Serena Williams is one of the most well-known and well-known names in the game of tennis. She is an incredibly brilliant and competent player who consistently delivers a powerful performance on the tennis court, leaving her opponents spellbound. She originally achieved the world no. 1 position in 2002 and has since recovered it five times throughout the course of her two-and-a-half-decade career. She has won 39 Grand Slam championships in her career, including 23 in singles, 14 in women’s doubles, and two in mixed doubles. She held all four Grand Slam championships at the same time in 2002-03 and 2014-15, which is a rare feat. Her fastest, most powerful serve, followed by forceful groundstrokes from both her forehand and backhand swings, and aggressive high playing style, offer her an edge over other players of her generation. She’s also known for her mental toughness and ability to fight back when things get rough. With their power and athleticism, the Williams sisters have altered the face of women’s tennis. Serena Williams is regarded as one of the greatest female tennis players of all time.
Childhood and Adolescence
Serena Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan, on September 26, 1981, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price. She was the youngest of five siblings, all of whom were sisters. From her mother’s side, she has three half-sisters, Yetunde, Lyndrea, and Isha Price, and one full-sister, Venus Williams.
Williams, a gifted child, began playing tennis at the age of four, alongside her sister Venus Williams. Soon after, they enrolled at Rick Macci’s tennis program, where they were able to hone their natural abilities and talents.
By 1991, she had amassed a 46-3 record on the USTA Junior Tour and was rated first in the 10-and-under division. The family relocated to the state of Florida. Her father, on the other hand, discouraged her sisters from playing tennis, fearing that the strenuous schedule would exhaust them too rapidly.
Career of Serena Williams
She decided to pursue a career as a professional tennis player in 1995. She rose from 304 to 99th position in the global rankings, defeating world No. 7 and world No. 4, before falling in the semi-finals to world No. 5.
In the year 1998, she began a tennis career that would become legendary when she won the mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open. After that, the sisters won two more doubles titles. She was ranked 20th at the end of the year. In 1999, she won the French Open and the US Open doubles alongside her sister. Furthermore, she defeated Martina Hingis in the finals of the US Open Grand Slam singles tournament, becoming only the second African-American woman to win the title. She finished the year as the world’s number four player.
In 2000, the Williams sisters not only won their first Wimbledon title, but also teamed up for their first Olympic gold medal in doubles at the Sydney Olympics. They made history the following year when they won the Australian Open doubles title, becoming the fifth doubles team to win all four Grand Slam women’s doubles titles.
Serena Williams /Getty Images
In the finals of theUS Open, she was defeated by her sister Venus. By the conclusion of the year, she was ranked No. 6 in the world. Serena Williams had a fantastic year in 2002, winning the French Open, Wimbledon, and the United States Open. She defeated her sister Venus Williams in the finals of all three Grand Slam tournaments. She won the world no. 1 ranking as a result of these victories, dethroning her sister from the top spot. She won the women’s doubles title at Wimbledon alongside Venus Williams.
She won the Australian Open in 2003, defeating her sister in the finals for the second time. With her victory at the Australian Open, she became only the fifth woman to hold all four Grand Slam singles titles at the same time. Maureen Connolly Brinker, Margaret Court, Steffi Graf, and Martina Navratilova were the other women to achieve this feat. The press dubbed this achievement the ‘Serena Slam.’ In addition, she and her sister won doubles crowns at the Australian Open. Her super-successful career came to a screeching halt when she suffered injuries that hampered her performance for a couple of years. She was unable to defend her title or maintain her world position, and she dropped out of the top ten.
The year 2007 was a year of redemption for her, as she overcame physical, psychological, and emotional obstacles to win the Australian Open against Maria Sharapova, her third Australian Open and eighth Grand Slam singles title overall. She climbed to number seven in the world before the end of the year.
She went on to win the 2008 US Open singles competitions, outplaying Jelena Jankovic as she progressed through the tournaments. Against her sister, she was runner-up in the Wimbledon singles tournament. In the same year, she won the Wimbledon doubles championship with her sister. In addition, the duo took home a gold medal at the Olympics. She finished the year as the world’s number two player with four singles championships, her most since her comeback. The sisters snatched all the attention in 2009 after winning the doubles tournaments at Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open. The next year, she defeated Dinara Safina at the Australian Open then her sister at Wimbledon to win both singles titles. She won five Grand Slam championships, giving her a total of 23 Grand Slams. For the second time in her career, she finished the year as world number one.
The sisters continued their winning record at the Australian Open and the French Open in 2010, successfully defending their championships. They did, however, lose the Wimbledon championship. In singles, she defeated Justin Henin and Vera Zvonareva in the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals, respectively. Despite only competing in six tournaments, she finished the year ranked fourth in singles.
She took a vacation in 2011 due to a series of health difficulties, including the discovery of a blood clot in one of her lungs by doctors. She was unable to play tennis for several months as a result of this.
She wasn’t one to sit on the sidelines for long, and she returned to the court in 2012, winning the Wimbledon and US Open singles tournaments. She went on to win the gold medal in singles at the 2012 Olympics. The next year, she won the Wimbledon doubles title alongside her sister.
She won the French Open and the US Open singles tournaments in 2013, defeating Maria Sharapova and Victoria Azarenka. She became the oldest US Open champion with this victory. She also made history by becoming the oldest woman to win the WTA Championships and the fourth player to win the event four times or more.
She won her sixth Australian Open singles title in 2015, defeating Maria Sharapova. After that, she won the French Open and Wimbledon, completing her second ‘Serena Slam’ (holding all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously)
In the 2016 Australian Open final, she was defeated by Angelique Kerber. She also lost in the finals of the French Open. She came back to win Wimbledon, tying Steffi Graf for the most Grand Slams in the Open Era with 22. She lost in the semifinals of the US Open against Karolna Plková, and therefore lost her No. 1 ranking.
Serena Williams had a strong start to the new year. She won the Australian Open by defeating her sister, Venus Williams. It was her 23rd Grand Slam singles championship. She was eight weeks pregnant when she won the Australian Open, it was later revealed. She took a break from tennis due to her pregnancy. With the 2018 French Open, Serena Williams made her major slam comeback. She made it to the fourth round before withdrawing due to injury. In July 2018, she competed in the Wimbledon Championships, where she advanced to the final but lost to Angelique Kerber of Germany. Serena Williams returned to the Australian Open this year after missing the previous one. In the quarterfinals, though, she was defeated by Karolna Plková. She competed in the US Open in August-September 2019, and her performance astounded everyone. She advanced to the final, where she met Bianca Andreescu, the 15th seed, who upset Serena in a hard-fought battle.
Serena Williams advanced to the third round of the 2020 Australian Open, but was defeated in three sets by Wang Qiang. She reached the semifinals of the 2020 US Open, where she was defeated in three sets by Victoria Azarenka. Williams withdrew from the 2020 French Open before her second round match due to an achilles ailment. Serena Williams advanced to the semifinals of the 2021 Australian Open after defeating Simona Halep and Aryna Sabalenka, but lost to Naomi Osaka, the fourth seed. She has expanded her brand power beyond tennis to include films, television, and fashion. She starred in and did voice work for a few television shows, as well as appearing on the covers of several magazines. In 2004, she debuted her own apparel brand, ‘Aneres,’ as well as her unique collection of handbags and jewelry. A couple of publications have also been created by the sisters. In 2005, they co-wrote their first book, ‘Venus & Serena: Serving From The Hip: 10 Rules For Living, Loving, and Winning,’ with Hilary Beard. ‘On the Line,’ her first solo autobiography, was released in 2009.
Achievements & Awards
She is the only tennis player to win both singles and doubles grand slams in her career.
She has won 39 Grand Slam titles, including 23 singles wins, 14 women’s doubles trophies, and two mixed doubles titles. Her total of Grand Slam victories ranks her third all-time and second in the open era.
Australian Open (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017), French Open (2002, 2013, 2015), Wimbledon (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016), US Open (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016). (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014) Australian Open (2001, 2003, 2009, 2010), French Open (1999, 2010), Wimbledon (2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016), US Open (2001, 2003, 2009, 2010). (1999, 2009)
She and her sister Venus set a record by winning three Olympic doubles gold medals as a team.
At the age of 31 years and 4 months, she became the oldest no. 1 player in the world in 2013.
She is the only tennis player in history (male or female) to have won singles titles in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments at least six times (Australian Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open)
She holds the record for most Grand Slam singles matches won by a woman.
She earned $28.9 million in prize money and endorsements in 2016, making her the year’s highest-paid female athlete.
Personal History and Legacy
She had a romantic relationship with rapper Common until they split up in 2010. Her engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian was announced in 2016. On September 1, 2017, she gave birth to a girl. Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr. was her name. Serena Williams married her longtime fiance and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian on November 17, 2017. Beyonce, iconic Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, actress Eva Longoria, and singer Ciara were among the A-list celebs who attended the wedding festivities at the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center.
Serena Williams married her longtime fiance and Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian on November 17, 2017. Beyonce, iconic Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, actress Eva Longoria, and singer Ciara were among the A-list celebs who attended the wedding festivities at the New Orleans Contemporary Arts Center.
Trivia
She has a peanut allergy.