Pam Shriver on 2016 IMPACT25 honoree Angelique Kerber

— -- Angelique Kerber was sweaty. She had just beaten Johanna Konta in the semifinals of the Australian Open to book a trip to her first major final. Her on-court interview had finished about 30 seconds earlier. Adrenaline pumping, she popped out into a quiet hallway at Rod Laver Arena.

I had just finished my assignment for ESPN and was wandering back to the ESPN compound that hot Thursday Melbourne afternoon. I had just watched Kerber, 28 years old and playing in her 33rd Grand Slam tournament, pull off a crisp, clean match that included just 11 unforced errors to 14 winners.

Kerber had won seven career titles at that point and more than $9 million. She had been ranked in the top 10 for years. She had been to the US Open semifinals in 2011 and the Wimbledon semifinals in 2012. But this -- this 2016 Australian Open moment -- was by far the biggest of her career.

"Well congratulations!" I said.

But she wanted more.

"I can't find anyone from my team," she said (and I swear I could see the excitement and thrill dripping off of her). "I've just gotten to my first major final, and I have nobody to hug."

"You can hug me if you want," I said.

And she did.

Two days later, Kerber went on to beat Serena Williams -- the same Serena Williams who four months earlier was two wins away from a calendar Grand Slam and was holding all four major titles -- in the final to win her first major title.

And Kerber's year just kept getting better from there. In addition to winning the Aussie, she was runner-up (to Serena) at Wimbledon, won the title in her home country at Stuttgart, took silver (to Monica Puig) at the Olympics, took out Petra Kvitova, Roberta Vinci, Caroline Wozniacki and Karolina Pliskova to win the US Open. She started 2016 ranked No. 10 in the world and finished ranked No. 1.

For so many years in women's tennis, we had been looking for that person, who, like Serena, could follow up a great result at a Grand Slam. That player who could make a run to the semis or the final and then back it up. Nobody had been able to do it. But Kerber was able to break that pattern. She backed it up beautifully. From start to finish -- from the Australian Open to the WTA Finals in Singapore, where she lost in the final -- she was the best player in 2016.

I think a lot of her success can be traced to the offseason -- exactly this time last year. She stepped up her physical strength, her conditioning, her footwork. She became more professional in all the little details.

But she also worked really hard on the emotional side. That was always the big question mark around Kerber over the years: Could she remain emotionally competent week in, week out, match in, match out. A lot of the time I sit courtside during matches, and I would see her get negative ... the way she would look up at her coach, Torben Beltz, the way she would get testy when the tide of a match would start to turn. In 2016, she had her best attitude -- her most consistent, professional attitude.

She was just really grounded, really professional, really consistent, really good.

I've been thinking over the past few days about what we can expect from Kerber in 2017. And I don't see her going away. She passed so many tests in 2016, and she is such a veteran. She turns 29 next month, and she's been a top-10 player for years. I think we can look forward to more from Kerber. Another major? I don't see why not. Another No. 1 at the end of the year? I wouldn't put that past her, either.

• Kerber and the power of positivity  Story »

• The spectacular renaissance of Angelique Kerber  Story »

• Kerber tops Serena to win Australian Open  Story »

The IMPACT25 is espnW's annual list of the 25 athletes and influencers who have made the greatest difference for women in sports. Explore the 2016 list and more content at espnW.com/IMPACT25.