfinals, but then had to withdraw in the second round of Madrid, having defeated Lesia Tsurenko in straight sets prior, owing to an injury in her right thigh. At the French Open, Kerber lost in the first round to Russian youngster Anastasia Potapova. That match, notably, was the first one played on the newly rebuilt Court Philippe Chatrier. Her form would improve on grass, however, as she started out with a semifinal run in Mallorca where she was the top seed. She followed that up with a runner-up finish in Eastbourne, where she lost to Karolína Plíšková, their fifth encounter in a championship match. However, at the Wimbledon Championships defending champion Kerber was shocked by lucky loser Lauren Davis in the second round. As a result of this defeat, she fell out of the top 10, and then parted ways with her coach Schüttler.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber's dip in form stretched through the US Open Series as she was inflicted with a four-match losing streak, including a second-round loss at the US Open in the hands of Kristina Mladenovic. After that defeat, Kerber stated in her post-match interview that she had not reserved plans to find a new coach nor hire former coach Torben Beltz. At the Pan Pacific Open, Kerber won consecutive matches for the first time in three months by seeing off Americans in Nicole Gibbs and Madison Keys to reach the semifinals, where she lost to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: In her closing two events of 2019, the Wuhan and China Opens, Kerber managed just one win, over Zhang Shuai in the opening round of the latter. She subsequently withdrew from the Luxembourg Open and the WTA Elite Trophy due to a leg injury, thus finishing the year as world No. 20. On 21 November, Kerber announced that she has hired former world No. 130 Dieter Kindlmann as her coach.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber started her 2020 season in Brisbane, her last appearance here coming back in 2017. However, she was bounced in the opening round by home star Samantha Stosur in two tiebreak sets. Next, at the Adelaide International, she beat Wang Qiang in straight sets to open her tournament here before retiring against eventual runner-up Dayana Yastremska due to a left hamstring injury. At the Australian Open, 17th seed Kerber made the fourth round here for the seventh time in her career, but was defeated by 30th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in three sets. That was Kerber's last tournament appearance before the 2020 season went into a lockdown following the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: In late July, Kerber reunited with her former coach, Torben Beltz, with whom she captured her first two Grand Slam titles. Her first appearance since the tour suspension was lifted came at the US Open where she lost to eventual semifinalist Jennifer Brady in the fourth round. She finished her season with back-to-back defeats at the Italian and French Opens, in the hands of Siniaková and Kaja Juvan, respectively. She would subsequently end the year ranked world No. 25, her lowest since 2011.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber opened her 2021 season in Melbourne, entering the Gippsland Trophy, a modified warm-up tournament as part of the 2021 Melbourne Summer Series. However, it was later discovered that her flight to Melbourne carried a COVID-19 infected passenger, forcing her into a mandatory and strict hotel quarantine for two weeks which severely limited her practicing opportunities besides preventing her from participating in the aforementioned tournament.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: The situation was, however, remedied with the creation of the Grampians Trophy. Seeded eighth, Kerber's run in this tournament returned wins over the likes of Kateřina Siniaková and Ons Jabeur before being defeated by Maria Sakkari in the quarterfinals. At the Australian Open, she crashed out in the opening round to fellow lefty Bernarda Pera in straight sets, citing her lack of preparedness from her strict quarantine.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: The ensuing months of 2021, until the French Open in late May would prove to be a tough one for Kerber as she netted in just six wins across seven tournaments played, and winning consecutive matches on just one occasion in the same stretch, at the Italian Open, where she beat Alizé Cornet and defending champion Simona Halep, the latter via retirement, before taking a loss in the hands of Jeļena Ostapenko. At the French Open, she was bounced at the first hurdle here for the fifth time in past six appearances, this time to Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina in straight sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber's resurgence in 2021, however, did come, on the grass. After an early exit to Victoria Azarenka in Berlin, she won the title at the inaugural Bad Homburg Open, having need to come back from a set down in each of her quarterfinal and semifinal matches, against Amanda Anisimova and Petra Kvitová, respectively, to make her third final in a row on grass, and her first since Eastbourne two years ago. She defeated Siniaková in the final for her third title on grass, her first since Wimbledon in 2018 and the 13th of her career.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Seeded 25th at Wimbledon, Kerber navigated her way past the likes of Nina Stojanović, Sara Sorribes Tormo, Aliaksandra Sasnovich and 20th seed Coco Gauff to reach the quarterfinals here for the fifth time in her career. She then saw off 19th seed Karolína Muchová to advance to her fourth semifinal appearance here. There, she lost to world No. 1 and eventual champion Ashleigh Barty in straight sets, despite having served for the second set.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber's first tournament of the year's US Open Series was the Cincinnati Masters, where she defeated Maria Sakkari in the first round in straight sets, before recording her first win over Elina Svitolina in seven meetings in the second round. She next defeated Jeļena Ostapenko, despite twice being a break down in the third set, before advancing to the semifinal after Petra Kvitová retired from their quarterfinal match. The quarterfinal match against Petra Kvitová was Angelique Kerber's 1000th match in her professional career. In the semifinal, she notched her second loss in straight sets to again, eventual champion Barty.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: As the 16th seed at the US Open, Kerber fought to take her campaign to the distance, but she was ultimately ousted in the round of 16, matching her performance from the preceding year. In a first-round thriller against Dayana Yastremska, Kerber was down a set and a break in the deciding set, but she was able to force a tiebreak after Yastremska was serving for the match; in the end, after dropping her serve just once in the tiebreak, she was able to take the match. Following a straight-set win over Anhelina Kalinina in the second round to avenge her loss in the French Open earlier in the year, she encountered Sloane Stephens, an opponent she had lost to on five prior occasions. Though Stephens took the first set, Kerber maintained her offensive tactics and won the match by taking the next two sets. The victory set her up for a match with Leylah Fernandez, who had just defeated defending champion Naomi Osaka; in a grueling three-set match that included a second set tiebreak, which saw Fernandez fight her way back into the match, Kerber lost the third set to end her road at the last Grand Slam of 2021.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber took on her last tournament of the year at the Indian Wells Masters. The defending finalist entered as the tenth seed and started her campaign with another grueling three-set match, this time in a rematch against Bad Homburg finalist Siniaková. After she lost the second set tiebreak, she was able to hold off Siniaková in the third set to take the match. She followed up the win with another three-set match that pit her against 2018 finalist Kasatkina; after decisively losing the second set, she saved break points when serving for the third set to win the match. Kerber then handed a straight-set loss to Ajla Tomljanović in the round of 16 to set up a first-time encounter with eventual champion Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals. Kerber dropped the first set and was down a double break in the second set but she saved match points to tie the set before Badosa broke her for a last time to win the match.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Due to her success throughout the season, Kerber returned to the top 10 for the first time since July 2019, reaching No. 9 on 1 November 2021.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber started off the year having to cancel her preparations for the first Grand Slam of the year when a positive test for coronavirus forced her to skip Sydney. Then, in the first round of the 2022 Australian Open, she fell to Kaia Kanepi by a score of 4-6, 3-6.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: The Middle Eastern swing provided more woes for Kerber as she withdrew from Dubai and lost against an in-form Jil Teichmann in Doha with a score 6-4, 3-6, 2-6.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: She returned to Indian Wells in March, posting two wins against Zheng Qinwen and Daria Kasatkina. However, she came up against Iga Świątek and lost 6-4, 2-6, 3-6.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: In the 2022 Miami Open, Kerber had a difficult match-up in the first round against Naomi Osaka. Osaka breezed past Angelique, with Angelique losing 2-6, 3-6.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: The Billie Jean King Cup was the beginning to Kerber’s clay season. She lost both singles ties at the hands of Yulia Putintseva and Elena Rybakina. In both encounters, She won the first set, but went on to lose in three sets.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Appearing in her home country of Germany for the first time this season, Angelique drew Anett Kontaveit in the first round. She lost 6-3, 4-6, 4-6.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber pulled out of the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open citing a cold. She went to the 2022 Italian Open (tennis) in Rome, and subsequently lost to Coco Gauff in two sets 1-6, 4-6.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: The clay season turned around for Kerber at the 2022 Internationaux de Strasbourg. Following a last minute wildcard for Kerber, she went on to post 5 wins, securing her 14th career title. She defeated Diane Parry, Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Magda Linette, Océane Dodin, and Kaja Juvan. Her final match against Juvan lasted 3 hours and 16 minutes. Kerber struck 83 winners to Juvan’s 83, making this one of the highest quality matches in women’s tennis. Angelique Kerber became the third woman, behind Maria Sharapova and Justine Henin, to win titles on outdoor red clay, indoor red clay and green clay. At the French Open, Kerber lost in the third round to Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets. At the Wimbledon, Kerber lost in the third round to Elise Mertens in straight sets. Kerber had 28 unforced errors in the match compared to 14 for Mertens.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: On August 24 she announced that she would not be competing at the 2022 US Open due to her being pregnant.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber is a defensive baseliner, who has been noted for her speed, agility, athleticism, and footwork. She is known for her counterpunching style of play, extending rallies to attempt to draw an error out of more aggressive players, and to be able to hit low-risk winners with ease.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber has powerful groundstrokes, allowing her to hit winners from frequently defensive positions. Her forehand is widely considered her most dangerous weapon, with her being able to hit powerful shots with disguise and speed; she is capable of hitting extreme angles with her forehand, which is responsible for many of the winners she accumulates on the court. Her forehand is hit with a short backswing, allowing her to flatten out her forehand, and generate considerable power. Her best shot is her forehand down-the-line. Kerber is known for hitting her backhand whilst squatting, allowing her to generate considerable power and to create sharp angles on the court; she typically utilises her backhand for defensive purposes, however. Her serve is considered her major weakness, rarely serving aces and hitting, on average, fewer service winners than many of her fellow players, with her first serve speed typically peaking at just 104 mph (167 km/h). Her second serve is a particular weakness, and is highly susceptible to attack, meaning that she rarely wins more than 50 percent of second serve points.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Despite her weaknesses on serve, Kerber is proficient at defending her serve with her outstanding athleticism. Kerber, however, is one of the best returners on the WTA Tour, ranking consistently in the top 50 players based on percentage of return points won. Kerber experiences her greatest success when she plays with an aggressive mindset, despite her defensive playing style; her occasional slumps in form can be attributed to an over-reliance upon her defensive skills, and an unwillingness to play points aggressively. Kerber's favourite surface is grass, as the fast pace and low bounce afforded on grass courts suits her defensive playing style, although she has had success on hard courts, as well.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber is currently based in the Polish town of Puszczykowo, a suburb of Poznań, where her maternal grandfather owns an indoor tennis facility.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber speaks German, Polish and English, and also holds dual German-Polish citizenship. She has competed for Germany throughout her career. In an interview, Kerber clarified that, despite strong Polish connection, she considers herself German: "I am German. I play for Germany, I grew up in Germany, and my heart beats for Germany"; however, another time she said: "my heart beats for Poland too".


title: Angelique Kerber

text: A huge football fan, Kerber has cited German club FC Bayern Munich as her favourite team. Kerber has frequently cited former German tennis player Steffi Graf as her childhood idol and her motivation for pursuing tennis.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber is Catholic, telling "Emotion" Magazine: "[F]aith is important to me... Christian values continue to shape me to this day. In difficult moments, faith in God is an anchor for me. Whereby faith has different forms for me and also comes into play in believing in oneself and one's own path".


title: Angelique Kerber

text: On August 24, 2022, Kerber announced that she was taking a break from tennis due to pregnancy. "Bild" reports the father of Kerber's child is Franco Bianco, manager of Königstein im Taunus.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber has endorsement deals with Adidas, her clothing and shoe sponsor, and Yonex, her racquet sponsor. Kerber uses a discontinued Yonex Vcore SI 100. In early 2015, she became global ambassador of Stuttgart car manufacturer Porsche. In late 2016 she signed a deal with insurance group Generali. In late 2016, she became beauty ambassador for the US cosmetics company Bare Minerals, a Shiseido brand. In 2017, she became the global brand ambassador for Australian health snack brand Slim Secrets and signed with both the Swiss luxury watchmaker Rolex and the software corporation SAP. Kerber has also been named ambassador for children's charity UNICEF. In August 2019, Kerber announced that she became a brand ambassador for Head and Shoulders Suprême. In November 2019, Kerber announced that she became a brand ambassador for Ole Lynggaard Copenhagen. In December 2019, she was named tournament ambassador of the inaugural Bad Homburg Open, which due to the COVID-19 pandemic, did not occur until 2021.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Her portfolio of endorsements has made her the second highest-paid female athlete in the world in the annual Forbes list of 2017.


title: Angelique Kerber

text: Kerber has been coached in the past by Torben Beltz (2003—2004, 2011–2013, 2015–2017), Wim Fissette (November 2017–October 2018), Rainer Schüttler (November 2018–July 2019) and Dieter Kindlmann (November 2019–July 2020). In July 2020, she began working with Beltz once again, until they split in November 2021.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: "Like a Prayer" is a song by American singer Madonna from her 1989 fourth studio album of the same name. Sire Records released it as the album's lead single on March 3, 1989. Written and produced by Madonna and Patrick Leonard, the song heralded an artistic and personal approach to songwriting for Madonna, who believed that she needed to cater more to her adult audience. Thematically, "Like a Prayer" speaks about a passionate young girl in love with God, who becomes the only male figure in her life.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: "Like a Prayer" is a pop rock song and incorporates gospel music. It features background vocals from a choir and also a rock guitar. The lyrics contain liturgical words, but they have been interpreted by some people to have dual meanings of sexual innuendo and religion. "Like a Prayer" was acclaimed by music critics and was a commercial success worldwide. In the United States, it was Madonna's seventh number-one single on the "Billboard" Hot 100, where it stayed for three consecutive weeks and topped the record charts in many other countries, including Australia, Canada, Spain, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. "Rolling Stone" listed "Like a Prayer" among "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: The music video for "Like a Prayer", directed by Mary Lambert, portrays Madonna witnessing a young white woman being killed by a group of white men. While a black man is arrested for the murder, Madonna hides in a church for safety, seeking strength to go forth as a witness. The video depicts a church and Catholic symbols such as stigmata. It also features the Ku Klux Klan's burning crosses and a dream about kissing a black saint. The Vatican condemned the video, while family and religious groups protested against its broadcast. They boycotted products by soft drink manufacturer Pepsi, who had used the song in their commercial. The company canceled their sponsorship contract with Madonna, but allowed her to retain the $5 million fee.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: "Like a Prayer" has been featured on five of Madonna's concert tours, most recently on the Madame X Tour in 2019–20. It has been covered by numerous artists. The song is noted for the mayhem surrounding the music video and the various interpretations of its content, leading to discussions among music and film scholars. Along with the parent album, the song has been considered a turning point in Madonna's career, with critics starting to acknowledge her as an artist rather than a mere pop star.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Madonna had not recorded any music throughout most of 1988. Following the critical and commercial failure of back-to-back big-budget films, "Shanghai Surprise" (1986) and "Who's That Girl" (1987), she acted in the Broadway production "Speed-the-Plow". However, the unfavorable reviews once again caused her discomfort. Her marriage to actor Sean Penn ended, leading to the couple filing for divorce in January 1989. Madonna had also turned 30, the age at which her mother had died, and thus the singer experienced more emotional turmoil. She commented in the March 1989 issue of "Rolling Stone" that her Catholic upbringing struck a feeling of guilt in her all the time:


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Once you're a Catholic, you're always a Catholic—in terms of your feelings of guilt and remorse and whether you've sinned or not. Sometimes I'm wracked with guilt when I needn't be, and that, to me, is left over from my Catholic upbringing. Because in Catholicism you are born a sinner and you are a sinner all of your life. No matter how you try to get away from it, the sin is within you all the time.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Madonna also understood that as she was growing up, so was her core audience. Feeling the need to attempt something different, she wanted the sound of her new album to dictate what could be popular in the music world. The singer had certain personal matters on her mind that she thought could be the musical direction of the album. For the title track, Madonna chose topics that until then had been personal meditations never shared with the general public. She perused her personal journals and diaries, and began considering options. She recalled, "What was it I wanted to say? I wanted the album to speak to things on my mind. It was a complex time in my life."


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: As Madonna considered her alternatives, producers Patrick Leonard and Stephen Bray were experimenting with instrumental tracks and musical ideas for her consideration. Both of them wanted to bring their unique style to the project and composed music for the title track. Eventually, Madonna felt that the music presented to her by Leonard was more interesting, and she started to work with him. Once Madonna had conceptualized the way she would interpose her ideas with the music, she wrote "Like a Prayer" in about three hours. Writing and producing it with Leonard, it became the first song developed for the album. The singer has described "Like a Prayer" as the song of a passionate young girl "so in love with God that it is almost as though He were the male figure in her life."


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Madonna's further inspiration for the track came from the Catholic belief of transubstantiation. She introduced liturgical words in the track, but changed the context so that the lyrics had dual meaning. With superficial pop lyrics about sexuality and religion on the surface, the song had different meaning underneath to provoke reaction from her listeners. Leonard explained that he was not comfortable with the lyrics and the sexual innuendos present in it. He gave the example of the first verse for "Like a Prayer" which goes "When you call my name, It's like a little prayer, I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there." Leonard saw that this could also refer to someone performing fellatio; aghast, he requested that Madonna change the line, but she was adamant about keeping it.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Madonna wanted to have gospel music as part of the song, with virtually no instrumentation, only the sound of an organ and her singing. She started experimenting using just her vocals, prior to the bridge being composed. After the full song was finalized, Madonna and Leonard decided to record it alongside a choir around September 1988. Both of them met with musician Andraé Crouch and vocalist Roberto Noriega, and signed their choir to provide background vocals. Crouch scrutinized the lyrics as he wanted to "find out what the intention of the song might be. We're very particular in choosing what we work with, and we liked what we heard." At Jonny Yuma recording studio, he got his choir together and explained to them what they needed to do during the recording session. He had listened to the demo of "Like a Prayer" in his car, and directed the choir accordingly. The choir was recorded separately, and Leonard wanted it to be added during post-production.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Recording took more time than usual since Madonna and Leonard fought "tooth and nail" in the studio. According to author Lucy O'Brien, the singer wanted to prove that her second chance as a record producer (following her previous album "True Blue") was not a fluke. Leonard started working on the chord changes for the verses and the chorus. He had hired guitarist Bruce Gaitsch and bass guitar player Guy Pratt to work on the track. Pratt had in turn hired some additional drummers. On the day of the recording, the drummers canceled, which irritated Madonna, and she started shouting and swearing profusely at Leonard and Pratt. The producer then hired British drum and guitar players such as Chester Kamen, along with Americans David Williams and Dann Huff. He commented that the choice was deliberate since he was a fan of British rock, and wanted that kind of attitude and quirkiness of the musicians in "Like a Prayer", as well as the other songs of the album. Pratt was not fired, but later he realized that Madonna did not forgive him; she would call him at late nights for his opinion, and urgently ask him to come to the recording studio, only to be dismissed.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Madonna had her own opinion of how the different musical instruments should be played to achieve the sound that she envisioned. Pratt recalled that after the middle chorus was recorded, she notified the musicians of some changes in the production. "Jonathan, do less of the high-hat in the middle eight, and more of a fill towards the end. Guy, I want duck eggs <nowiki>[</nowiki>semibreves<nowiki>]</nowiki> on the end, and Chester, bring in your guitar on the second verse," she instructed. The team checked the instructions once more, and did a final recording with vocals and one with the strings. Gaitsch heard Madonna telling Leonard that no further recording was to be done for the song. Leonard then gave the track to Bill Bottrell for the mixing process. But the producer felt that the bongos and the Latin Percussion would sound really mismatched if Crouch's choir was added, so he removed them. For the introduction, Leonard used some guitar recordings by musician Prince, who had been asked by Madonna to contribute to the track. He recalled in 2014 that no other music by Prince was used on the release, but some effects around the choruses might have been his. Shep Pettibone and Bill Bottrell remixed the 12" versions of the track.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: "Like a Prayer" is a dance-pop, pop rock and gospel song that also incorporates elements of funk music. According to the sheet music published in Musicnotes.com, the song follows a time signature of common time, and was composed in the key of D minor, with a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute. Madonna's vocals range from the notes of A to F. "Like a Prayer" starts with a Dm–C/D–Gm/D–Dm chord progression in the opening chorus, and a Dm–C/E–C–B–F/A sequence in the verses. The album version features bass guitar by Guy Pratt doubled by an analogue Minimoog bass synthesizer, while the 7" version has a different bass part played by Randy Jackson. "Like a Prayer" was also remixed by Shep Pettibone for the 12" single of the song; a re-edited version of Pettibone's mix is featured on Madonna's 1990 compilation album "The Immaculate Collection".


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: The song begins with the sound of heavy rock guitar that is suddenly cut off after a few seconds, and replaced with the choir and the sound of an organ. Madonna sings the opening lines accompanied by light percussion, as drums start during the first verse. The percussion and the choir sound are added interchangeably between the verses and the bridges, until the second chorus. At this point the guitars start flickering from left to right, accompanied by a bassline. Rikky Rooksby, author of "The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna", commented that "Like a Prayer" was the most complex track that Madonna had ever attempted at that point. He believed that the complexity builds up more after the second chorus, when the choir fully supports Madonna's vocals and she re-utters the opening lines, but this time accompanied by a synthesizer and drum beats. While singing "Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there, Just like a muse to me, You are a mystery", an R&B-influenced voice backs Madonna. The song ends with a final repetition of the chorus and the choir gradually fading out.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Taraborrelli noted in "Madonna: An Intimate Biography" that the lyrics of the song consist of "a series of button-pushing anomalies". With Madonna's inclusion of double entendres in the lyrics, "Like a Prayer" sounded religious to him but has an undertone of sexual tension. This was achieved by the gospel choir, whose voice heightens the song's spiritual nature, while the rock guitar sound keeps it dark and mysterious. For O'Brien, the lyrics describe Madonna receiving a vocation from God. Certain portions of the lyrics also alluded to Sean Penn and their failed marriage. According to Priya Elan from "NME", the line "Just like a muse to me, You are a mystery" was an example of this, befitting the description of an unattainable lover. This was also evident in the artwork for the 12" version, painted by her brother, Christopher Ciccone. It shows the letters MLVC, standing for Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone, with a prominent letter P for Penn, detached from the group.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Following the release of "Like a Prayer" on March 3, 1989, it received widespread acclaim from critics, journalists and academics. Taraborrelli commented that the track "deserved every bit of the curiosity it generated. While being devilishly danceable, the song also shows Madonna's uncanny ability to inspire strong, conflicting emotions during the course of a single song, leaving the listener scratching his head for answers—and craving for more." Stephen Holden from "The New York Times", while writing about Madonna's re-invention of her image, observed how her sound had changed from the "simple blaring dance-pop to the rich, fully rounded pop of 'Like a Prayer". Lucy O'Brien felt that the most remarkable aspect of "Like a Prayer" was Madonna's usage of liturgical words. "There is the surface meaning, forging sexuality with pop lyrics that sound so sweet. But underlying that is a rigorous mediation on prayer. In shorter words, 'Like a Prayer' really takes you there," she concluded. This view was shared by Mary Cross, who wrote in her biography of Madonna that "the song is a mix of the sacred and the profane. There-in lies Madonna's triumph with 'Like a Prayer'. It still sounds catchy and danceable."


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: From the academic world, positive reviews came from Michael Campbell, author of "Popular Music in America: And the Beat Goes On", who felt that the soothing melody of the track resembles British singer Steve Winwood's 1986 single "Higher Love". The author noted the song for merging disparate and contradictory musical features in it. He found that the simple melody of "Like a Prayer" offered an easy listen, but the contrasts in sound, rhythm and texture appealed to different target audiences. Australian rock music journalist Toby Creswell wrote in his book "1001 Songs" that "'Like a Prayer' is a beautifully crafted devotional song in the guise of perfect pop. God is the drum machine here." Scholar Georges Claude Guilbert, author of "Madonna as Postmodern Myth: How One Star's Self-Construction Rewrites Sex, Gender, Hollywood and the American Dream", noted that there is a polysemy in "Like a Prayer" since the singer addresses either God or her lover, and in doing so "Madonna achieves the gold-card of attaining her own divinity. Whenever someone calls her name, it alludes to the song". Theologian Andrew Greeley compared "Like a Prayer" with the biblical Song of Songs. Greeley, although focusing more on the video, acknowledged the fact that sexual passion may be revelatory, and complimented Madonna for glorifying ideologies of female subjectivity and womanhood in the song.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Positive reviews also came from contemporary music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic called the track "haunting" and felt that it displayed a commanding sense of Madonna's songcraft. According to "Rolling Stone"s Gavin Edwards, it sounded glorious and "is the most transgressive—and the most irresistible" song of Madonna's career. Jim Farber from "Entertainment Weekly" commented that the "gospel-infused title track demonstrates that [the singer's] writing and performing had been raised to heavenly new heights". In a review for "The Immaculate Collection" compilation album, David Browne of the same publication wrote about the composition, which he felt "added poignancy to its spiritual lyrics". Also from "Entertainment Weekly", Chuck Arnold wrote that "from the moment Madonna sings atop that solemn organ and the hushed tones of a choir, 'Like a Prayer' goes on to achieve a spiritual transcendence that makes this her supreme single [...] balancing the sacred and the secular to ecstatic effect, the whole thing takes you there again and again". Sal Cinquemani from "Slant Magazine" was impressed with the production of the song, complimenting its "church-like" reverence and the religious sentiments. Writing for "Billboard", Katie Atkinson ranked it as the singer's 2nd greatest song: "One of the main reasons the lyrics work so well is that she could be singing about a monogamous relationship, a powerful sexual connection, a platonic loved one, or even God him (or her) self [...] Life might be a mystery, but the mastery of this song is irrefutable".


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: In the United States, "Like a Prayer" debuted at number 38 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, and reached the top of the chart on the issue dated April 22, 1989. It was number one for three weeks, before being replaced by Bon Jovi's "I'll Be There for You". The track topped the Dance Club Songs chart, while reaching number three on the Adult Contemporary chart and number 20 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop songs chart. "Like a Prayer" was ranked at number 25 on the 1989 Hot 100 year-end chart, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in May 1989, for shipment of a million copies of the single. According to Nielsen SoundScan, it has also sold 1.1 million digital downloads as of December 2016. In Canada, the song reached the top of the "RPM" Singles Chart in its ninth week. It was present on the chart for 16 weeks and was the top-selling single in Canada for 1989.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: In Australia, "Like a Prayer" debuted on the ARIA Singles Chart at number three on March 19, 1989. The next week it reached the top of the chart, and stayed there for another four weeks. It was present for a total of 22 weeks on the chart, and was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipment of 70,000 copies of the single. "Like a Prayer" was also the top-selling single in Australia in 1989. In New Zealand, the song had a similar run as in Australia, by debuting at number three on the RIANZ Singles Chart, and reaching number one the next week. It was present for a total of 13 weeks on the chart. The track became Madonna's seventh number one single in Japan, and occupied the top position of the Oricon Singles chart for three weeks.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: In the United Kingdom, the song entered the UK Singles Chart at number two, before moving to the top the next week, remaining there for three weeks. Madonna became the artist with the most number-one singles of the 1980s in the UK, with a total of six chart-toppers. "Like a Prayer" became the tenth best-selling song of 1989 in the UK, with the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certifying it gold, for shipment of 400,000 copies of the single. According to the Official Charts Company, it has sold 850,500 copies there as of April 2019. In Italy, the song spent 9 consecutive weeks at the top of the "Musica e dischi" charts. Across Europe, the track reached number one in Belgium, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. It was Madonna's fifth number one song on the European Hot 100 Singles chart, reaching the top on March 25, 1989, and staying at number one for 12 weeks. "Like a Prayer" ranked at number two on the 1989 tabulation for European singles. After the "Glee" episode "The Power of Madonna" was broadcast, "Like a Prayer" again entered the chart at number 47, on May 15, 2010. The song went on to sell over five million copies worldwide.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: The highly controversial music video for "Like a Prayer" was directed by Mary Lambert and was shot in January 1989 at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood, California, and at San Pedro Hills in San Pedro, California. Madonna wanted the video to be more provocative than anything she had done before. She wanted to address racism by having the video depict a mixed-race couple being shot by the Ku Klux Klan. But on further thinking she finalized on another provocative theme to keep with the song's religious connotations. The singer would play the song over and over again and wanted the visuals to display,


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Lambert had a different visual aspect of the song on her mind. She felt that it was more about ecstasy, especially a sexual one, and how it related to religious ecstasy. She listened to the song with Madonna a number of times and together decided to include the ecstasy part. A sub-plot about Madonna as a homicide witness was included, which became the trigger for the sexual and religious ecstasy. Actor Leon Robinson was hired to play the role of a saint; the part was inspired by Martin de Porres, the patron saint of mixed-race people and all those seeking interracial harmony.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: The video was shot over four days, with an extra day allotted for re-shooting some of the scenes. Originally Lambert had casts taken of Robinson's face, hand and feet to create the statue of the saint which would be used as a decoration. The actor only enacted the live scenes. However during post-production, Lambert found that the statue did not look like Robinson, who was asked to re-shoot the respective scenes. He had to act as the statue and required special make-up for the retakes. The actor recalled that standing like a statue was difficult since "first of all, I didn't realize how hard it is on the back to stand absolutely tall and straight and not move. Secondly, as a performer you have this nervous energy—and my requirements here were total antithesis of that."


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Throughout the video, Madonna wears a cleavage-baring slip dress as outerwear, then seen as a provocative choice. The piece was chosen by costume designer Marlene Stewart for its atypical structure, as the dress was made for actress Natalie Wood to be worn under a costume.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: The video begins with Madonna witnessing a young white woman being assaulted and murdered by a group of men, but she is too frozen in fear to protest. A black man walking down the alley also sees the incident and runs to help the woman, but the murderers flee just as the police arrive. The police mistakenly suspect the black man of being the killer and arrest him. The real murderers give a threatening look towards Madonna and leave. She flees the crime scene and escapes to a church. There she sees a caged statue of a saint who resembles the black man on the street. As the song starts, she utters a prayer in front of the statue which appears to be crying.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Madonna lies down on a pew and has a dream in which she is falling through space. Suddenly, a woman, representing power and strength, catches her. She advises Madonna to do what is right and tosses her back up. Still dreaming, Madonna returns to the statue, which transforms into the black man she had seen earlier. He kisses her forehead and leaves the church as she picks up a knife and accidentally cuts herself, making the sign of the stigmata on her hands. Interspersing scenes show Madonna singing and dancing wildly in front of burning crosses, kissing scenes between her and the saint, and the singer being surrounded by a choir inside the church, led by the woman who caught her earlier. Madonna wakes up, goes to the jail and tells the police that she had witnessed the crime and that the black man is innocent; the police release him. The video ends as Madonna dances in front of the burning crosses, and then everybody involved in the story line take a bow as curtains come down on the set.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: In January 1989, while the music video was still being filmed, Pepsi-Cola announced that they had signed Madonna for US$5 million deal to feature the singer and "Like a Prayer" for the company's television commercial. The deal also included Pepsi sponsoring Madonna's next world tour. Madonna wanted to use the commercial to launch "Like a Prayer" globally before its actual release—the first time something like this was being done in the music industry. Pepsi also benefited from having their product associated with Madonna, thereby creating promotion. According to the company's advertising head Alan Pottasch, "the global media buy and unprecedented debut of this long awaited single will put Pepsi first and foremost in consumer's minds". Madonna had initially refused to dance and sing in the commercial, but later accepted after being introduced to choreographer Vince Paterson.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Pepsi premiered the commercial during the global telecast of the 31st Grammy Awards in February 1989. A week later, the advertisement was aired during NBC's sitcom "The Cosby Show", which was one of the most popular shows of that time. Titled "Make a Wish", the two-minute commercial portrayed Madonna going back in time to her childhood memories. It starts as the singer watches a video of her childhood birthday party. While reminiscing, she interchanges places with her young self. The young Madonna roams aimlessly around the grown-up Madonna's room, while the latter dances with her childhood friends on the street and inside a bar. The commercial continues as Madonna dances inside a church, surrounded by a choir and her child self discovering her old doll. As both of them are interchanged again, the grown-up Madonna looks towards the TV and says, "Go ahead, make a wish". Both the Madonnas raise their Pepsi cans to each other, and the young Madonna blows out the candles on her birthday cake.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: An estimated 250 million people around the world viewed the commercial, which was directed by Joe Pytka. Pepsi-Cola Company spokesman Todd MacKenzie said that the advertisement was planned to be aired simultaneously in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America. Bob Garfield from the "Advertising Age" observed that from "Turkey to El Salvador to anytown USA, around 500 million eyes [were] glued to the screen." Leslie Savan from "The Village Voice" noted that the commercial qualified as a "hymn to the global capabilities of the age of electronic reproductions; it celebrates the pan-cultural ambitions of both soda pop and pop star."


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: The day after Madonna's Pepsi commercial was released, Madonna released the actual Like a Prayer music video on MTV. Christian groups worldwide including the Vatican condemn Pepsi's links with Madonna and called for a global boycott of Pepsi and its subsidiaries, including KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. While the Like a Prayer Pepsi commercial portrayed Madonna as a wholesome all-American girl, the treatment for her actual music video contrasted sharply with its provocative use of religious imagery. Pepsi explained the differences between their advertisement and Madonna's artistic opinions. Ultimately Pepsi caved in to the protests from hardline Christian groups and cancelled the campaign. According to Taraborrelli, Pepsi was so eager to extricate themselves from the controversy that they even allowed Madonna to keep the $5 million advance.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: While most TV stations banned the music video, MTV remained one of the only channels to air the music video on heavy rotation. The controversies leading to her 'Like a Prayer' music video introduced the concept of free publicity and became a turning point where Madonna was viewed as a shrewd businesswoman who knows how to sell a concept;


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: The video received mostly positive response from the journalist and critics. Jamie Portman from "The Daily Gazette" felt that the clip could be "vulnerable to charges of being blatantly provocative in its calculated blending of sex and religion". David Rosenthal from "The Spokesman-Review" found the video as "visually stunning"; however, Edna Gundersen from "USA Today" did not understand the media mayhem behind the clip. She pointed out that "Madonna is a good girl in the video. She saves someone. What is the big deal?..." Among music critics, Phil Kloer from "Record-Journal" felt that whether one condemns the video as anti-Christian or racist, "It's condemnable on the face of it because it exploits a symbol of evil [the burning crosses of the Ku Klux Klan] as a fabulous source of light and rake up album sales." Writing for the "Los Angeles Times", Chris Willman complimented the video for its portrayal of a love song, rather than blasphemy. He was more interested in the stigmata presented in the clip. Taraborrelli described his thoughts: "Madonna danced with such abundance in [the video], as if she knew that she was about to cause a commotion, and couldn't wait to see how it would unfold."


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards, "Like a Prayer" was nominated in the Viewer's Choice and Video of the Year categories, winning the former. Ironically, the award show was sponsored by Pepsi that year, and when Madonna came onstage to receive the award she added, "I would really like to thank Pepsi for causing so much controversy." "Like a Prayer" also topped video countdowns and critic lists. It was number one on MTV's countdown of "100 Videos That Broke The Rules" in 2005, and for the 25th anniversary of MTV, viewers voted it as the "Most Groundbreaking Music Video of All Time". In addition, the clip was ranked at number 20 on "Rolling Stone"s "The 100 Top Music Videos" and at number two on VH1's 100 Greatest Videos. Fuse TV named "Like a Prayer" one of its 10 "Videos That Rocked The World". In a 2011 poll by "Billboard", "Like a Prayer" was voted the second best music video of the 1980s, behind only "Michael Jackson's Thriller".


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Scholars and academics have offered different interpretations of the music video and its story line. Allen Metz, one of the authors of "The Madonna Companion: Two Decades of Commentary", noted that when Madonna enters the church at the beginning of the clip, the line "I hear you call my name, And it feels like... Home" is played. The women of Italian East Harlem in New York call their Church as "la casa di momma" (Momma's House). In that respect, Metz believed that Madonna alluded herself to be one from Harlem, but also refers herself as divinity returning to the Church. This divine aspect is further explored by Nicholas B. Dirks, author of "Culture/power/history", who argued that Madonna falling into a dream is the most important point of the narrative as it signified that "Madonna is really not putting herself in place of the redeemer, but imagining herself as one."


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Santiago Fouz-Hernández wrote in his book, "Madonna's Drowned Worlds", that the Black woman who catches Madonna when she is falling through heaven in her dream, is a symbol for the divinity, as she helps Madonna throughout the video to come to the correct decision. Fouz-Hernández explained how the physical similarity between Madonna and woman indicated that it was actually Madonna's inner divinity which was rescuing her. When the singer accidentally cuts her hand on the dagger, it was described as receiving stigmata by scholar Robert McQueen Grant, who believed that the scene marked Madonna as having an important role to play in the narrative. This was evident when the crime scene is shown in detail, and an identification is established between Madonna and the victim. Freya Jarman-Ivens, coauthor with Fouz-Hernández, noted that the woman cries out for help when Madonna sings the line "When you call my name, It's like a little prayer". However, Madonna could not do anything thus portraying failure of divinity to save. Jarman-Ivens also noted the look between the gang member and Madonna, which she thought was a complicity of "White men rape/kill women, white men blame it on Black men; Women are raped/killed for being on the streets at night, Black men are nevertheless thrown in jail."


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Other themes noted by Metz include the burning crosses scene, which he felt evoked the murder scene of three civil workers, portrayed in the 1988 American crime drama film "Mississippi Burning". He also noted that when Madonna dances with the choir in the church altar, a young Black boy joins her. This was a reference to the only person who had protested against the Ku Klux Klan murders in "Mississippi Burning", a Black man. For the author, it was symbolic of his protest being transferred in Madonna. Regarding the kissing scene between the saint and Madonna, Carol Benson observed that the "numerous cut-scenes of burning crosses, shocked face of Madonna, bleeding eye of the icon etc" made a point that multiple times in history, black men have been punished for kissing or desiring white women. Grant believed this was where the racial equality message of the video came across as most poignant. On the contrary, when the curtain falls and the scene shifts to a smiling Madonna among the burning crosses, professor Maury Dean felt that another explanation was inevitable. Madonna portrays a successful heroine and thus the whole video becomes about female empowerment.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: The first live performance of "Like a Prayer" was on the 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour. She sang it wearing a dress that looked like a cross between a Mediterranean widow's attire and a clergy's robe. Hundreds of burning candles surrounded her as she knelt down in front of the stage, the backup singers crying the words "Oh my God" several times. Madonna eventually removed a scarf from her head to display a huge crucifix hanging from her neck, and then rose and sang the full song, while her dancers gyrated around her. Two different performances were taped and released on video: the "Blond Ambition: Japan Tour 90", taped in Yokohama, Japan, on April 27, 1990, and "Blond Ambition World Tour Live", taped in Nice, France, on August 5, 1990. On his review of the latter release, "Entertainment Weekly"s Ty Burr praised the "gymnastic dance productions in songs such as 'Where's the Party' and 'Like a Prayer'", calling them "astonishing".


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: In 2003, while doing a set of short promotional performances for her ninth studio album "American Life", Madonna performed an acoustic version of "Like a Prayer" with the choir portion of the song being replaced by guitar sounds. The song was also included in the set list of the Re-Invention World Tour of 2004. Members of the audience were asked to sing along with her, filling in the part of the choir. Madonna was dressed in a black Stella McCartney suit while backup vocalist Siedah Garrett sang the vocals during the intermediate verses; the backdrops displayed a series of Hebrew letters, indicating the 72 names of God. Jim Farber from "New York" magazine complimented Madonna's vocals during the song. The performance was included on the 2006 live album of the tour, titled "I'm Going to Tell You a Secret". Madonna sang a similar version of the song during the Live 8 benefit concert at Hyde Park, London in July 2005. She performed it alongside Birhan Woldu, an Ethiopian woman who, as a malnourished toddler, had appeared in some of the footage of the 1984–85 famine in Ethiopia.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: A dance version of the song, mixed with fragments of the dance track "Feels Like Home" by Meck, was performed in the 2008–09 Sticky & Sweet Tour as part of the rave segment. For the performance, Madonna appeared wearing a breastplate and a short wig. She danced energetically around the whole stage as backup singer Nicki Richards provided vocals during the intermediate solo. Screens displayed a message of equality of religions, as symbols and texts from different scriptures flashed by, including messages from the Bible, Qur'an, Torah and Talmud. Helen Brown from "The Daily Telegraph" declared the performance as one of the highlights of the tour, while Joey Guerra from "Houston Chronicle" compared Madonna rising on a platform with that of a superhero. The performance was included both in the CD and DVD of the live release of the tour, titled "Sticky & Sweet Tour", filmed in Buenos Aires, Argentina from December 4–7, 2008. In January 2010, Madonna performed an acoustic version of the song live during the telethon. Jon Caramanica of "The New York Times" commented: "For 20 years, that song has been the symbol of one of the most tumultuous and controversial periods in Madonna's life. But for five minutes tonight, it was pure, put in service of something bigger than the singer."


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: The track next appeared on the set list for Madonna's Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in 2012, as the closing song. Joined by a choir and singer Cee Lo Green, the singer wore a black robe and sang the song as the stadium was lit with white light. It was also added to the set list for the MDNA Tour the same year. Performed in an energetic gospel version, Madonna and 36 of her back-up singers played the role of a choir and wore long robes, as images of a gothic church and Hebrew letters appeared on the backdrops. Jim Harrington from "The Oakland Tribune" gave the overall concert a negative review but stated that "It wasn't until the last two songs—"Like a Prayer" and "Celebration"—that the whole deal finally clicked". Timothy Finn from "The Kansas City Star" was particularly impressed with the backing choir, calling it "the best use of one since Foreigner's 'I Want to Know What Love Is". The performance of the song at the November 19–20, 2012 shows in Miami, at the American Airlines Arena, were recorded and released in Madonna's fourth live album, "MDNA World Tour".


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: On October 27, 2015, during the Inglewood stop of her Rebel Heart Tour, Madonna sang an acoustic version of "Like a Prayer", asking the crowd to sing along with her. She also performed the song during her concert in Stockholm, Sweden, on November 14, 2015, dedicating it to the victims of the Paris terrorist attacks. The singer subsequently performed the song in other cities during the Asian and Oceanian legs of the tour; one of the performances in Sydney was included as a bonus track on Madonna's fifth live album, "Rebel Heart Tour". Madonna next performed the song during an impromptu concert at Washington Square Park in November 2016, as part of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. On May 7, 2018, she appeared at the Met Gala and performed the song on the Metropolitan Museum of Art's grand staircase. Dressed in a cloak, she was surrounded by background singers standing as monks and church bells tolling.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: In May 2019, Madonna performed "Like a Prayer" and "Future", a collaboration with rapper Quavo from her fourteenth studio album "Madame X", in Tel Aviv, Israel, during the finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. The singer stood atop a high, staircase stage surrounded by hooded dancers in monk-like outfits, and wore an outfit consisting of silver truss with dangling suspenders, thigh boots, a metallic corset, black cape and a black bejeweled eyepatch. It received mixed reviews, with much criticism going to the singer's voice; the Netherlands announcer Emma Wortelboer quipped she was "thankful for Madonna's autotune" during the results segment of the competition. One day later, a video of the performance was uploaded to the singer's official YouTube account, this time her vocals were edited. For the Madame X Tour, she performed it in a "simple" way, with backing from percussion and a choir. For Peter Piatkowski of "PopMatters", the "stripped" nature of the arrangement highlighted the song's composition and structure. In October 2021, while promoting the Madame X tour film, Madonna made a surprise performance in Harlem singing "Dark Ballet", "Sodade" and "La Isla Bonita" at The Red Rooster, and later walked down the streets singing "Like a Prayer" in front of the St. Andrew's Episcopal Church.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: One of the first cover versions of the song was an acoustic version done by folk singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding, for his 1989 extended play, "God Made Me Do It: The Christmas EP". The 1999 and 2000 compilation albums, "Virgin Voices: A Tribute To Madonna, Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2", included a cover of the track by singer Loleatta Holloway and electro-industrial band Bigod 20, respectively. Another version was recorded in 2002 by Hi-NRG/Eurodance group Mad'House, and was included in their album "Absolutely Mad". It was released as a single and was a commercial success, reaching the top of the charts in Austria, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands, the top ten in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia regions), France, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and the top twenty in Denmark and Sweden. On the "Billboard" European Hot 100 Singles chart, it reached a peak of number two. A folk music cover of the song by Lavender Diamond was included on the 2007 Madonna tribute compilation "Through the Wilderness".


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: "Like a Prayer" was featured in an episode of American television series, "Glee", called "The Power of Madonna". It was sung at the end of the episode by the fictional choir New Directions, performed by the "Glee" cast members. The song was released as digital download to the iTunes Store, and was also included on the soundtrack EP, "". The cover version reached number 28 in Australia, number 27 in Canada, number two in Ireland, and number 16 in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the song reached number 27 on the "Billboard" Hot 100, while debuting and peaking on the Hot Digital Songs chart at number ten, with sales of 87,000 copies.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: DJs Meck and Dino created a mashup of the former's 2007 single, "Feels Like Home", with "Like a Prayer" and released it with the name as "Feels Like a Prayer". The song reached the top ten in Belgium (Flanders region) and the Netherlands, while peaking at number 15 in Belgium (Walloon region). In the United States, "Feels Like a Prayer" reached number seven on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart. We Are the Fallen, an American gothic metal band, covered "Like a Prayer" live in 2008. Nick Duerden from "Spin" complimented the performance and the track for being "so successfully pulverized that one wondered whether it wasn't written specifically to become the world's greatest heavy rock anthem." In June 2017, Leonard released a piano ballad version of the track, with vocals from singer Dana Williams. In the same month, Brazilian singer Luiza Possi covered "Like a Prayer" during the show "Domingão do Faustão", in a similar performance to that of Blond Ambition World Tour. She later sang it during the encore of a show in tribute to Michael Jackson, which took place in July.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: "Like a Prayer" is considered to be one of the best songs of Madonna's career. It was ranked sixth on "Blender" magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born", while in 2004 "Rolling Stone" included it in their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, at number 300 (when the magazine updated the list in 2010, the song dropped to number 306). For "NME"s "The Greatest Pop Songs In History" list in 2011, the track was placed at number three. Priya Elan from the publication noted it as Madonna's "calling card", bestowing the singer with a "legendary" status. In 2003, Madonna fans were asked to vote for their "Top 20 Madonna singles of all-time", by "Q" magazine. "Like a Prayer" was allocated the number one spot on the list. It was also listed by both "The Guardian" and "Entertainment Weekly" as Madonna's greatest single. "Rolling Stone" and "Billboard" also ranked the song number one in their lists of the greatest Madonna songs. In 2014, "LA Weekly" placed the song at rank two on their list of "The 20 Best Pop Songs in History By Female Artists". Art Tavana from the publication opined that "'Like a Prayer' was the moment when Madonna went from being the voice of America's teenagers to the worldwide high priestess of pop." In their ranking of the best songs from the 1980s, "Pitchfork" listed "Like a Prayer" at number 50. In 2021, Rolling Stone listed "Like a Prayer" as one of the "500 Best Songs of All Time", at number 55.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Campbell noted that the popularity and the media mayhem around the song and the video, helped introduce the concept of free publicity. "Like a Prayer"s impact was more evident on its parent studio album, which shot to the top of the charts once it was released in April 1989. The author further argued that the controversial clip was evidence of the emergence of the "video commodity as a different entity from the song that spawned it". As author Judith Marcus explained in her book, "Surviving the Twentieth Century", Madonna used the church to make her own point on victimization. For Marcus the main impact lay in the fact that the clip ultimately portrayed an empowerment message, questioning and "attacking" the Church's male prejudice and continuous female subjugation throughout history.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: The song was noted by Campbell for the mix of choir and organ, which according to him paved the way for gospel music to be more mainstream than before. In 1999, the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance held a seminar on the different implications and metaphors present in the song; it was headed by professors Martin Katz, George Shirley and Michael Daugherty. The main topic discussed was the fact that there can be different metaphorical meanings of the song, as the word "like" can be taken in separate contexts.


title: Like a Prayer (song)

text: Taraborrelli commented that "in the end, the events surrounding 'Like a Prayer' only served to enhance Madonna's reputation as a shrewd businesswoman, someone who knows how to sell a concept." Before Madonna's deal with Pepsi, pop stars in general were not given much artistic freedom by sponsors. However, Madonna made it a point to have the commercial be dictated by her. While she said that it was never her intention for Pepsi to get entangled in the controversy of the music video, Taraborrelli observed that Madonna stayed true to herself. Although the commercial intended to promote Pepsi the soft drink, she did not bother to hold even a can of the product, leading the author to comment that "Madonna the pop star was going to do it her way, no matter what Madonna the businesswoman had agreed to do". She maintained all along that the Pepsi commercial and the music video were two different commodities and she was right to stand her ground. Taraborrelli noted that after "Like a Prayer", the recruitment of pop stars and athletes to sell soft drinks became commonplace. However, none of them generated the level of excitement on par with Pepsi's failed deal with Madonna.


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: The Porsche Carrera GT (Project Code 980) is a mid-engine sports car that was manufactured by German automobile manufacturer Porsche from 2004 to 2006. "Sports Car International" named the Carrera GT number one on its list of Top Sports Cars of the 2000s, and number eight on its Top Sports Cars of All Time list. For its advanced technology and development of its chassis, "Popular Science" magazine awarded it the "Best of What's New" award in 2003.


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: The development of the Carrera GT can be traced back to the 911 GT1 and LMP1-98 racing cars. Due in part to the FIA and ACO rule changes in 1998, both designs had ended. Porsche at the time had planned a new Le Mans prototype for the 1999 season.


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: The car was initially intended to use a turbocharged flat-six engine, but was later redesigned to use a new V10 engine, pushing the project back to planned completion in 2000. The V10 was a unit secretly built by Porsche for the Footwork Formula One team in 1992, but later shelved. The engine was resurrected for the Le Mans prototype.


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: The project was canceled after two days of testing for the first car, in mid-1999, mostly due to Porsche's wish to build the Cayenne SUV with involvement from Volkswagen and Audi, thus requiring engineering expertise to be pulled from the motorsports division. It was also speculated that VW-Audi chairman Ferdinand Piëch wanted Audi's new Le Mans Prototype, the Audi R8, not to face competition from Porsche in 2004.


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: Porsche did keep part of the project alive by using the 5.5 L V10 from the prototype in a concept car called the Carrera GT shown at the 2000 Paris Motor Show, mainly in an attempt to draw attention to their display. Surprising interest in the vehicle and an influx of revenue provided from the Cayenne helped Porsche decide to produce the car, and development started on a road-legal version that would be produced in small numbers at Porsche's new manufacturing facility in Leipzig. Porsche started a production run of the Carrera GT in 2004. The first Carrera GT went on sale in the United States on 31 January 2004.


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: Originally a production run of 1,500 cars was planned. However, Porsche announced in August 2005 that it would not continue production of the Carrera GT through to 2006, citing changing airbag regulations in the United States. By the end of production on 6 May 2006, more than 1,270 cars had been sold, with a total of 644 units sold in the United States and 31 units sold in Canada. In the United Kingdom, 49 units were sold.


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: The Carrera GT is powered by a V10 engine rated at , whereas the original concept car featured a 5.5-litre version rated at . A road test in June 2004 by "Car and Driver" showed that the car can accelerate from 0– in 3.5 seconds, 0– in 6.8 seconds and 0– in 10.8 seconds. The official top speed was .


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: The Carrera GT was initially offered with five basic colours: Guards Red, Fayence Yellow, Basalt Black, GT Silver metallic and Seal Grey. Custom colours were later available from the factory. A traditional six-speed manual transmission is the only available transmission.


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: The Carrera GT has large side inlets and air dams that help cool the large V10 engine framed by the carbon fibre rear bonnet. Fitted with Porsche's latest Carbon fibre-reinforced Silicon Carbide (C/SiC) ceramic composite braking system, the SGL Carbon disc brakes are fitted inside the 19 inch front and 20 inch rear 5-spoke alloy wheels. Similar to other Porsche models, such as the 911, the GT includes an electronically operated rear wing which deploys at speeds above .


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: The interior is trimmed in soft leather. Bose audio system and a navigation system were standard. In typical Porsche fashion, the ignition is present to the left of the steering wheel. This placement dates back to the early days of Le Mans racing when drivers were required to make a running start, hop into their cars, start them and begin the race. The placement of the ignition enabled the driver to start the car with the left hand and put it in gear with the right.


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: "Sport Auto" tested a maximal lateral acceleration of 1.35 g, even 1.4 g was reached at the "Schwalbenschwanz" section of the "Nürburgring Nordschleife", "Motor Trend" tested 11.1s at for the .


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: Notable technology includes a pure carbon fibre monocoque and subframe produced by ATR Composites Group of Italy, dry sump lubrication and inboard suspension. At speeds above , the electronically operated rear wing raises into the airstream to reduce lift. The radiator of the Carrera GT is about five times the size of that of a 911 Turbo of its time. The car's front and rear suspension system consists of pushrod actuated shock absorbers and dampers with anti-roll bars.


title: Porsche Carrera GT

text: In 2013, Zagato introduced the Porsche Carrera GTZ based on the Porsche Carrera GT. Commissioned by a Swiss Porsche collector and former racing driver, it has a modified carbon fiber body which is more aerodynamic. The car has the same technical specification as the Porsche Carrera GT.


title: Azovstal iron and steel works

text: The Azovstal iron and steel works, or Metallurgical Combine Azovstal (, ; PFTS: AZST), was a metallurgical facility located in Mariupol in eastern Ukraine, and one of the largest steel rolling companies in the country.


title: Azovstal iron and steel works

text: The Azovstal plant became one of the most emblematic points of the Siege of Mariupol during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The plant had tunnels and bunkers capable of withstanding a nuclear attack, making it an extremely defensible position. As the Russian forces advanced into Mariupol, Ukrainian forces withdrew to Azovstal, and by late April it became the last pocket of Ukrainian resistance. The Battle of Azovstal occurred on the site, resulting in a conditional surrender by the Ukrainian defenders after over a month of resistance.


title: Azovstal iron and steel works

text: The plant was almost completely destroyed by Russian bombardment over the course of the battle. After the capture of Mariupol by the Russians, they announced plans for the plant to be demolished during the city's restoration.


title: Azovstal iron and steel works

text: Azovstal was established in 1930 in Mariupol, Ukrainian SSR (Soviet Union) by the decision of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy (BCHX) (USSR) and began production in 1933 when its blast furnace put out the first iron. In January 1935, steelmaking production began at Azovstal with the commissioning of the first 250-ton tilting open hearth furnace in the Soviet Union.


title: Azovstal iron and steel works

text: Key people involved in the planning of the construction of Azovstal included Sergo Ordzhonikidze (head of the Supreme Soviet of the National Economy), Valerian Kuybyshev (chairman of the State Planning Committee) and the Mariupol native Andrei Zhdanov.


title: Azovstal iron and steel works

text: It was claimed by Soviet Union officials to be one of the most modern plants in the country, with structures built for both workers and their families outside of the factories. Prior to the Nazi invasion, it reportedly had more than 12,000 worker homes, schools, movie theaters, a hospital and maternity clinic, and two parks.


title: Azovstal iron and steel works

text: During World War II, operations were forced to stop in 1941 when Nazi Germany occupied Mariupol. As part of the German (1942–1943) the plant was used to produce ammunition from 1942 onward.