Serena Williams life and biography

Serena Williams is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and currently ranked World No. 10 in singles and No. 20 in doubles with sister Venus Williams. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her World No. 1 in singles on five separate occasions.

With the best serve in the women’s game, Serena Williams is currently seventh on the all-time Grand Slam singles titles list with 11, the most of any active player. Having learned to play tennis on public courts in Compton, Calif., alongside her older sister Venus, Serena became the first Williams sister to win a major singles title in 1999, when at age 17 she defeated No. 1 Martina Hingis in the U.S. Open final.

Williams made it back to the U.S. Open final in 2001, losing to Venus in straight sets. From 2002 through 2003 she won four consecutive Grand Slam singles titles (2002 French Open, 2002 Wimbledon, 2002 U.S. Open, 2003 Australian Open), a feat that was dubbed the “Serena Slam.” Williams is the fifth woman, behind Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, to hold all four major titles simultaneously. Serena defeated her sister in the finals of the four majors that comprised that run. With the victory in Melbourne in 2003, Serena became the ninth woman in history to achieve the career Grand Slam. She held the No. 1 ranking for 57 consecutive weeks from 2002 to 2003. She added a second career Wimbledon title in 2003, but then won just two majors (2005 and 2007 Australian Opens) in the five-year span that followed. In 2008, a resurgent Serena won her third career U.S. Open title and regained the No. 1 ranking for four weeks. She regained the No. 1 ranking twice in 2009, during which time she won the Australian Open for the fourth time and Wimbledon for the third time. She has a career record of 11-3 in Grand Slam singles finals. She also dominated the 2009 season-ending tour championship in Doha, winning that event for the second time in her career and the first since 2001. She has twice finished the season with the No. 1 ranking (2002, 2009).

Serena has won 10 Grand Slam doubles titles (Australian Open in 2001, 2003, 2009; French Open in 1999; Wimbledon in 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009; U.S. Open in 1999, 2009) and two Olympic gold medals in doubles (2000, 2008) with sister Venus. Williams is the daughter of Oracene Price and Richard Williams. Her older half-sister, Yetunde, with whom Serena and Venus were extremely close, was shot to death in Compton in 2003. Serena described that ordeal in her 2009 autobiography On The Line. A pop culture icon with an interest in fashion, Serena runs a line of designer apparel called “Aneres” (her first name spelled backwards). Williams was fined $10,500 for her profane tirade against the line judge who called her for a foot fault during her 2009 U.S. Open semifinal match, which she lost to Kim Clijsters. Williams has won more than $28.5 million in career prize money, the most of any female athlete in any sport in history.

Timeline:

Coached by father, Richard Williams, and mother, Oracene Price; trainer is Kerrie Brooks; previously coached by Rick Macci
Began playing tennis at age 5 at public courts in Compton, California
Is youngest of five girls: Lyndrea, Isha, Yetunde (deceased September 14, 2003) and Venus
Has participated in many clinics; makes numerous appearances at schools and charitable and community organizations, particularly those which target programs for at-risk youth
Interested in fashion and acting; opened her own clothing line (Aneres) and often wears her own designs
Favorite author is Maya Angelou
Hobbies are watching movies and football, reading, acting, talking on the phone and spending time with family/friends
Self-described as humorous with a great personality
Favorite place to visit is Italy
Likes to listen to Mariah Carey, Brandy
Debuted custom-designed Nike apparel line in Paris in May 2004.

Singles Titles:
2010: Australian Open, Wimbledon
2009: Australian Open, Wimbledon, WTA Championships
2008: Bangalore, Miami, Charleston, US Open
2007: Australian Open, Miami
2005: Australian Open
2004: Miami, Beijing
2003: Australian Open, Paris, Miami, Wimbledon
2002: Scottsdale, Miami, Rome, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, US Open, Tokyo, Leipzig
2001: Indian Wells, Toronto, WTA Championships
2000: Hannover, Los Angeles, Tokyo
1999: Paris, Indian Wells, Los Angeles, US Open, Grand Slam Cup

Doubles Titles:
2010: Australian Open, Madrid, Roland Garros
2009: Australian Open, Wimbledon, Stanford, US Open
2008: Wimbledon, Olympics
2003: Australian Open
2002: Wimbledon, Leipzig
2001: Australian Open
2000: Wimbledon, Olympics
1999: Hannover, Roland Garros, US Open
1998: Oklahoma City, Zürich

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