299 Facts About Serena Williams

Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26,1981 and is an American former professional tennis player.

Serena Williams was ranked as the world No 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association for 319 weeks, and finished as the year-end No 1 five times.

Serena Williams is the only player to accomplish a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.

The ascent of the Serena Williams sisters has been credited with ushering in a new era of power and athleticism on the women's professional tennis tour.

Serena Williams is the most recent woman to simultaneously hold all four major singles titles, and to win the Surface Slam, which she accomplished in 2015.

Serena Williams is, with Venus, the most recent player to have simultaneously held all four major women's doubles titles.

Serena Williams was the world's highest paid woman athlete in 2016, earning almost $29 million.

Serena Williams repeated this feat in 2017 when she was the only woman on Forbes list of the 100 highest-paid athletes, with $27million in prize money and endorsements.

Serena Williams is the highest-earning woman athlete of all time.

Serena Williams won the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year a record four times, Comeback of the Year once, and in December 2015 was named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine.

Serena Williams was born on September 26,1981, in Saginaw, Michigan, to Oracene Price and Richard Serena Williams.

Serena Williams is the youngest of Price's five daughters, after half-sisters Yetunde, Lyndrea, and Isha Price, and full older sister Venus.

When Serena Williams was nine, she and her family moved from Compton to West Palm Beach, Florida, so she could attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci, who provided her with additional coaching.

When Serena Williams was 10, Richard stopped sending his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments, as he wanted them to "go slowly" and focus on school, and because he wanted to ensure they would not burn out before turning professional.

In 1995, when Serena Williams was in the ninth grade, her father pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy and took over all coaching at their home.

In 1995, just after turning 14, Serena Williams planned to make her professional debut as a wild-card entry in the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, California, but was denied due to age-eligibility restrictions.

Serena Williams subsequently filed an antitrust lawsuit against the WTA, but withdrew it at her parents' request.

Serena Williams lost in the first qualifying round to 18-year-old American Annie Miller.

Serena Williams ultimately lost in the semifinals to No 5 Lindsay Davenport.

Serena Williams's run in Chicago propelled Williams into the Top 100 for the first time in her career, and she finished 1997 ranked No 99 in the world.

At the 1998 Sydney International, Serena Williams defeated No 3 Davenport in the quarterfinals, before losing to Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in the semifinals.

Serena Williams reached six other quarterfinals during the year, but lost all of them, including her first match against No 1-ranked Martina Hingis.

Serena Williams lost in the fourth round of the French Open to Vicario, and in the third round of the US Open to Spirlea.

Serena Williams withdrew from Wimbledon two games into a match after straining a calf muscle.

Serena Williams won her first professional title in non-mixed doubles at the US National Indoor Championships in Oklahoma City with Venus, which made them the third pair of sisters to win a WTA title.

Serena Williams finished the year ranked No 20 in singles, the fastest achievement of that milestone in women's history.

In February 1999, Serena Williams won her first professional singles title when she defeated Amelie Mauresmo in the final of the Open Gaz de France in Paris.

At the Miami Masters, Serena Williams had her 16-match winning streak ended by her sister in the first all-sister singles final in WTA history.

Serena Williams then won her third title at the JPMorgan Chase Open, beating Julie Halard-Decugis in the final.

At the US Open, Serena Williams defeated Grand Slam champions Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martinez, Monica Seles, and Lindsay Davenport in consecutive matches to reach the final, where she defeated No 1-ranked Hingis.

Serena Williams became the second African-American woman to win a Grand Slam singles tournament, after Althea Gibson.

Serena Williams ended the year ranked in a career-high world No 4 in just her second full year on the main tour.

In 2000, Serena Williams failed to defend her titles in Paris and Indian Wells, although she did win the Faber Grand Prix in Germany.

Serena Williams recovered and played at the Wimbledon Championships, where she lost to Venus in the semifinals; however, the pair won the doubles title.

Serena Williams began 2001 by losing to Hingis in the quarterfinals of both the Medibank International and the Australian Open.

Serena Williams then lost to Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals of three tournaments: Miami Masters, the French Open and Wimbledon.

Serena Williams claimed her second title of the year at the Rogers Cup, defeating Capriati in the final.

At the 2001 season-ending Tour Championships, Serena Williams won the championship by walkover when Davenport withdrew due to injury.

Serena Williams finished 2001 at No 6 for the second straight year.

Early in 2002, injury saw Serena Williams retire from the semifinal at the Medibank International Sydney and later withdraw from the Australian Open.

Serena Williams then won the Miami Masters for the first time after beating No 3 Hingis in the quarterfinals, No 2 Venus in the semifinals, and No 1 Capriati in the final, becoming only the second player in the Open Era to defeat the world's top 3 ranked players at the same event.

Serena Williams won her first clay-court title at the Italian Open, which raised her ranking to a new high of No 3.

Serena Williams then claimed her first French Open title, which elevated her to No 2, second only to Venus.

The Serena Williams sisters won the doubles event at the tournament.

At the US Open, Serena Williams reached the final where, for the third Grand Slam in a row, she defeated her sister to win the title.

Serena Williams won two consecutive singles titles in the fall, defeating Clijsters to win the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo, and Anastasia Myskina to win the Sparkassen Cup in Leipzig.

Serena Williams reached the final at the Home Depot Championships in Los Angeles, where she lost to Clijsters in straight sets.

At the 2003 Australian Open, Serena Williams faced Venus for the fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament final.

Serena Williams defeated her older sister and became the sixth woman in the Open Era to complete a Career Grand Slam, alongside Graf, Navratilova, Margaret Court, Chris Evert and Billie Jean King.

Serena Williams became the fifth woman to hold all Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously, a feat which was dubbed the "Serena Slam" by the press.

At this tournament, the Serena Williams sisters won their sixth Grand Slam doubles title as a team.

Serena Williams lost to Mauresmo in the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome.

The match was controversial, with Serena Williams questioning Henin's sportsmanship, and spectators applauding Serena Williams's errors.

Serena Williams rebounded from the loss at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, where she defeated Venus in the final.

Serena Williams was expected to be in recovery for six to eight weeks.

Serena Williams won six matches en route to the final, where Maria Sharapova defeated her.

Later that summer, Serena Williams reached her third final of the year at the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport.

Serena Williams was seeded third at the 2004 US Open, where she faced Capriati in the quarterfinals.

Serena Williams argued with Alves over several other calls during the match, which Capriati eventually won.

Serena Williams acknowledged that her loss was primarily due to her 57 unforced errors, but she nevertheless felt "cheated" and accused Alves of temporary insanity.

Serena Williams lost to Sharapova in the final, where she suffered an abdominal injury.

Serena Williams finished 2004 ranked No 7, but did not win a Grand Slam singles tournament for the first season since 2001.

Serena Williams defeated top seed Davenport to win the tournament, claiming her second Australian Open trophy and seventh Grand Slam singles title.

Serena Williams completed just two tournaments between the Australian Open and Wimbledon, losing to Venus in Miami and Francesca Schiavone in Italy.

Serena Williams returned to Wimbledon as the 4th-seeded player, but was defeated in the third round.

At the US Open, Serena Williams lost to her sister in the fourth round.

Serena Williams played just one more match that fall, a loss to No 127 Sun Tiantian at the China Open in Beijing.

Serena Williams failed to qualify for the year-end championship for the first time since 1998, and she finished 2005 ranked No 11.

Serena Williams made her 2006 debut at the Australian Open, defending her title.

Serena Williams stayed away from tennis for six months during the 2006 season, and began seeing a therapist daily.

Serena Williams had slipped to No 139, her lowest ranking since 1997.

On her return, Serena Williams defeated Myskina and Bethanie Mattek, before losing in the semifinals to Vera Zvonareva.

Serena Williams reached the semifinals in Los Angeles, losing to Jankovic in straight sets.

Serena Williams needed a wildcard to enter the US Open, as her No 139 ranking was too low to automatically qualify her to play.

Serena Williams lost to top-seeded Mauresmo in the fourth round.

Serena Williams finished the year ranked No 95, her lowest year-end ranking since 1997.

Serena Williams stated her intention to return to the top of the rankings, a goal that was labeled "deluded" by commentator Pat Cash.

Serena Williams lost in the quarterfinals of the Hobart International, a warm-up for the Australian Open, where she was unseeded and widely regarded as "out of shape".

Serena Williams claimed that Nike's ultimatum meant she would have to reach the quarterfinals at least.

Serena Williams then made it to the final, defeating Jelena Jankovic, Shahar Pe'er and Nicole Vaidisova along the way.

Serena Williams thought the commentary was mean, and used it as motivation to win.

Serena Williams triumphed over Sharapova, losing just three games; it was her first tournament title in two years.

Serena Williams became the first player since Chris O'Neil to capture the title without being seeded.

Serena Williams won the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami for the fourth time by defeating Henin, but then lost to her in the quarterfinals at the French Open.

At the US Open, Serena Williams lost her third consecutive Grand Slam singles quarterfinal to Henin.

Serena Williams reached the final of the Kremlin Cup, but lost to Elena Dementieva.

Serena Williams finished 2007 as No 7 and the top-ranked American for the first time since 2003.

Serena Williams started 2008 by winning the Hopman Cup for the US, with Mardy Fish.

Serena Williams withdrew from her next three scheduled tournaments because of an urgent need for dental surgery.

Serena Williams then won three consecutive singles titles at Bangalore and her fifth Miami title, tying Graf for the most singles titles at this tournament.

Serena Williams claimed victory at the Family Circle Cup, her first clay-court title since 2002.

Serena Williams's 17-match winning streak was ended by Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals in Berlin.

Serena Williams withdrew in Rome in the quarterfinals due to a back injury, and lost in the third round of the French Open to Katarina Srebotnik.

At Wimbledon, Serena Williams reached the finals for the first time in four years, but lost to Venus in their first Grand Slam final since 2003.

Serena Williams played at Stanford, but retired in the semifinals with a knee injury, which forced her to withdraw from a tournament in Los Angeles.

Serena Williams ended 2008 ranked No 2 and with four singles titles, her strongest performance in both respects since 2003.

Serena Williams began 2009 at the Medibank International, losing in the semifinals to Dementieva.

At the Open GdF Suez, Serena Williams withdrew before her semifinal match against Dementieva because of a knee injury.

Serena Williams then played in Dubai, losing to Venus in the semifinals.

Serena Williams was beset by ankle and quadriceps injuries at the Sony Ericsson Open, and was upset in the final by Victoria Azarenka.

Serena Williams rebounded at Wimbledon, prevailing over Dementieva in the semifinals and Venus in the finals.

Ahead of the US Open, Serena Williams suffered a third-round defeat in Cincinnati and a semifinal defeat at the Rogers Cup.

Serena Williams yelled profanities at the lineswoman who made the call, and threatened to shove a tennis ball down her throat.

Serena Williams was penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct, which resulted in Clijsters winning the match.

Serena Williams continued in the US Open doubles competition, teaming up with Venus to capture their third Grand Slam doubles title of the year, and the tenth of their career.

Serena Williams won all three of her round-robin matches at the year-end WTA Tour Championships, defeating Venus, Dementieva, and Kuznetsova.

Serena Williams finished the year ranked No 1 for the second time in her career.

Serena Williams played in 16 tournaments in 2009, more than any other year.

In doubles, the Serena Williams sisters finished 2009 at No 2, despite playing only six tournaments together.

Serena Williams now had a total of 23 Grand Slam titles, and was consequently named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press.

Serena Williams was the International Tennis Federation World Champion in both singles and doubles.

At the Australian Open, Serena Williams was the defending champion in both singles and doubles.

Serena Williams reached the final and defeated Justine Henin, who had recently come out of retirement, for her twelfth Grand Slam singles title.

Serena Williams sat out several events with a leg injury, but returned for the Rome Masters, where she was defeated by Jankovic in the semifinals.

At the French Open, Serena Williams was bested by Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals.

Serena Williams finished 2010 ranked No 4 in singles and No 11 in doubles.

Serena Williams made her first appearance on the WTA tour in almost a year in Eastbourne, where she lost in round two to Zvonareva.

Serena Williams reached the final at the US Open, where she faced Stosur.

Serena Williams made gestures and unflattering comments towards her, including calling her "a hater".

Serena Williams eventually lost the match, and then declined to offer Asderaki the customary handshake.

Serena Williams only played in six tournaments during the season.

Serena Williams then won consecutive titles in Charleston and Madrid, but withdrew from her semifinal match in Rome due to a lower back injury.

At the French Open, Serena Williams suffered her first ever loss in the opening round of a Grand Slam.

Serena Williams captured her fifth Wimbledon singles title, and became the first female player to serve 24 aces in a match.

Serena Williams returned to America to successfully defend her Stanford title, overcoming CoCo Vandeweghe in the final.

In New York, Serena Williams claimed her fourth US Open singles title, which was her 15th career Grand Slam singles title.

Serena Williams ended the season by going undefeated at the WTA Championships and winning the event for the third time.

Serena Williams was named ITF World Champion, and was voted WTA Player of the Year for the fourth time.

Serena Williams became the fourth woman in the Open Era to win a given tournament six times.

Serena Williams then defended her Charleston title, winning the event for the third time.

Serena Williams won her 50th career singles title in Madrid, prevailing over Sharapova in the final.

Serena Williams then played in Rome, where she won the title a second time.

At the French Open, Serena Williams lost only one game whilst defeating Sara Errani in the semifinal.

Serena Williams bested Sharapova in the final to claim her second French Open title and her 16th Grand Slam title overall.

Serena Williams became the fourth woman in the Open Era to win each Grand Slam tournament at least twice.

Serena Williams then won the Swedish Open, her first victory at the International level.

Serena Williams won her third Rogers Cup title in Toronto, beating Sorana Cirstea in the final.

At the US Open, Serena Williams began as top seed and defending champion.

Serena Williams reached the final and defeated Azarenka in three sets, capturing her 17th Grand Slam singles title and pushing her career prize winnings past $50million.

Serena Williams went undefeated at the WTA Championships, triumphing over Li Na in the final and becoming the first person to defend the title since Henin in 2007.

Serena Williams became the oldest player to win the WTA Championships, the fourth player to win it four times or more, and the first female player to win more than $10million in a season.

Serena Williams finished as the year-end No 1 for the third time, becoming the oldest No 1 player in WTA history.

Serena Williams was named the ITF World Champion for the fourth time.

Serena Williams received two prizes at the 2013 ESPY Awards: Best Female Athlete and Best Female Tennis Player, the latter of which she won for a record sixth time.

Serena Williams defended her title at the Brisbane International by defeating No 2 Azarenka in the final.

In Dubai, Serena Williams lost her semifinal match to Alize Cornet in straight sets.

Serena Williams then played in the Miami Open, where she won her record seventh title with a straight-sets victory over No 2 Li Na.

Serena Williams made it to the quarterfinals at the Madrid Open before withdrawing with a thigh injury.

In Rome, Serena Williams won her third title of the season.

Serena Williams suffered the worst loss of her Grand Slam career in the second round of the French Open when Garbine Muguruza defeated her while losing just four games in two sets.

Serena Williams appeared disoriented and unsteady on her feet, and withdrew from the tournament.

Serena Williams rebounded by winning 19 out of her next 20 matches.

Serena Williams tied Evert and Navratilova's record of 18 career Grand Slam singles titles won in the Open Era.

Serena Williams claimed the WTA Finals title, which was her seventh title of the year, and finished the year ranked No 1 for the fourth time in her career.

Serena Williams held the top ranking for the entire calendar year, a feat not accomplished since Graf achieved it in 1996.

Serena Williams was voted WTA Player of the Year and ITF World Champion for a third consecutive year.

Serena Williams began the 2015 season by reaching the final of the Hopman Cup, where she and her partner John Isner lost to Poland.

At the Australian Open, Serena Williams defeated Sharapova for the 16th consecutive time to claim her sixth Australian Open singles title and 19th career Grand Slam singles title.

Serena Williams is the only player in history to win all four Grand Slams at age 30 or older.

Serena Williams played and won her only match against Maria Irigoyen to help the US team win against the Argentines.

Serena Williams reached the semifinals, but was forced to withdraw because of a knee injury.

When Serena Williams defeated Lisicki in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open, she became the eighth woman in the Open Era to record 700 match wins in her career.

Serena Williams went on to win a record eighth title in Miami.

Serena Williams played one match at the 2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia before withdrawing with an elbow injury.

At the 2015 French Open, Serena Williams defeated Lucie Safarova in three sets to claim the trophy and win her third French Open and 20th Grand Slam singles title.

Serena Williams bested Muguruza and claimed her sixth Wimbledon singles title and 21st Grand Slam singles title overall.

Serena Williams was the defending champion at the Bank of the West Classic, but withdrew from the tournament to recover from an elbow injury.

Serena Williams held the top ranking the entire season for the second consecutive year, finishing there for the fifth time in her career.

Serena Williams was voted WTA Player of the Year for the seventh time, and named ITF World Champion for the sixth time.

Serena Williams was voted Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press for the fourth time in her career, and was chosen as Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

Serena Williams became the third solo woman, and the first since 1983, to receive the latter award.

Serena Williams was the No 1 seed and defending champion at the Australian Open.

Serena Williams reached the final without dropping a set, and faced first time Grand Slam finalist Angelique Kerber.

Serena Williams was considered the heavy favorite, as she had never lost an Australian Open final or semifinal.

Serena Williams had dominated in past matches against Kerber, losing only once to her in six meetings.

Serena Williams lost the final in three sets which marked her first-ever three-set loss in the final of a Grand Slam.

Serena Williams competed in Indian Wells as the No 1 seed, and reached the final for the first time since 2001.

Serena Williams was defeated by Azarenka, whom she had beaten the last five times the pair had met.

Serena Williams next played the Miami Open as the defending champion, losing in the fourth round to Kuznetsova.

Serena Williams then defeated Irina-Camelia Begu and Madison Keys to win her 70th career WTA title and her first title of the year.

At the French Open, Serena Williams dropped only one set en route to the final, where she faced Muguruza.

Serena Williams lost to the Spanish-Venezuelan player in straight sets, marking the first time she had lost two consecutive Grand Slam finals.

At Wimbledon, Serena Williams again dropped only one set on her way to the final, where she faced Kerber in a rematch of their Australian Open final earlier in the year.

Serena Williams defeated Kerber in straight sets and tied Graf's record of 22 Open Era Grand Slam singles titles.

Serena Williams next participated in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where she was the defending gold medalist in both singles and doubles, and was the heavy favorite to retain those titles.

In singles, Serena Williams lost to Elina Svitolina in the third round.

Serena Williams's streak ended when she lost to Karolina Pliskova in the semifinals of the US Open.

Serena Williams started 2017 by playing in the WTA Auckland Open for the first time in her career.

Serena Williams then won the Australian Open for an Open Era record seventh time, defeating Venus in the final.

Serena Williams subsequently withdrew from the Indian Wells and Miami Opens, citing a knee injury.

On September 1,2017, Serena Williams gave birth to a daughter.

Serena Williams suffered a pulmonary embolism after delivery, leaving her bedridden for six weeks and delaying her return to training.

On January 5,2018, Serena Williams withdrew from the upcoming Australian Open, citing a lack of sufficient preparation in the wake of her pregnancy.

Serena Williams then suffered back-to-back early exits in Indian Wells and Miami.

Serena Williams made her return to Grand Slam tennis at the 2018 French Open, playing singles and doubles with her sister.

Serena Williams then defeated 11th seed Julia Gorges to set up a fourth-round match against Sharapova, whom she had bested 18 consecutive times since 2004.

Serena Williams withdrew from the match due to an injury, however.

Many felt the decision showed bias and unduly favored Serena Williams, who was ranked No 181 in world.

Serena Williams reached the Wimbledon semifinals, becoming the lowest-ranked player to do so.

Serena Williams bested 13th seed Gorges in the semifinal match, but lost to Kerber in a rematch of the 2016 Wimbledon final.

Serena Williams suffered the worst loss of her career in the first round, winning just a single game against Johanna Konta.

Serena Williams later revealed in an interview with Time that she checked Instagram prior to the match, and discovered that the man who had murdered her half-sister, Yetunde, in 2003 had been released on parole earlier in the year.

Serena Williams beat Daria Gavrilova in straight sets in the first round, but lost to Petra Kvitova in the second round.

Serena Williams was then seeded 17th at the US Open, although ranked 26th in the WTA.

Serena Williams prevailed over Magda Linette in the first round, Carina Witthoft in the second, Venus in the third, and Kaia Kanepi in the fourth.

Serena Williams's quarterfinal face-off against Karolina Pliskova was a rematch of the 2016 US Open semifinal, which the Czech player had won.

Serena Williams prevailed, notching her first win against a top 10 player since her return from pregnancy.

Serena Williams then won her semifinal match against Anastasija Sevastova, putting her into the final against Naomi Osaka.

Serena Williams claimed Mouratoglou was simply giving her a thumbs-up, and demanded an apology from umpire Carlos Ramos.

However, Mouratoglou later admitted in the after-game interview that he had been coaching, but believes Serena Williams did not understand the hint.

Serena Williams then received a second violation for racket abuse, which resulted in a point penalty.

Serena Williams was fined a total of $17,000 for the three offenses, although she claimed she was treated unfairly because she is a woman.

Serena Williams started her 2019 season at the Australian Open, her first appearance at the tournament since winning it in 2017.

Serena Williams prevailed over Azarenka in the second round of the Indian Wells Masters, but a viral illness caused her to retire.

Serena Williams then experienced a recurrence of a long-term knee injury, which caused her to pull out of upcoming Miami and Rome events.

Serena Williams then reached the final at Wimbledon, making 2019 the 13th consecutive year in which she played in a Grand Slam final.

Serena Williams became the oldest Grand Slam finalist in the Open Era.

Serena Williams lost the final to Halep in two straight sets.

At the Canadian Open, Serena Williams defeated Osaka in the quarterfinals and Marie Bouzkova in the semifinals, then faced Bianca Andreescu in the final.

However, Serena Williams was forced to withdraw early in the match after experiencing back spasms.

Serena Williams was seeded eighth at the US Open, where she bested Sharapova in the first round.

Serena Williams then proceeded to the final against Andreescu, who won the title in straight sets.

In January 2020, Serena Williams won her first singles title as a mother at the ASB Classic, defeating Jessica Pegula in the final.

At the Australian Open, Serena Williams lost in the third round to Wang in three sets.

Serena Williams then entered the Top Seed Open as the No 1 seed, defeating Venus in the second round before losing to Shelby Rogers in the quarterfinals.

At the US Open, Serena Williams defeated Stephens in the third round before losing to Azarenka in the semifinals.

Serena Williams failed to reach a Grand Slam final in 2020.

Serena Williams started the 2021 season by playing the Yarra Valley Classic, where she withdrew prior to her semifinal match, citing a right shoulder injury.

Serena Williams sustained an injury during the first round at Wimbledon against Belarusian player Aliaksandra Sasnovich, forcing her to withdraw from the tournament.

In December 2021, Serena Williams announced she would not play the 2022 Australian Open, citing the same leg injury.

Serena Williams returned to professional play in June 2022 when she teamed up with Ons Jabeur for the Eastbourne International.

Serena Williams played singles at Wimbledon, where she lost to No 113 Harmony Tan in the first round.

Serena Williams stated her intention to focus on her family and her venture capital firm.

Serena Williams began her farewell tour by entering the Canadian Open in Toronto using a protected ranking.

Serena Williams beat Nuria Parrizas Diaz in straight sets for her first singles win in 14 months, before losing to Belinda Bencic.

Serena Williams subsequently entered the Cincinnati Masters, where she fell to reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the first round.

At the US Open, Serena Williams played doubles with Venus for the first time since 2018; the sisters lost to the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova.

Serena Williams then lost to Ajla Tomljanovic in what was ultimately her final match.

Serena Williams played her older sister Venus in 31 professional matches starting in 1998.

When both the Serena Williams sisters entered the top ten and started facing off in tournaments, rumors of match fixing started to circulate.

The final, in which Serena defeated Kim Clijsters, was marred by the behavior of the crowd toward Williams and her family.

Justine Henin and Serena Williams have met 14 times, five of which were in tournament finals.

Serena Williams next lost to Sharapova in the finals of the 2004 WTA Tour Championships.

Since then Serena Williams has dominated the rivalry, winning all of their clashes, with only three of their matches going to three sets.

Serena Williams is regarded as one of the best female tennis players of all time.

BBC presenter and former French Open Champion Sue Barker has called Serena Williams's serve "without question the greatest ever".

Serena Williams has won the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year four times.

Serena Williams is the highest-earning woman athlete of all time.

In September 2022, Twitter said that Serena Williams was the most tweeted-about female athlete of all time.

Serena Williams was an aggressive baseliner whose game was centered around her powerful serve and forceful groundstrokes.

Serena Williams possessed an accurate and consistent ball toss, allowing her to serve to any position on the court with minimal differences in the position of the ball in the air; this made it difficult for opponents to read her service motion and predict the position of her serve, allowing her to dominate a rally from the first stroke.

Serena Williams deployed these as second serves, minimizing double faults and preventing opponents from scoring free points.

Serena Williams hit both her forehand and her backhand in an open stance, allowing her to generate consistently powerful, heavy, and dominating groundstrokes.

Serena Williams was able to generate sharp, acute angles, which allowed her to hit winners from any position on the court.

Serena Williams was capable of hitting her forehand both crosscourt and down the line to produce winners.

Serena Williams tended to hit her backhand flatter than her forehand, which allowed her to hit with speed, power, and depth both crosscourt and down the line.

Serena Williams frequently chose to finish points at the net, either with deft touch, aggressive drive volleys, or a solid, powerful, and reliable overhead smash.

Serena Williams possessed an aggressive return of serve; she neutralized powerful first serves, and attacked weak second serves.

Serena Williams is widely considered one of the greatest returners of all time.

Serena Williams was an exceptional athlete, known for her movement, speed, court coverage, agility, flexibility, balance, and footwork.

Serena Williams has been noted for her ability to produce extraordinary comebacks, particularly at the Grand Slam level.

Serena Williams won three Slams after saving match points, more than any other player in history.

Serena Williams bounced back from a set down to win 37 Grand Slam matches.

Serena Williams has been praised for her ability to serve aces at critical moments.

Serena Williams had five coaches during her career: Richard Serena Williams, Oracene Price, Patrick Mouratoglou, Eric Hechtman and Rennae Stubbs.

Serena Williams graduated from Driftwood Academy in 1999, and soon after signed a $12 million endorsement deal with Puma.

The largest building on Nike's Portland campus is the one-million-square-foot Serena Williams Building, which features many references to the athlete's career and long partnership with Nike.

In 2015, Serena Williams became the Chief Sporting Officer for British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin, and in 2018 she joined the board of directors of SurveyMonkey.

Serena Williams used the Wilson Hammer Stretch range of rackets when she won her first Grand Slam title in 1999, before switching to the Hyper Hammer range.

Serena Williams switched to the Wilson nCode briefly in 2005, and has used various iterations of the Wilson Blade since 2008.

Serena Williams's racket is typically oversized, with a head size of 104 square inches.

Since 2020, Serena Williams has used a smaller variant of this racket, the Wilson Blade SW102 Autograph.

Note: Serena Williams withdrew from the 2018 French Open before her fourth round match and the 2020 French Open before her second round match, both of which do not officially count as losses.

Serena Williams proposed to her on December 10,2016, and they married on November 16,2017, in New Orleans.

Serena Williams later said that posting the picture was an accident.

On September 1,2017, Serena Williams gave birth to a daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

Serena Williams gave Olympia a doll, Qai Qai, that has become famous on social media.

Serena Williams was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, but was not baptized until 2023.

Serena Williams does not celebrate birthdays, which is a practice of the faith.

Serena Williams made an appearance on stage during Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl LIX halftime show, doing a crip walk amongst other background dancers.

Serena Williams is alleged to have been romantically involved with Drake, with whom Lamar is involved in an ongoing feud, in 2011 and 2015.

In 2016, the Serena Williams Fund partnered with Helping Hands Jamaica to build the Salt Marsh Primary School for Jamaican youth in Trelawny Parish.

Serena Williams received a Celebrity Role Model Award from the Avon Foundation in 2003 for her work fighting breast cancer.

Serena Williams has been an International Goodwill Ambassador with UNICEF since 2011, and helped launch UNICEF's Schools for Asia campaign.

In 2017, Serena Williams became Ambassador for the Allstate Foundation's Purple Purse project, an initiative to provide financial empowerment to domestic abuse victims.

In July 2020, it was announced that Serena Williams was part of a nearly all-women investors' group that was awarded a new franchise in the National Women's Soccer League, the highest level of the women's sport in the United States.

Serena Williams became more involved in social change as her career progressed, primarily using social media to express her views.

Serena Williams expressed concern that her young nephew could be in danger from police due to his skin color.

Also in 2016, Serena Williams wrote an open letter in Porter Magazine's feature "Incredible Women of 2016" in support of gender equality and to share her personal struggles as a woman in tennis.

Serena Williams claimed that women's contributions to the sport are not recognized in the same way as men's contributions, and she commented on the issue of unequal pay.

Serena Williams has received several awards for her activism, particularly her endeavors involving Black communities.

Serena Williams was noted for her unusual and colorful outfits on court.

Serena Williams arrived at the 2004 US Open in a denim skirt and knee-high leg wraps that looked like boots, which she was not allowed to wear during matches.

At the 2018 French Open, she promoted her clothing line Serena Williams by wearing a catsuit, which was banned by the French Tennis Federation.

At the 2018 US Open, Serena Williams wore a black tutu during her first match.

Serena Williams formerly ran Aneres, a proprietary line of designer apparel.

In February 2019, Serena Williams was appointed to the board of directors of the online fashion marketplace Poshmark.

Serena Williams posed for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2003 and 2004.

Serena Williams has appeared in films, television series, and music videos.