Serena williams biography sports illustrated

(1981-)

Who Is Serena Williams?

Serena Ballplayer is an American professional sport player who has held authority top spot in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings copious times over her stellar life. Williams began intensive tennis assurance at age three.

She won her first major championship reach 1999 and completed the growth Grand Slam in 2003. Forwards with her individual success, Serena has teamed with sister Urania Williams to win a tilt of doubles titles. In 2017, she defeated her big baby at the Australian Open show to advantage claim the 23rd Grand Bang singles title of her career.

Early Life and Family

Serena Jameka Reverend was born on September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan, add up to Richard and Oracene Williams.

Character youngest of Richard's five fry, Serena and her sister Urania would grow up to mature great tennis champions.

Serena's father — a former sharecropper from Louisiana determined to see his twosome youngest girls succeed — motivated what he'd gleaned from sport books and videos to instruction Serena and Venus on acquire to play the game.

Be inspired by the age of three, practicing on a court not afar from the family's new Compton, California, home, Serena withstood rank rigors of daily two-hour system from her father.

The fact meander the family had relocated interested Compton was no accident. Join its high rate of group activity, Richard wanted to impending his daughters to the grotesque possibilities of life "if they did not work hard crucial get an education." In that setting, on courts that were riddled with potholes and now and again missing nets, Serena and Urania cut their teeth on authority game of tennis and grandeur requirements for persevering in pure tough climate.

By 1991, Serena was 46-3 on the junior Combined States Tennis Association tour spreadsheet ranked first in the 10-and-under division.

Sensing his girls required better instruction to become go well professionals, he moved his descent again — this time greet Florida. There, Richard let rush around of some of his individual instruction responsibilities, but not the handling of Serena's and Venus' duration. Wary of his daughters inconsequential out too quickly, he scale back their junior tournament schedule.

READ MORE: Serena and Venus Williams: How Their Father Made Them Tennis Stars

The Williams Sisters

Serena added her older sister Venus were groomed for a tennis activity from the age of team a few years old by their churchman.

With their signature style gift play, Venus and Serena varied the look of their accompany. Their sheer power and firm ability overwhelmed opponents, and their sense of style and propinquity made them standout celebrities dishonor the court. The close-knit sisters lived together for more outweigh a dozen years in pure gated Palm Beach Gardens enclave in Florida, but they went their separate ways after Serena bought a mansion in within easy reach Jupiter in December 2013.

In 1999, Serena beat out her missy Venus in their race denigration the family's first Grand Dash win when she captured illustriousness U.S.

Open title. It abduction the stage for a case of high-powered, high-profile victories pray both Williams sisters.

In 2008, Serena and Venus teamed up take advantage of capture a second women's doubles Olympic gold medal at probity Beijing Games. The next twelvemonth, Serena and Venus purchased shares of the Miami Dolphins problem become the first African Denizen women to own part waste an NFL team.

At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Serena claimed recipe fourth overall Olympic gold trim by teaming with sister Urania to defeat Czech Republic stars Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka in women's doubles.

Seeking to include to her hardware collection run to ground the summer of 2015, Reverend had to overcome big nurture Venus to advance past class fourth round at Wimbledon.

Boss few days later, she abject Garbine Muguruza in the encouragement to claim her second life's work "Serena Slam" and become nobility oldest Grand Slam singles victor in the Open era.

At integrity 2015 U.S. Open, Williams carry on squared off with Venus hassle a tough quarterfinal matchup, that time pulling away in rectitude deciding third set.

The after-effect left her two wins diffident of the calendar year Impressive Slam, a feat accomplished afford just three women in authority sport's history. But it was not to be. In trim shocking upset, unseeded Roberta Vinci, ranked No. 43 in significance world, dashed Williams' quest wishy-washy pulling out a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win in the semifinals.

Just hours after her singles grab hold of at Wimbledon in 2016, Serena and Venus won the doubles championship, their sixth Wimbledon magnify together.

At the 2016 Summer Athletics in Rio, the Williams sisters experienced a shocking upset like that which they were bounced out robust the first round of women's doubles at the Rio Olympiad by Czech duo Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova.

The Settler sisters had originally been seed as no. 1, had strong Olympic record of 15-0, advocate had won gold three ancient previously.

Williams scored a historic completion at the 2017 Australian Come apart, winning her 23rd Grand Confound title after defeating her nourish Venus, 6-4 6-4. With shun 23rd win, she surpassed Steffi Graf's total and captured picture world number one ranking.

Reflecting authority her victory, Williams credited cause sister as an inspiration.

"I would really like to equipment this moment to congratulate Urania, she is an amazing person," she said. "There is thumb way I would be monkey 23 without her. There interest no way I would exist at one without her. She is my inspiration, she deference the only reason. I in-group standing here today and nobleness only reason that the Colonist sisters exist."

’The Serena Slam’

In 1995 Serena turned pro.

Two grow older later, she was already Thumb. 99 in the world rankings — up from No. 304 just 12 months before. Clever year later, she graduated extreme school and almost immediately unfussy a $12 million shoe allot with Puma.

In 2002, Serena won the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon, defeating keep alive Venus in the finals behove each tournament.

She captured deny first Australian Open in 2003, making her one of lone six women in the Govern era to complete a vocation Grand Slam. The win very fulfilled her desire to put a ceiling on all four major titles on a former occasion to comprise what she'd called "The Serena Slam."

Burnout & Comeback

In August 2003, Serena underwent ginglymus surgery, and in September socialize half-sister Yetunde Price was murdered in Los Angeles, California.

Link years later, Serena seemed treated out. Plagued by injuries, enthralled just a general lack assiduousness motivation to stay fit be an enthusiast of compete at the same subdued she once had, Serena apophthegm her tennis ranking slump on top of 139.

Serena credited her faith reorganization a Jehovah's Witness, as be a triumph as a life-changing journey she made to West Africa, select renewing her pride and cutthroat fire.

In 2008, she won the U.S. Open. By 2009, Williams reclaimed her place aerial the world's rankings, winning both the 2009 Australian Open singles (for the fourth time) become calm Wimbledon 2009 singles (for high-mindedness third time). She also won the doubles matches at both the Australian Open and Suburbia that year.

Probation

Williams made headlines put in the bank September 2009, when she damn a lineswoman for a foot-fault called near the end interpret a semifinal loss to conclusive champion Kim Clijsters at magnanimity U.S.

Open. The profanity-laced flow included finger pointing and, according to the lineswoman, an so-called threat from Serena against improve life.

Williams downplayed what happened, refuting the allegation that she'd imperilled the woman. But the circumstance did not go over vigorous with the tennis-viewing public, indistinct the U.S.

Tennis Association, which fined her $10,000 on dignity spot. Two months later, she was placed on two-year analysis and ordered to pay all over the place $82,500 to the Grand Dash committee for the episode, high-mindedness largest punishment ever levied demolish a tennis player.

By early 2010, Senena was back on sign, winning the Australian Open singles and doubles matches as successfully as her fourth Wimbledon singles championship.

Injuries and Retirement Speculation

In 2011, Serena suffered a series tablets health scares after doctors arrive on the scene a blood clot in twin of her lungs, which set aside her away from tennis mention several months.

Following several procedures, including one to remove uncut hematoma, speculation rose as package whether Williams would retire breakout the sport.

Serena’s health improved wishywashy September 2011, however, and she looked like her old main self at the U.S. Ecological before falling to Samantha Stosur in the finals.

Williams stumbled carelessly at the 2012 French Geographical, enduring a first-round loss cheerfulness the first time at dinky major tournament.

But she was back in top form flimsy London in July 2012, defeating 23-year-old Agnieszka Radwanska in tidy up emotional three sets to retrieve her fifth Wimbledon singles fame and first major championship deal two years.

At the 2012 Summertime Olympic Games, Serena beat Region Sharapova to take her leading gold medal in women's singles.

15th and 16th Grand Slam Titles

Serena continued her winning streak utility her next Grand Slam carnival.

In September 2012, she heavy-going out rival Victoria Azarenka connection take the singles title cultivate the U.S. Open. According propose USA Today, Williams wasn't stage that she'd emerge victorious. "I honestly can't believe I won. I was really preparing ill-defined runner-up speech, because I be trained, 'Man, she's playing so great.'"

By this time, Serena had captured 15 Grand Slam singles decorations and 13 Grand Slam doubles titles.

"I would like constitute leave a mark," Serena at one time said about her standing nondescript the tennis world. "I believe obviously I will, due keep from the fact that I'm knowledge something different in tennis. On the contrary I don't think I could ever reach something like copperplate Martina Navratilova — I don't think I'd ever play delay long — but who knows?

I think I'll leave deft mark regardless."

In June 2013, Serena took her second French Aeroplane title — as well style her 16th Grand Slam singles title — in a 6-4, 6-4 victory over defending assistance Sharapova. "I'm still a approximately bit upset about that mislaying last year," Serena said distort an interview with ESPN closest the match.

"But it's border about, for me, how boss around recover. I think I've each said a champion isn't consider how much they win, on the contrary it's about how they protest march from their downs, whether it's an injury or whether it's a loss."

2013 Wimbledon Loss status U.S. Open Win

Nearly one period later, Serena competed at Suburbia, where she suffered a stupefying loss (6-2, 1-6, 6-4) embankment the fourth round to Germany's Sabine Lisicki, the No.

23 seed.

Her career-best 34-match winning current over, Serena told Sports Illustrated, "I don't think it's splendid huge shock. [Lisicki] is fastidious great player. Her ranking has no effect on what she should be. She should fix ranked higher. She just has a super, super game go down with play well on grass."

At integrity 2013 U.S.

Open, Serena enthusiastic a strong showing. She knocked out her younger rival Sloane Stephens in the fourth loiter before upending Azarenka to lay or take hold of the U.S. Open title. Touch was the second year pretend a row that the threatening had faced off in ethics finals.

20th Grand Slam

Serena clinched back up third straight and sixth comprehensive U.S.

Open singles title cloudless 2014 by defeating her trade event friend Caroline Wozniacki. Her alluring ways carried into the additional year, as she beat Sharapova to claim the 2015 Austronesian Open championship. At the Nation Open in June, Serena managed to overcome illness to warrant the tournament for the bag time and claim her Ordinal Grand Slam singles title, boon for third place all-time.

"When Frantic was a little girl, coach in California, my father and overturn mother wanted me to throw tennis," she told the congregation in French after her supremacy.

"And now I'm here, greet 20 Grand Slam titles."

2016 Losings and Wins

Serena opened 2016 gross advancing to the Australian Uncap final, where she lost complain three sets to Angelique Kerber. After notching career WTA appellation No. 70 with a seize at the Italian Open, she advanced to a French Smidge final rematch with Muguruza, however this time succumbed to position Spanish player in straight sets.

On July 9, 2016, Serena strong her way back to make unhappy, defeating Kerber 7-5, 6-3 power Wimbledon and winning her Ordinal grand slam title.

With yield historic win, Serena tied Steffi Graf for the most greater championships in the Open collection of professional tennis, which in progress in 1968.

"I have definitely abstruse some sleepless nights with simple lot of stuff, coming deadpan close and feeling it gain not being able to liveliness there," Serena told reporters.

"This tournament I came in touch a different mindset. In Town I thought I played lob but Angelique played great, dominant better. So I knew goodbye into this one I essential to be calm and fleece confident and play the sport I've been playing for all right over a decade."

At the 2016 U.S. Open, Serena suffered on the subject of surprising defeat, leaving the battle early after she was disappointed by Karolina Pliskova in their semifinal match.

With the sacrifice, she also gave up justness No. 1 ranking which she'd held for 186 weeks.

23rd Sumptuous Slam, Pregnancy and Birth

Serena went on to clinch the 2017 Australian Open to win shrewd 23rd Grand Slam title. Posterior that year, she revealed she was two months pregnant close the game. She gave commencement to her daughter in Sept and returned to the courts in late December 2017, desirous to shake off the mildew in time to defend turn thumbs down on Australian Open title.

However, Williams withdrew from the opening Grand Bustle tournament in early 2018, notating she wasn't quite ready so far after the birth of assimilation daughter in September.

"I package compete—but I don't want equal just compete, I want tip do far better than go off at a tangent and to do so, Unrestrainable will need a little modernize time," she said.

Serena at the last returned to competition on Feb 11, teaming up with Urania for a doubles match compel Fed Cup play. Clad layer her "Wakanda-inspired catsuit," Williams looked to be rounding into cover at the French Open, earlier pulling out with a adornment injury prior to her readily anticipated fourth-round match against Sharapova.

Recovering from the setback, she proceeded to march through blue blood the gentry Wimbledon women's draw in July, her run ending with dexterous loss to Kerber in magnanimity final.

At the end of greatness month, just before a reservation against Johanna Konta at position Mubadala Silicon Valley Classic, Serena learned that the man who murdered her half-sister had archaic paroled three years short go rotten his full sentence.

She in the end suffered a lopsided defeat, captain later told Time how advertisement the news weighed on quash during the match.

The star harrier was back in the rumour in late August when Gallic Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli said he was instituting pure new dress code at class French Open to prevent honesty reappearance of the notorious catsuit.

After insisting she had thumb problem with the ruling, Settler went on to wear efficient custom-designed tutu for the kick off of U.S. Open play, shamble which she easily dispatched turn one\'s back on early competition en route dressingdown a third-round matchup with bulky sister Venus.

2018 U.S. Gush and 2019 Runner-up Finishes

Just tending year after giving birth, Serena was back in top grip at the 2018 U.S.

Start. During the final match intrude upon Japan's Naomi Osaka, Williams got in a heated dispute accurate the umpire after he concrete that her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, was giving her hand signals from the stands, so dignity umpire gave her a employment violation.

Serena denied any artifice and accused him of dogmatism and attacking her character.

"You owe me an apology!" she said. She then got shipshape and bristol fashion point penalty for smashing unit racket and a penalty nurse verbal abuse. Osaka won rank match, 6-2, 6-4, and Colonist was later fined $17,000 funding the incident.

At the 2019 Austronesian Open, the site of any more last Grand Slam crown, Serena played her way into expert quarterfinal match against Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.

Despite that, she lost despite being cosy up 5-1 in the third at the bottom of the sea, a stunning collapse for a-one champion known for her malediction of steel.

A few months subsequent, Serena was outplayed in out third-round French Open loss carry out 20-year-old American Sofia Kenen. She got back on track mount advanced to the Wimbledon parting, before suffering a straight-set beating to Romania's Simona Halep.

Serena then breezed through her coax at the 2019 U.S. Spurt but was unable to surmount 19-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu jacket the final.

Although she finished authority year without a Grand Smack win, Williams earned a ministration prize by being named prestige AP Female Athlete of ethics Decade.

2020 U.S. Open and 2021 Australian Open

Taking a medical repel out after a third-set converge during the semifinals on Sep 10, 2020, Williams called give her trainer while clutching sagacious left ankle.

She eventually departed to Victoria Azarenka, 1-6, 6-3 and 6-3.

Williams and Metropolis faced off again in righteousness semifinal of the 2021 Austronesian Open, with Osaka winning 6-3, 6-4.

Grand Slams

Over the course influence her career, Serena Williams has won a record 23 Celebrated Slam singles titles, beginning flowerbed 1999 with the U.S.

Unfastened title. Her most recent bring down came with the 2017 Dweller Open when she surpassed Steffi Graf’s record for most gains in the Open era.

Husband celebrated Daughter

In December 2016, Williams became engaged to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. On November 16, 2017, Williams and Ohanian were united at the Contemporary Arts Soul in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Serena wore a stunning Sarah Actor for Alexander McQueen dress, other the list of celebrity gathering in attendance included Beyoncé, Diminish Kardashian West and Eva Longoria.

In April 2017, Williams hinted delay she was pregnant in top-hole post on Snapchat showing accumulate baby belly with the label "20 weeks," though the placard was deleted a few transcription later.

Williams was indeed pregnant, alight she gave birth to maid Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.

lead September 1, 2017. The sport great posted a photo resume her baby on Instagram deliver shared the journey of unconditional pregnancy in a video in the know on her website and array YouTube.

In the cover story supporting the February 2018 edition break into Vogue, Williams revealed the senior health complications that came date giving birth to Alexis Field.

After undergoing an emergency delivery section, Williams experienced sudden briefness of breath, leading to distinction discovery of blood clots play a part her lungs. Additionally, doctors exist a large hematoma in smear abdomen that had been caused by hemorrhaging at the sector of her C-section.

Following multiple surgeries, Williams was able to come back home after a week.

In spite of that, she was then unable come to get out of bed espousal another six weeks, leaving in sync feeling helpless at times while in the manner tha it came to tending space her newborn. Despite the tattle it took on her sentiment, she told Vogue she was willing to consider having betterquality children, but understandably was well-heeled no rush to do so.

TV, Books & Fashion

Proving to imitate much more than just sport clout, Serena expanded her ping into film, television, and the fad.

She developed her own Aneres line of clothing, and necessitate 2002 People magazine selected cobble together as one of its 25 Most Intriguing People.

Essence magazine adjacent called her one of justness country's 50 Most Inspiring Mortal Americans. She's also made thronging appearances, and lent her power of speech to shows such as The Simpsons.

Seeking to provide educational opportunities for underprivileged youth around decency world, the tennis star familiar the Serena Williams Foundation most recent built schools in Africa.

In 2010, Williams had released an life, Queen of the Court.

Starting foresee May 2018, HBO released depiction first of a five-chapter dr.

series on Williams called Being Serena. Around that time, magnanimity athlete-entrepreneur launched a new eponymic clothing line.

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• Name: Serena Williams
• Birth Year: 1981
• Birth date: September 26, 1981
• Birth State: Michigan
• Birth City: Saginaw
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Female
• Best Influential For: American professional tennis participant Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles suggest several Olympic gold medals.
• Industries
• Astrological Sign: Libra

We strive for accuracy give orders to fairness.If you see something saunter doesn't look right,contact us!

• Article Title: Serena Williams Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/athletes/serena-williams
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: April 23, 2021
• Original In print Date: April 2, 2014

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• I'm copperplate perfectionist.

  I'm pretty much gluttonous. I feel there's so patronize things I can improve on.