SERENA WILLIAMS ,AMERICAN TENNIS PLAYER
MAKES NEW HISTORY BORN 1981,SEPTEMBER 26
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Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981)[1] is an American professional tennis player. The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has ranked her world No. 1 in singles on six separate occasions. She became the world No. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002, and achieved this ranking for the sixth time on February 18, 2013.[4] On the latter occasion, she held the ranking for 186 consecutive weeks, setting the joint record with Steffi Graf for the most consecutive weeks as world No. 1 by a female tennis player. In total, she has been world no. 1 for 309 weeks, which ranks her third all time among female tennis players. Williams is regarded by some commentators, players and sports writers as the greatest female tennis player of all time.[a]
Williams holds the most major singles, doubles, and mixed doubles titles combined amongst active players, male or female. Her record of 38 major titles puts her fourth on the all-time list and second in the open era: 22 in singles, 14 in women's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. She is the most recent female player to have held all four major singles titles simultaneously (2002–03 and 2014–15) and the third player, male or female, to achieve this record twice after Rod Laver and Steffi Graf. She is also the most recent player, together with her sister Venus Williams, to have held all four Grand Slam women's doubles titles simultaneously (2009–10).
Her total of 22 Grand Slam singles titles marks the joint record for the most Major wins by a tennis player (male or female) in the Open Era,[16] and is tied for second on the all-time list behind Margaret Court (24),[16] She is the only tennis player – female or male – to have won singles titles at least six times in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments. She is also the only tennis player to have won 10 Grand Slam singles titles in two separate decades. She has won an all-time record of 12 Grand Slam singles titles on hardcourt. Williams holds the Open Era record for most titles won at the Australian Open (6) and shares the Open Era record for most titles won at the US Open with Chris Evert (6). She also holds an all-time record for the most singles matches won at the Grand Slams with 309 matches (through 2016 US Open quarter-finals).
She has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister Venus, and the pair are unbeaten in Grand Slam doubles finals.[17] As a team, she and Venus have the second most women's doubles grand slam titles, only behind the 20 titles won by Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver. Williams is also a five-time winner of the WTA Tour Championships in the singles division.[18] Serena has also won four Olympic gold medals, one in women's singles and three in women's doubles—an all-time record shared with her sister, Venus.[19][20]
The arrival of the Williams sisters has been credited with ushering in a new era of power on the women's professional tennis tour.[21][22][23][24] Williams was the highest paid female athlete in 2016, earning $28.9 million in prize money and endorsements.[25] In December 2015, she was named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated magazine.[26]
Early life[edit]
Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price, and is the youngest of Price's five daughters: half-sisters Yetunde, Lyndrea and Isha Price, and full sister Venus.[1]
When the children were young, the family moved to Compton, California, where Williams started playing tennis at the age of three.[27][28] Her father, Richard, home-schooled Serena and her sister Venus.[29][30] While he and subsequently her mother, Oracene, have been the official coaches, other mentors who helped her learn the game included Richard Williams in Compton (not to be confused with her father) who would go on to found The Venus and Serena Williams Tennis/Tutorial Academy.[31]
Williams' family moved from Compton to West Palm Beach, Florida,[27] when she was nine so that she could attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci, who would provide additional coaching. Macci spotted the exceptional talents of the sisters. He did not always agree with Williams' father, but respected that "he treated his daughters like kids, allowed them to be little girls".[32] Richard stopped sending his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments when Williams was 10, since he wanted them to take it slow and focus on school work. Another factor was racial, as he had heard white parents talk about the Williams sisters in a derogatory manner during tournaments.[33] At that time, Williams had a 46–3 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among under-10 players in Florida.[34] In 1995, when Williams was in the ninth grade, her father pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy and, from then on, took over all coaching at their home. When asked in 2000 whether having followed the normal path of playing regularly on the junior circuit would have been beneficial, Williams responded: "Everyone does different things. I think for Venus and I, we just attempted a different road, and it worked for us."[34]
Williams at the US Open
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Full name | Serena Jameka Williams |
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Country (sports) | United States |
Residence | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.[1] |
Born | September 26, 1981 Saginaw, Michigan, U.S. |
Height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)[1] |
Turned pro | September 24, 1995 |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Coach(es) | Richard Williams (1994–) Oracene Price Patrick Mouratoglou(2012–)[2] |
Prize money | US$81,758,451 (As of September 12, 2016)[3] |
Official website | Official website |
Singles | |
Career record | 770–128 (85.75%) |
Career titles | 71 WTA (5th in overall rankings), 0 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 1 (July 8, 2002) |
Current ranking | No. 2 (September 26, 2016) |
Grand Slam Singles results | |
Australian Open | W (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009,2010, 2015) |
French Open | W (2002, 2013, 2015) |
Wimbledon | W (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010,2012, 2015, 2016) |
US Open | W (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012,2013, 2014) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | W (2001, 2009, 2012, 2013,2014) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 184–30 (85.98%) |
Career titles | 23 WTA, 0 ITF |
Highest ranking | No. 1 (June 21, 2010) |
Current ranking | No. 31 (September 26, 2016) |
Grand Slam Doubles results | |
Australian Open | W (2001, 2003, 2009, 2010) |
French Open | W (1999, 2010) |
Wimbledon | W (2000, 2002, 2008, 2009,2012, 2016) |
US Open | W (1999, 2009) |
Other doubles tournaments | |
Tour Finals | SF (2009) |
Mixed doubles | |
Career record | 27–4 (87.1%) |
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results | |
Australian Open | F (1999) |
French Open | F (1998) |
Wimbledon | W (1998) |
US Open | W (1998) |
Team competitions | |
Fed Cup | W (1999), record 16–1 |
Hopman Cup | W (2003, 2008) |
Last updated on: July 9, 2016. |
Professional career[edit]
1995–98: Professional debut[edit]
Williams' first professional event was in September 1995, at the age of 14 to counteract the forthcoming changes to age-eligibility rules, at the Bell Challenge. She lost in the first round of qualifying to Annie Miller, winning just two games.[55]
Williams did not play a tournament in 1996. The following year, she lost in the qualifying rounds of three tournaments, before winning her first main-draw match in November at the Ameritech Cup Chicago. Ranked world No. 304, she upset world No. 7 Mary Pierce and world No. 4 Monica Seles, recording her first career wins over top 10 players and becoming the lowest-ranked player in the open era to defeat two top 10 opponents in one tournament.[1] She ultimately lost in the semifinals to world No. 5 Lindsay Davenport. She finished 1997 ranked world No. 99.
Williams began 1998 at the Medibank International Sydney. As a qualifier ranked world No. 96, she defeated world No. 3 Davenport in the quarterfinals, before losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals. Williams made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open, where she defeated sixth-seeded Irina Spîrlea in the first round, before losing to sister Venus in the second round in the sisters' first professional match.[56]
Williams reached six other quarterfinals during the year, but lost all of them, including her first match against world No. 1 Martina Hingis at the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, and her second match against Venus at the Italian Open in Rome.
She failed to reach the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam tournament the remainder of the year, losing in the fourth round of the French Open to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, and the third round of both Wimbledon and the US Open, to Virginia Ruano Pascual and Spîrlea, respectively. She did, however, win the mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open with Max Mirnyi, completing the Williams family's sweep of the 1998 mixed doubles Grand Slam tournaments. Williams won her first professional title in doubles in Oklahoma City with Venus, becoming the third pair of sisters to win a WTA title.[1] Williams and her sister won two more doubles titles together during the year. Williams finished the year ranked world No. 20 in singles.
Battle of the Sexes: Karsten Braasch vs the Williams sisters[edit]
Main article: Battle of the Sexes (tennis)
A 16-year-old Serena competed in a tennis "Battle of the Sexes", along with her sister Venus Williams, against Karsten Braasch at the 1998 Australian Open.[57] At the time Braasch was ranked 203rd. The Williams sisters had claimed they could beat any man outside the top 200, and he accepted the challenge.
Not known for having an ideal training regimen, Braasch nonetheless beat both Williams sisters, playing a single set against each.
The score vs Serena was 6–1 and vs Venus 6–2.[58] Braasch said afterwards, "500 and above, no chance." The girls later tweaked the number to beating men outside the top 350.[59]
1999–2001: Becoming a top-10 player[edit]
Williams lost in the third round of the 1999 Australian Open to Sandrine Testud. Williams won her first professional singles title when she defeated Amélie Mauresmo in the final of the Open Gaz de France. With Venus also winning the IGA Superthrift Classic that day, the pair became the first sisters to win professional tournaments in the same week.[60] A month later, Williams won her first Tier I singles title at the Evert Cup, defeating Steffi Graf in the final.
At the Lipton International Players Championships, Williams had her 16-match winning streak ended by Venus in the first all-sister singles final in WTA history and made her top-10 debut at world No. 9. She then lost in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open and the German Open, and the third round of the French Open, where she and Venus won the women's doubles title.
She then missed Wimbledon because of injury. When she returned to the tour, Williams won a Fed Cup singles match, won the JPMorgan Chase Open, beating Julie Halard-Decugis in the final. She then defeated in succession grand slam tournament champions Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martínez, Monica Seles, and defending champion Lindsay Davenport to reach the US Open final where she defeated world No. 1 Hingis to become the second African-American woman after Althea Gibson in 1958 to win a Grand Slam singles tournament.[1] The Williams sisters also won the doubles title at this tournament. To complete 1999, Williams won a doubles match in the Fed Cup final against Russia. Williams ended the year ranked world No. 4 in just her second full year on the main tour.
Williams started 2000 by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Elena Likhovtseva. She failed to defend her titles in Paris and Indian Wells, although she did win the Faber Grand Prix. Williams missed the French Open because of injury. She returned at Wimbledon, where she lost to Venus in the semifinals, but they won the doubles title at the event. Williams successfully defended her title in Los Angeles, defeating Davenport in the final. She reached the final of the Du Maurier Open where an injury forced her to retire from her match with Hingis. Her defense of the US Open title ended when she lost in the quarterfinals to Davenport. Williams teamed with Venus to win the gold medal in doubles at the Sydney Olympics in September. She ended the year winning the Toyota Princess Cup. She finished the year ranked world No. 6.
Williams began 2001 losing to Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals of both Sydney and the Australian Open. Williams and her sister won the doubles title at the latter tournament, becoming only the fifth doubles team in history to win all four Grand Slam women's doubles titles during their career, completing a "Career Grand Slam". Her next event was the Pacific Life Open, defeating Kim Clijsters in the final. However the final was marred by the behavior of the crowd towards Williams and her family. The crowd were incensed at the perceived match fixing of games involving the family after Venus withdrew before their semifinal.
Neither Williams or her sister entered the tournament for fourteen years until Williams entered in 2015 as a wild-card (and the top seed).[61] The following week at the Ericsson Open, Williams lost to Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals. She then lost in the quarterfinals to Capriati at the French Open and Wimbledon. This was the fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament at which Williams had exited in the quarterfinals. At the North American hard-court season, she lost in the quarterfinals of Los Angeles against Monica Seles, then captured her second title of the year at the Rogers Cup, defeating Capriati in the final. Williams reached the final of the US Open, losing to sister Venus. That was the first Grand Slam tournament final contested by two sisters during the open era. At the 2001-ending Sanex Championships, Williams won the championship by walkover when Davenport withdrew before the start of the final because of a knee injury. Williams finished 2001 at world No. 6 for the second straight year.
Grand Slam tournament performance timeline[edit]
W | F | SF | QF | R# | RR | Q# | A | NH |
(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent from tournament; or (NH) tournament not held.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.
Tournament | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | SR | W–L |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | 2R | 3R | 4R | QF | A | W | A | W | 3R | W | QF | W | W | A | 4R | QF | 4R | W | F | 6 / 16 | 74–10 |
French Open | 4R | 3R | A | QF | W | SF | QF | A | A | QF | 3R | QF | QF | A | 1R | W | 2R | W | F | 3 / 15 | 60–12 |
Wimbledon | 3R | A | SF | QF | W | W | F | 3R | A | QF | F | W | W | 4R | W | 4R | 3R | W | W | 7 / 17 | 86–10 |
US Open | 3R | W | QF | F | W | A | QF | 4R | 4R | QF | W | SF | A | F | W | W | W | SF | SF | 6 / 17 | 89–11 |
Win–Loss | 8–4 | 11–2 | 12–3 | 18–4 | 21–0 | 19–1 | 14–3 | 12–2 | 5–2 | 19–3 | 19–3 | 23–2 | 18–1 | 9–2 | 17–2 | 21–2 | 13–3 | 26–1 | 24–3 | 22 / 65 | 309–43 |
Grand Slam tournament finals[edit]
Singles: 28 (22–6)[edit]
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponents in final | Score in final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1999 | US Open | Hard | Martina Hingis | 6–3, 7–6(7–4) |
Runner-up | 2001 | US Open | Hard | Venus Williams | 2–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 2002 | French Open | Clay | Venus Williams | 7–5, 6–3 |
Winner | 2002 | Wimbledon | Grass | Venus Williams | 7–6(7–4), 6–3 |
Winner | 2002 | US Open (2) | Hard | Venus Williams | 6–4, 6–3 |
Winner | 2003 | Australian Open | Hard | Venus Williams | 7–6(7–4), 3–6, 6–4 |
Winner | 2003 | Wimbledon (2) | Grass | Venus Williams | 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2004 | Wimbledon | Grass | Maria Sharapova | 1–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 2005 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Lindsay Davenport | 2–6, 6–3, 6–0 |
Winner | 2007 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Maria Sharapova | 6–1, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2008 | Wimbledon (2) | Grass | Venus Williams | 5–7, 4–6 |
Winner | 2008 | US Open (3) | Hard | Jelena Janković | 6–4, 7–5 |
Winner | 2009 | Australian Open (4) | Hard | Dinara Safina | 6–0, 6–3 |
Winner | 2009 | Wimbledon (3) | Grass | Venus Williams | 7–6(7–3), 6–2 |
Winner | 2010 | Australian Open (5) | Hard | Justine Henin | 6–4, 3–6, 6–2 |
Winner | 2010 | Wimbledon (4) | Grass | Vera Zvonareva | 6–3, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 2011 | US Open (2) | Hard | Samantha Stosur | 2–6, 3–6 |
Winner | 2012 | Wimbledon (5) | Grass | Agnieszka Radwańska | 6–1, 5–7, 6–2 |
Winner | 2012 | US Open (4) | Hard | Victoria Azarenka | 6–2, 2–6, 7–5 |
Winner | 2013 | French Open (2) | Clay | Maria Sharapova | 6–4, 6–4 |
Winner | 2013 | US Open (5) | Hard | Victoria Azarenka | 7–5, 6–7(6–8), 6–1 |
Winner | 2014 | US Open (6) | Hard | Caroline Wozniacki | 6–3, 6–3 |
Winner | 2015 | Australian Open (6) | Hard | Maria Sharapova | 6–3, 7–6(7–5) |
Winner | 2015 | French Open (3) | Clay | Lucie Šafářová | 6–3, 6–7(2–7), 6–2 |
Winner | 2015 | Wimbledon (6) | Grass | Garbiñe Muguruza | 6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 2016 | Australian Open | Hard | Angelique Kerber | 4–6, 6–3, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 2016 | French Open | Clay | Garbiñe Muguruza | 5–7, 4–6 |
Winner | 2016 | Wimbledon (7) | Grass | Angelique Kerber | 7–5, 6–3 |
Women's doubles: 14 (14–0)[edit]
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in final | Score in final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1999 | French Open | Clay | Venus Williams | Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova | 6–3, 6–7(2–7), 8–6 |
Winner | 1999 | US Open | Hard | Venus Williams | Chanda Rubin Sandrine Testud | 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
Winner | 2000 | Wimbledon | Grass | Venus Williams | Julie Halard-Decugis Ai Sugiyama | 6–3, 6–2 |
Winner | 2001 | Australian Open | Hard | Venus Williams | Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu | 6–2, 2–6, 6–4 |
Winner | 2002 | Wimbledon (2) | Grass | Venus Williams | Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez | 6–2, 7–5 |
Winner | 2003 | Australian Open (2) | Hard | Venus Williams | Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez | 4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
Winner | 2008 | Wimbledon (3) | Grass | Venus Williams | Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur | 6–2, 6–2 |
Winner | 2009 | Australian Open (3) | Hard | Venus Williams | Daniela Hantuchová Ai Sugiyama | 6–3, 6–3 |
Winner | 2009 | Wimbledon (4) | Grass | Venus Williams | Samantha Stosur Rennae Stubbs | 7–6(7–4), 6–4 |
Winner | 2009 | US Open (2) | Hard | Venus Williams | Cara Black Liezel Huber | 6–2, 6–2 |
Winner | 2010 | Australian Open (4) | Hard | Venus Williams | Cara Black Liezel Huber | 6–4, 6–3 |
Winner | 2010 | French Open (2) | Clay | Venus Williams | Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik | 6–2, 6–3 |
Winner | 2012 | Wimbledon (5) | Grass | Venus Williams | Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká | 7–5, 6–4 |
Winner | 2016 | Wimbledon (6) | Grass | Venus Williams | Timea Babos Yaroslava Shvedova | 6–3, 6–4 |
Mixed doubles: 4 (2–2)[edit]
Outcome | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents in final | Score in final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1998 | French Open | Clay | Luis Lobo | Justin Gimelstob Venus Williams | 3–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 1998 | Wimbledon | Grass | Max Mirnyi | Mahesh Bhupathi Mirjana Lučić | 6–4, 6–4 |
Winner | 1998 | US Open | Hard | Max Mirnyi | Patrick Galbraith Lisa Raymond | 6–2, 6–2 |
Runner-up | 1999 | Australian Open | Hard | Max Mirnyi | David Adams Mariaan de Swardt | 4–6, 6–4, 6–7(5– |
Filmography[edit]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | The Simpsons | Herself (voice) | Episode: "Tennis the Menace" |
2002 | My Wife and Kids | Miss Wiggins | Episode: "Crouching Mother, Hidden Father" |
2003 | Street Time | Meeka Hayes | Episode: "Fly Girl" |
2004 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Chloe Spiers | Episode: "Brotherhood" |
2004 | The Division | Jennifer Davis | Episode: "Lost and Found" |
2004 | Hair Show | Agent Ross | |
2005 | Higglytown Heroes | Snowplow Driver Hero (voice) | Episode: "Higgly Hoedown/Eubie's Turbo Sled" |
2005 | ER | Alice Watson | Episode: "Two Ships " |
2005 | All of Us | Herself | Episode: "Not So Wonderful News" |
2005 | America's Next Top Model | Herself | Episode: "The Girl with the Worst Photo in History" |
2005–2007 | Punk'd | Herself | 3 episodes |
2007 | Loonatics Unleashed | Queen Athena (voice) | Episode: "Apocalypso" |
2007 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Ming (voice) | Episode: "The Day of Black Sun: Part 1 – The Invasion" |
2006 | The Bernie Mac Show | Herself | Episode: "Spinning Wheels" |
2008 | The Game | Herself | Episode: "The List Episode" |
2008 | MADtv | Herself / Black Racket | Episode: "Episode 7" |
2011 | Keeping Up with the Kardashians | Herself | Episode: "Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event – Part 2" |
2012 | Drop Dead Diva | Kelly Stevens | Episode: "Rigged" |
2012 | Venus and Serena | Herself | |
2013 | The Legend of Korra | Female Sage (voice) | Episode: "Beginnings, Part 1" |
2015 | 7 Days in Hell | Herself | |
2015 | Pixels | Herself | Cameo Appearance[276] |
2016 | Lemonade | Herself | Cameo Appearance: "Sorry" |
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