The top-seeded American, playing her first tournament since a disappointing Wimbledon campaign in which a virus slowed her, got her hard-court build-up to the US Open off to a good start and will try to carry the momentum into next week’s tournament at Montreal.
Williams beat third-seeded German Angelique Kerber 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 on Sunday and won the WTA Stanford crown.
This is Williams’s third Stanford trophy and her fourth title of 2014, after triumphs in Brisbane, Miami and Rome.