Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981)
[ is an American former professional ]tennis
Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. The association governs the WTA Tour, which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, and was founded to create a better future fo ...
(WTA) for 319 weeks ( third-most of all time), and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Williams won 73 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour (also known as the Hologic WTA Tour for sponsorship reasons) is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for women and organized by the Women's Tennis Association. The second-tier tour is the WTA 125 series, and third-tier is the ITF Wome ...
–level singles titles, including 23 major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
women's singles titles—the most in the Open Era
The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Edgbaston, Warwickshire, England, now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today a ...
, and the second-most of all time. She is the only player to accomplish a career Golden Slam
The Grand Slam in tennis is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in a calendar year. In doubles, a Grand Slam may be achieved as a team or as an individual with different partners. Winning all four major cha ...
in both singles and doubles.
Along with her elder sister Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
, Serena Williams was coached by her parents Oracene Price
Oracene Price (born April 3, 1952) is an American tennis coach. She is best known for being both the mother and coach of Venus and Serena Williams, both of whom are widely regarded as among the best tennis players of all time. She is the former w ...
and Richard Williams. Turning professional in 1995, she won her first major singles title at the 1999 US Open. From the 2002 French Open
The 2002 French Open was the second Grand Slam event of 2002 and the 101st edition of the French Open. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from late May through early June, 2002.
Both Gustavo Kuerten and Jennifer Capriati ...
to the 2003 Australian Open
The 2003 Australian Open was a tennis tournament held in 2003. It was the first Grand Slam event of the 2003 ATP Tour and the 2003 WTA Tour. It was the 91st edition of the event and attracted 512,225 spectators.
Thomas Johansson could not def ...
she was dominant, winning all four major singles titles consecutively (each time over Venus in the final) to achieve a non-calendar year Grand Slam (nicknamed the "Serena Slam"). The next few years saw Williams capture two more major singles titles, but suffer from injury and decline in form. Starting in 2007, however, she gradually returned to form despite continued injuries, reclaiming the world No. 1 singles ranking. Beginning with the 2012 Wimbledon Championships
The 2012 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 126th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and was held fr ...
, Williams returned to dominance, claiming Olympic gold (completing the career Golden Slam in singles) and winning eight out of thirteen singles majors, including all four in a row from 2014–2015 to achieve a second "Serena Slam". At the 2017 Australian Open
The 2017 Australian Open was a List of tennis tournaments, tennis tournament that took place at Melbourne Park between 16 and 29 January 2017. It was the 105th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tourname ...
, she won her 23rd major singles title, surpassing Steffi Graf
Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a r ...
's Open Era record. After becoming pregnant, Williams took a break from professional tennis, but reached four major finals upon returning to play. In August 2022, Williams announced her impending "evolution" away from professional tennis, and played her final match at the 2022 US Open.
Williams also won 23 WTA Tour-level doubles titles. This includes 14 major women's doubles titles, all won with her sister Venus, and the pair was unbeaten in major doubles finals (the best unbeaten record in major finals in any discipline of the sport). The sisters achieved a non-calendar year Grand Slam between the 2009 Wimbledon Championships
The 2009 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 123rd edition of the Wimbledon Championships and was held from ...
and the 2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, from 23 May through ...
, which granted them the doubles world No. 1 ranking. Williams won four Olympic gold medals, three in women's doubles—an all-time joint record in tennis, shared with her sister. The duo are the only women in the Open Era to win Olympic gold in both singles and doubles. Williams also won two mixed doubles majors, both in 1998. She is the only player, male or female, to complete three career Golden Slams – one in women's singles and two in women's doubles.
The ascent of the Williams sisters has been credited with ushering in a new era of power and athleticism on the women's professional tennis tour. Serena is the most recent woman to simultaneously hold all four major singles titles (2002–2003 and 2014–2015), and to win the Surface Slam (major titles on hard
Hard means something that is difficult to do. It may also refer to:
* Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture
* Hard water, water with high mineral content
Arts and entertainment
* Hard (TV series), ''Hard'' (TV ser ...
, clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
and grass
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...
courts in the same calendar year), which she accomplished in 2015. She is also, with Venus, the most recent player to have simultaneously held all four major women's doubles titles (2009–2010).
Williams was the world's highest paid woman athlete in 2016, earning almost $29 million. She repeated this feat in 2017 when she was the only woman on ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' list of the 100 highest-paid athletes, with $27million in prize money and endorsements. She is the highest-earning woman athlete of all time.
Williams won the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year a record four times (2003, 2010, 2016, 2018), Comeback of the Year once (2007), and in December 2015 was named Sportsperson of the Year by ''Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
'' magazine. In 2020, the Tennis Channel
Tennis Channel is an American sports digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of tennis, al ...
ranked Williams as the greatest women’s tennis player of all time. She received the Princess of Asturias Award
The Princess of Asturias Awards (, ), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 (), are a series of annual prizes awarded in Spain by the Princess of Asturias Foundation (previously the Prince of Asturias Foundation) to individuals ...
for Sport in 2025.
Early life
Williams was born on September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan
Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township, ...
, to Oracene Price
Oracene Price (born April 3, 1952) is an American tennis coach. She is best known for being both the mother and coach of Venus and Serena Williams, both of whom are widely regarded as among the best tennis players of all time. She is the former w ...
and Richard Williams. She is the youngest of Price's five daughters, after half-sisters Yetunde
Yetunde () is a traditional name of the Yoruba ethnic group for females which factors into Yoruba religious beliefs, meaning "Mother has returned". This is the name the Yoruba give to a daughter born shortly after the death of a paternal grandmo ...
, Lyndrea, and Isha Price, and full older sister Venus.[ She also has at least seven paternal half-siblings.] When the children were young, the family moved to Compton, California
Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...
, where she started playing tennis at the age of four. Her father home-schooled her and Venus. While he and her mother have been her official coaches, her other mentors have included Richard Williams, a Compton man who shared her father's name and subsequently founded The Venus and Serena Williams Tennis Tutorial Academy.
When Williams was nine, she and her family moved from Compton to West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
, so she could attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci
Rick Macci (born December 7, 1954) is an American tennis coach and former player. He is a United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) Master Professional, and seven-time USPTA national coach of the year who has trained five number one r ...
, who provided her with additional coaching. Macci did not always agree with Williams's father, but respected that "he treated his daughters like kids, allowed them to be little girls". By 1991, Williams had a 46–3 record on the United States Tennis Association
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tenn ...
junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among under-10 players in Florida. When 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. Experiences of racism also influenced this decision, as he had heard white parents talk about the Williams sisters in a derogatory manner during tournaments. In 1995, when Williams was in the ninth grade, her father pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy and took over all coaching at their home. When asked in 2000 whether it would have been more beneficial for them to have followed the normal path of playing regularly on the junior circuit, Richard responded, "Everyone does different things. I think for Venus and I, we just attempted a different road, and it worked for us."
Professional career
1995–1998: Professional debut
Williams's parents initially wanted their daughter to wait until she was 16 to participate in professional tournaments. In 1995, just after turning 14, Williams planned to make her professional debut as a wild-card entry in the Bank of the West Classic
The Silicon Valley Classic was a tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of San Jose State University in San Jose, California. Started in 1971, the tournament was the oldest women's-only tournament in the world and was played on outdo ...
in Oakland
Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...
, California, but was denied due to age-eligibility restrictions. She subsequently filed an antitrust lawsuit against the WTA, but withdrew it at her parents' request.[ Her first professional event was in October 1995 at the ]Bell Challenge
A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be mad ...
in Quebec,[ where she used a wild-card entry to circumvent age-eligibility rules.][ She lost in the first qualifying round to 18-year-old American ]Annie Miller
Annie Miller (1835–1925) was an English artists' model who, among others, sat for the members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, William Holman Hunt, Dante Gabriel Rossetti and John Everett Millais. Her on-off relationship with Holman Hunt ...
.
After not playing in 1996, Williams won her first main-draw match at the Ameritech Cup Chicago in November 1997. Ranked No.304, she upset No.7 Mary Pierce
Mary Caroline Pierce (born 15 January 1975) is a French former professional tennis player. She was ranked world No. 3 in singles and in doubles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Pierce won 18 singles titles on the WTA Tour, including two ...
and No.4 Monica Seles
Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a Serbian–American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
, recording her first career wins over top10 players and becoming the lowest-ranked player in the Open Era to defeat two top-10 opponents in one tournament. She ultimately lost in the semifinals to No.5 Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach (born June 8, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 98 weeks (including as the year-end No. 1 four ...
. Her 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
The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, was a professional tennis tournament ...
, Williams defeated No.3 Davenport in the quarterfinals, before losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Aránzazu Isabel María "Arantxa" Sánchez Vicario (; born 18 December 1971) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 12 weeks, as well as ...
in the semifinals. Williams's first main draw of a Grand Slam tournament was at the Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, where she defeated sixth-seeded Irina Spîrlea
Irina Spîrlea (born 26 March 1974) is a retired tennis player from Romania who turned professional in 1990. She won four singles and six doubles titles. Spîrlea reached her career-high ranking on the WTA Tour on 13 October 1997, when she becam ...
in the first round, before losing to Venus in the second round in the sisters' first professional face-off. She reached six other quarterfinals during the year, but lost all of them, including her first match against No.1-ranked Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis (, ; born 30 September 1980) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 209 weeks ( fifth-most of all time) and as the world No. ...
. She lost in the fourth round of the French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
to Vicario, and in the third round of the US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...
to Spîrlea. She withdrew from Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
two games into a match after straining a calf muscle. After losing the French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
mixed doubles final to Venus and Justin Gimelstob
Justin Jeremy Gimelstob (born January 26, 1977) is a retired American tennis player. Gimelstob has been a resident of Morristown, New Jersey, and as of 2009 lived in Santa Monica, California.
He was the top-ranked boy in his age group at the ag ...
, Williams won the mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
and the US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...
with Max Mirnyi
Maksim Mikalaevich "Max" Mirnyi (born 6 July 1977) is a Belarusian former professional tennis player.
Mirnyi became a doubles specialist following his singles career, in which he reached a career-high of World No. 18 (August 2003) and finished ...
. Williams won her first professional title in non-mixed doubles at the U.S. National Indoor Championships
The U.S. National Indoor Championships was a tennis tournament that was last held at the Racquet Club of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. Also known as the U.S. International Indoor Championships. The event was played on indoor h ...
in Oklahoma City with Venus, which made them the third pair of sisters to win a WTA title. Williams finished the year ranked No.20 in singles, the fastest achievement of that milestone in women's history.
1999: First major and becoming a top-5 player
In February 1999, Williams won her first professional singles title when she defeated Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo (; born 5 July 1979) is a French former professional tennis player, tennis coach, and tournament director. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 39 weeks. Maur ...
in the final of the Open Gaz de France
Open GDF Suez, formerly Open Gaz de France, was a Premier level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Paris. Held from 1993 till 2014, the tournament was played indoors, originally on carpet until 2000, then on hardcourts. The 2014 Open GDF S ...
in Paris.[ In March, Williams won her first WTA 1000 event at the Evert Cup in California, defeating ]Steffi Graf
Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for a r ...
in the final.[ At the ]Miami Masters
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters and as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts a ...
, Williams had her 16-match winning streak ended by her sister in the first all-sister singles final in WTA history. In the doubles event at the French Open, she and Venus won the title after defeating Hingis and Anna Kournikova
Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova Iglesias (née Kournikova; ; ; born 7 June 1981) is a Russian model and television personality, and former professional tennis player. Her appearance and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars ...
in the final.
Williams missed Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
in 1999 due to injury. When she returned to the tour two months later, she made her Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
debut, defeating Rita Grande
Rita Grande (born 23 March 1975) is a former tennis player from Italy.
During her career, Grande won three singles titles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour. She also won one singles title and three doubles titles on the ITF Women's Cir ...
to send the United States to the final.[ She then won her third title at the JPMorgan Chase Open, beating ]Julie Halard-Decugis
Julie Halard-Decugis (born 10 September 1970) is a French former professional tennis player.
Tennis career
Halard-Decugis lived in La Baule, France, during the initial stages of her career and later moved to Pully, Switzerland. She turned profe ...
in the final. At the US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...
, Williams defeated Grand Slam champions Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 20 weeks, and as the world No. 1 in women's double ...
, Conchita Martínez
Conchita Martínez Bernat (born 16 April 1972) is a Spanish former professional tennis player and current coach. She was the first Spaniard to win the women's singles title at Wimbledon, doing so in 1994. Martínez also was the runner-up at th ...
, Monica Seles, and Lindsay Davenport (the defending champion) in consecutive matches to reach the final, where she defeated No.1-ranked Hingis. Williams became the second African-American woman to win a Grand Slam singles tournament, after Althea Gibson
Althea Neale Gibson (August 25, 1927September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African America ...
. The Williams sisters also won the doubles event at this tournament, making Serena the fifth woman in the Open Era to win both singles and doubles at the same major event.[ To complete her 1999 season, Williams won a doubles match against Russia in the Fed Cup final to help the US win the title.][ Williams ended the year ranked in a career-high world No.4 in just her second full year on the main tour.][
]
2000–2001: Olympic gold, US Open final, and Indian Wells boycott
In 2000, Williams failed to defend her titles in Paris and Indian Wells, although she did win the Faber Grand Prix
The Faber Grand Prix was a WTA Tour affiliated women's tennis tournament played from 1992 to 2000. It was held in Essen in Germany from 1992 to 1994 as well as in 1996, and subsequently in Hanover in Germany from 1997 to 2000. The tournament was p ...
in Germany. Soon afterwards, she missed the French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
due to injury. She recovered and played at the Wimbledon Championships
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...
, where she lost to Venus in the semifinals; however, the pair won the doubles title. Her defense of the US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...
title ended when she lost in the quarterfinals to Davenport. Williams and her sister won the gold medal in doubles at the Sydney Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...
that September,[ and Williams ended the year by winning the ]Toyota Princess Cup
The Toyota Princess Cup was a WTA Tour affiliated women's tennis tournament held annually from 1997-2002. It was played in Tokyo, Japan and was categorized as a Tier II event.
Competitors played their matches on outdoor hardcourts. Monica Seles an ...
and finishing at No.6.[
Williams began 2001 by losing to Hingis in the quarterfinals of both the Medibank International and the ]Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
. She and Venus won the doubles event 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
The BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Indian Wells, California, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, and is held in March. The tournament is pa ...
in Indian Wells, where she defeated Clijsters in the final. During the tournament, Richard Williams stated that racist comments were made to him by spectators. As a result, both Serena and Venus pledged to boycott the event, even though it was a mandatory stop on the WTA tour; Serena's boycott lasted until 2015. Williams then lost to Jennifer Capriati
Jennifer Maria Capriati (born March 29, 1976) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 17 weeks. Capriati won 14 WTA Tour-level singles t ...
in the quarterfinals of three tournaments: Miami Masters
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters and as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts a ...
, the French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
and Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
. She claimed her second title of the year at the Rogers Cup, defeating Capriati in the final. In September, Williams lost to her sister in the final of the US Open, which was the first Grand Slam tournament final played by two sisters during the Open Era. At the 2001 season-ending Tour Championships, Williams won the championship by walkover when Davenport withdrew due to injury. Williams finished 2001 at No.6 for the second straight year.[
]
2002–2003: "Serena Slam"
Early in 2002, injury saw Williams retire from the semifinal at the Medibank International Sydney
The Sydney International (formerly known as the Championship of New South Wales and New South Wales Open, with various title sponsors), formerly sponsored as the Apia International Sydney from 2012 to 2017, was a professional tennis tournament ...
and later withdraw from the Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
. After recovering, Williams won her first title of the year in Scottsdale, Arizona
Scottsdale is a city in eastern Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. Named Scottsdale in 1894 after its founder Winfield Scott (chaplain), Winfield Scott, a retired Chaplain Corps (United States ...
, defeating No.2 Capriati, in the final. She then won the Miami Masters
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters and as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts a ...
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.
In May, Williams reached her first clay-court final at the Eurocard German Open, but lost to Justine Henin
Justine Henin (; born 1 June 1982) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 117 weeks, i ...
. Williams won her first clay-court title at the Italian Open, which raised her ranking to a new high of No.3. She then claimed her first French Open title, which elevated her to No.2, second only to Venus. During the summer, Williams won Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
for the first time, defeating Venus in the final. The victory propelled her to No.1, making her the third African American woman to hold the top ranking. The Williams sisters also won the doubles event at the tournament.
At the US Open, Williams reached the final where, for the third Grand Slam in a row, she defeated her sister to win the title. Williams won two consecutive singles titles in the fall, defeating Clijsters to win the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo, and Anastasia Myskina
Anastasia Andreyevna Myskina ( ; born 8 July 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Myskina won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian woman to win a major singles title. Due to this victory, she rose to ...
to win the Sparkassen Cup in Leipzig. She reached the final at the Home Depot Championships in Los Angeles, where she lost to Clijsters in straight sets. Williams finished 2002 with a 56–5 win/lose record, eight singles titles, and the No.1 ranking. Her three consecutive Grand Slam titles in 2002 made her only the third player in history to win the "Surface Slam" after Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova (, ; ; born October18, 1956) is a Czech-American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, singles for 332 weeks (List of WTA number ...
(1984) and Steffi Graf (1993, 1995, 1996).
At the 2003 Australian Open
The 2003 Australian Open was a tennis tournament held in 2003. It was the first Grand Slam event of the 2003 ATP Tour and the 2003 WTA Tour. It was the 91st edition of the event and attracted 512,225 spectators.
Thomas Johansson could not def ...
, Williams faced Venus for the fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament final. She defeated her older sister and became the sixth woman in the Open Era to complete a Career Grand Slam, alongside Graf, Navratilova, Margaret Court
Margaret Court (''née'' Smith; born 16 July 1942), also known as Margaret Smith Court, is an Australian former world number 1 tennis player and a Christian minister. Her 24 women's singles major titles and total of 64 major titles (includi ...
, Chris Evert
Christine Marie Evert (born December 21, 1954) is an American former professional tennis player. One of the most successful players of all time, she was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 2 ...
and Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King (née Moffitt; born November 22, 1943), also known as BJK, is an American former World number 1 ranked female tennis players, world No. 1 tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in w ...
. She also 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 Williams sisters also won their sixth Grand Slam doubles title as a team.
During the spring of 2003, Williams captured the singles titles at the Open Gaz de France
Open GDF Suez, formerly Open Gaz de France, was a Premier level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Paris. Held from 1993 till 2014, the tournament was played indoors, originally on carpet until 2000, then on hardcourts. The 2014 Open GDF S ...
and the Sony Ericsson Open
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters and as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts a ...
. Her streak of 21 wins ended when she lost the final of the Family Circle Cup
The Charleston Open, currently sponsored by Credit One, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in America with a $1,064,510 purse. The t ...
to Henin. She also lost to Mauresmo in the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The Italian Open () is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is played on clay courts at the Foro Italico, and is held during the second week of May. The tournament is part of the ATP 1000 events on the ATP Tour and ...
in Rome. Despite these defeats, Williams was the top seed at the French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, where she lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Henin; this was Williams's first loss in a Grand Slam tournament since 2001. The match was controversial, with Williams questioning Henin's sportsmanship, and spectators applauding Williams's errors. Williams rebounded from the loss at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships
The 2003 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on Grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. It was the 117th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and were held from 23 Jun ...
, where she defeated Venus in the final. This was Williams's second consecutive Wimbledon title and her sixth Grand Slam singles title overall. Wimbledon was her last tournament of 2003; she pulled out of three events and then underwent surgery on the quadriceps tendon in her knee in early August. She was expected to be in recovery for six to eight weeks.
2004–2007: Injuries and comeback
After eight months away from tennis, Williams began her comeback at the NASDAQ-100 Open in March 2004, where she won the title for the third consecutive year. Although ranked No.7, Williams was seeded second at the French Open, where she lost to Capriati in the quarterfinals. A few weeks later, Williams was seeded first at Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
, even though her ranking had dropped to No.10. She won six matches en route to the final, where Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (, ; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 21 weeks. Sharapova won 36 WTA Tour-level sin ...
defeated her. The loss caused her to drop out of the top 10 for the first time since 1999. Later that summer, Williams reached her third final of the year at the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, where she lost to Lindsay Davenport.
Williams was seeded third at the 2004 US Open, where she faced Capriati in the quarterfinals. During the match, umpire Mariana Alves made a call that favored Capriati, but subsequent video review showed that her call was incorrect. Williams argued with Alves over several other calls during the match, which Capriati eventually won. Williams acknowledged that her loss was primarily due to her 57 unforced errors, but she nevertheless felt "cheated" and accused Alves of temporary insanity. The controversy renewed calls for, and was widely given credit for, the adoption of new technology such as the MacCAM and Hawk-Eye
Hawk-Eye is a computer vision system used to visually track the trajectory of a ball and display a profile of its statistically most likely path as a moving image. It is used in more than 20 major sports, including cricket, tennis, Gaelic foo ...
systems.
Williams won her second title of the year at the China Open China Open may refer to:
*China Open (snooker), a professional snooker tournament
*China Open (tennis), a professional tennis tournament on the ATP World Tour and WTA Tour
*China Open (badminton), an annual badminton tournament
* China Open (squash) ...
in September, defeating US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova (born 27 June 1985) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and world No. 3 in doubles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Kuznetsova won 18 singl ...
in the final. Williams's successful season allowed her to qualify for the Tour Championships, held again in Los Angeles. She lost to Sharapova in the final, where she suffered an abdominal injury. Williams finished 2004 ranked No.7, but did not win a Grand Slam singles tournament for the first season since 2001.
Following Venus's early exit from the 2005 Australian Open
The 2005 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 until 30 January 2005. Roger Federer was unsuccessful in defending his 2004 title, being defeated in the semi-finals by eventual champion Marat Safin ...
, Williams rejected suggestions that she and her sister were a declining force in tennis. She defeated top seed Davenport to win the tournament, claiming her second Australian Open trophy and seventh Grand Slam singles title. The victory moved her back to No.2. Williams completed just two tournaments between the Australian Open and Wimbledon, losing to Venus in Miami and Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone (; born 23 June 1980) is an Italian former professional tennis player. She had career-high rankings of world No. 4 in women's singles and No. 8 in women's doubles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Schiavone won eight W ...
in Italy. A reoccurring ankle injury caused her to miss the French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
. She returned to Wimbledon
Wimbledon most often refers to:
* Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London
* Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships
Wimbledon may also refer to:
Places London
* W ...
as the 4th-seeded player, but was defeated in the third round. At the US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...
, Williams lost to her sister in the fourth round. Williams played just one more match that fall, a loss to No.127 Sun Tiantian
Sun Tiantian ( zh, s=孙甜甜, p=Sūn Tiántián; ; born 12 October 1981) is a Chinese tennis player. She won the gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles along with her partner Li Ting.
Sun reached a career-high singles ...
at the China Open in Beijing. She failed to qualify for the year-end championship for the first time since 1998, and she finished 2005 ranked No.11.
Williams made her 2006 debut at the Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, defending her title. After she lost to Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová (; born 23 April 1983) is a Slovak tennis commentator and retired player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first WTA Tour title at the Indian Wells Open, defeating Martin ...
in the third round, she told the press that she was injured. In her biography, Williams wrote that she was suffering from depression during this time. She stayed away from tennis for six months during the 2006 season, and began seeing a therapist daily. After a chance meeting with a young girl who idolized Williams and believed in her, Williams signed up to play in Cincinnati in July, her first tournament since January. She had slipped to No.139, her lowest ranking since 1997. On her return, Williams defeated Myskina and Bethanie Mattek
Bethanie Mattek-Sands ( Bethanie Lynn Mattek; born March 23, 1985) is an American professional tennis player. She has won nine Grand Slam titles (five in women's doubles and four in mixed doubles), and an Olympic gold medal, and is a former w ...
, before losing in the semifinals to Vera Zvonareva
Vera Igorevna Zvonareva ( rus, Вера Игоревна Звонарёва, p=ˈvʲerə ˈiɡərʲɪvnə zvənɐˈrʲɵvə, a=Vera zvonareva.ogg; born 7 September 1984) is a Russian former professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ran ...
. She also reached the semifinals in Los Angeles, losing to Janković in straight sets. Williams needed a wildcard to enter the US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...
, as her No.139 ranking was too low to automatically qualify her to play. By the time the tournament began, however, she had risen to 79th. She lost to top-seeded Mauresmo in the fourth round. Williams finished the year ranked No.95, her lowest year-end ranking since 1997.
Williams began 2007 with renewed confidence. She stated her intention to return to the top of the rankings, a goal that was labeled "deluded" by commentator Pat Cash
Patrick Hart Cash (born 27 May 1965) is an Australian former professional tennis player and coach. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 4 in May 1988 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 6 in August 1988. Upo ...
. Williams lost in the quarterfinals of the Hobart International
The Hobart International is a women's professional tennis tournament held at the Hobart International Tennis Centre in Hobart, Australia. The tournament was founded in 1994 as the Tasmanian International Open, it forms a part of the Women's Te ...
, a warm-up for the Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, where she was unseeded and widely regarded as "out of shape".[Tandon, Kamakshi (January 14, 2008]
New Mindset: Serena Playing for Herself
tennis.com Shortly before her first match, a representative from Nike
Nike often refers to:
* Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment
* Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory
Nike may also refer to:
People
* Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...
told her the company might cancel her sponsorship if she did not perform at her customary level. Williams claimed that Nike's ultimatum meant she would have to reach the quarterfinals at least.
The Nike situation did not distract Williams, as she lost just three games to Mara Santangelo
Mara Santangelo (born 28 June 1981) is a former tennis player from Italy and Grand Slam champion in doubles. She won a decisive match in the final Italy vs Belgium against Kirsten Flipkens allowing her national team to win the 2006 Fed Cup.
T ...
and defeated Anne Kremer in straight sets. By this point, a blister had developed on her foot and she had contracted a cold. In the third round, Williams found herself two points away from losing to Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna "Nadia" Petrova ( ; born 8 June 1982) is a Russian former professional tennis player. A former top-five player in both singles and doubles, she reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world in both disciplines (doing s ...
, but fought back to win in three sets. She then made it to the final, defeating Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković ( sr-Cyrl, Јелена Јанковић, ; born 28 February 1985) is a Serbian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the W ...
, Shahar Pe'er and Nicole Vaidišová along the way. Williams described them as "good players ... who certainly didn't expect an overweight, out-of-shape, has-been champion ... to give them a game." Commentator Tracy Austin
Tracy Ann Austin Holt (born December 12, 1962) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 21 weeks. Austin won 30 WTA Tour-level singles tit ...
said she expected Sharapova to easily defeat Williams in the final. Williams thought the commentary was mean, and used it as motivation to win. She triumphed over Sharapova, losing just three games; it was her first tournament title in two years. Williams became the first player since Chris O'Neil to capture the title without being seeded. The victory, which elevated her to No.14, was her third Australian Open title and eighth career Grand Slam singles title. Williams dedicated the achievement to her deceased half-sister Yetunde.
Her performance in the final was described in the press as one of the best performances of her career, and "arguably the most powerful display ever seen in women's tennis". Williams won the Sony Ericsson Open
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters and as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts a ...
in Miami for the fourth time by defeating Henin, but then lost to her in the quarterfinals at the French Open
The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
.[Serena Williams Playing Activity](_blank)
, WTA. Retrieved August 19, 2008. During a fourth round match against Hantuchová at Wimbledon, Williams collapsed from an acute muscle spasm. After a medical timeout, rain forced play to be suspended for nearly two hours. When the players returned, Williams won the match. Williams then lost her quarterfinal match against Henin. At the US Open, Williams lost her third consecutive Grand Slam singles quarterfinal to Henin. Williams reached the final of the Kremlin Cup
The Kremlin Cup () is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts, which was suspended in 2022. It was part of the ATP Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour and was a Premier Tournament on the WTA Tour. It was held annually at the ...
, but lost to Elena Dementieva
Elena Viacheslavovna Dementieva (, ; born 15 October 1981) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was WTA rankings, ranked world No. 3 in women's singles and world No. 5 in women's doubles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA. Dem ...
. She qualified for the WTA Championships, but retired from her first match with a knee injury and subsequently withdrew from the event. Williams finished 2007 as No.7 and the top-ranked American for the first time since 2003.
2008–2010: Injuries, controversy, and return to No. 1
Williams started 2008 by winning the Hopman Cup
The Hopman Cup is an international tennis tournament that plays mixed teams (one male and one female) on a country-by-country basis. It was first held in Perth, Western Australia each year from 1989 to 2019, played on indoor hardcourt, before b ...
for the US, with Mardy Fish
Mardy Simpson Fish (born December 9, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. He was a hardcourt specialist. He is one of several American tennis players who rose to prominence in the early 2000s.
Fish won six tournaments on the ...
. At the Australian Open
The Australian Open (stylized ΛO) is a tennis tournament organised by Tennis Australia annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is chronologically the first of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Sl ...
, she lost in the quarterfinals to Janković, her fourth straight loss in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament. In the women's doubles event, she and Venus were defeated in the quarterfinals. Williams withdrew from her next three scheduled tournaments because of an urgent need for dental surgery. She then won three consecutive singles titles at Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
and her fifth Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
title, tying Graf for the most singles titles at this tournament. She claimed victory at the Family Circle Cup
The Charleston Open, currently sponsored by Credit One, is a WTA Tour-affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. It is the oldest professional all-women's tournament in America with a $1,064,510 purse. The t ...
, her first clay-court title since 2002. Her 17-match winning streak was ended by Dinara Safina
Dinara Mubinovna Safina (, ; ; born April 27, 1986) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 26 weeks, and world No. 8 in doubles. Safina ...
in the quarterfinals in Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. Williams withdrew in 2008 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome in the quarterfinals due to a back injury, and lost in the third round of the 2008 French Open, French Open to Katarina Srebotnik.
At The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon, Williams reached the finals for the first time in four years, but lost to Venus in their first Grand Slam final since 2003. Serena and Venus teamed up and won the doubles title, however. Williams played at Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, but retired in the semifinals with a knee injury, which also forced her to withdraw from a tournament in East West Bank Classic, Los Angeles. During the Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Summer Olympics in Beijing, Williams lost to Dementieva in the singles quarterfinals, but she and Venus won the gold medal in doubles. In early September, Williams captured her third 2008 US Open – Women's singles, US Open title, which was also her ninth Grand Slam singles title. The victory returned her to No.1 for the first time since 2003. At the year-end championships, she defeated Safina and lost to Venus in round-robin matches, but withdrew from a match against Dementieva, citing a stomach muscle injury. She ended 2008 ranked No.2 and with four singles titles, her strongest performance in both respects since 2003.
Williams began 2009 at the 2009 Sydney International, Medibank International, losing in the semifinals to Dementieva. At the 2009 Australian Open, Australian Open, she claimed her tenth Grand Slam singles title by defeating Safina. This win restored her No.1 ranking and made her the all-time career prize money leader in women's sports, a title previously held by golfer Annika Sörenstam. Serena and Venus also won the doubles event at the Australian Open for the third time. At the 2009 Open GDF Suez – Singles, Open GdF Suez, Williams withdrew before her semifinal match against Dementieva because of a knee injury. She then played in 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships – Women's singles, Dubai, losing to Venus in the semifinals.
Williams was beset by ankle and quadriceps injuries at the Sony Ericsson Open
The Miami Open (also known as the Miami Masters and as the Miami Open presented by Itaú for sponsorship reasons) is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It is played on outdoor hardcourts a ...
, and was upset in the final by Victoria Azarenka. This was the first of four consecutive losses for Williams, the longest losing streak of her career. After Ericsson, she was defeated in her opening matches in Andalucia Tennis Experience, Barcelona, Internazionali d'Italia, Rome, and Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Madrid. At the French Open, she lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion Kuznetsova. This ended her 18-match winning streak at Grand Slam tournaments. She rebounded at 2009 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, Wimbledon, prevailing over Dementieva in the semifinals and Venus in the finals. The victory was her third Wimbledon title and her 11th Grand Slam singles title. For the second consecutive year, Serena and Venus claimed the Wimbledon doubles title, which was their ninth Grand Slam title in doubles.
Ahead of the US Open, Williams suffered a third-round defeat in Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open, Cincinnati and a semifinal defeat at the Rogers Cup. At the Open, she was given a racket abuse warning after losing the first set of her semifinal match against Clijsters. Later in the match, one of her serves was called a Glossary of tennis terms#F, foot fault. Williams yelled profanities at the lineswoman who made the call, and threatened to shove a tennis ball down her throat. Williams was penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct, which resulted in Clijsters winning the match. The following day, Williams was issued a fine of $10,500. After further investigation, the Grand Slam Committee fined her $175,000 in place of suspending her from the 2010 US Open or other Grand Slams. They also placed her on a two-year probation, which meant that if she committed another offense at a Grand Slam during the next two years, she would be suspended from the following US Open. If, however, she committed no offenses, her fine would be reduced to $82,500. Although Williams initially did not express regret for her outburst, she eventually apologized, saying she was humbled by the experience.
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. Williams won all three of her round-robin matches at the year-end 2009 WTA Tour Championships, WTA Tour Championships, defeating Venus, Dementieva, and Kuznetsova. She advanced to the final after Caroline Wozniacki retired from their semifinal match. In the final, Williams defeated her sister to claim her second singles title at this event. Williams finished the year ranked No.1 for the second time in her career. She played in 16 tournaments in 2009, more than any other year. With $6,545,586 in prize-money earnings, she broke the record previously set by Justine Henin for most prize money earned by a female tennis player in one year. In doubles, the Williams sisters finished 2009 at No.2, despite playing only six tournaments together. Williams now had a total of 23 Grand Slam titles, and was consequently named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press. She was also the International Tennis Federation World Champion in both singles and doubles.
In 2010, Williams's first tournament was in Medibank International Sydney, Sydney, where she lost in the final to Dementieva. At the 2010 Australian Open, Australian Open, Williams was the defending champion in both singles and doubles. She reached the final and defeated Justine Henin, who had recently come out of retirement, for her twelfth Grand Slam singles title. In doubles, Williams and her sister successfully defended their title by defeating Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the final. Williams sat out several events with a leg injury, but returned for the 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome Masters, where she was defeated by Janković in the semifinals. At 2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, Madrid, she fell to Nadia Petrova in the third round, but partnered with Venus to win the doubles title.
At the 2010 French Open, French Open, Williams was bested by Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals. She and Venus won the doubles event, achieving their fourth consecutive Grand Slam doubles title and improving their doubles ranking to No.1. Williams's next tournament was Wimbledon, where she did not lose a single set, defeating Zvonareva in the final. After the match, Navratilova said Williams was among the top five female tennis players in history. She asserted that being a great player is "not just about how many Slams you win ... it's just your game overall ... she's got all the goods." The Williams sisters lost in the doubles quarterfinals to Elena Vesnina and Zvonareva. In Munich on July 7, Williams stepped on broken glass while in a restaurant, and the injury caused her to miss the rest of the year. She finished 2010 ranked No.4 in singles and No.11 in doubles.On March 2, 2011, she confirmed that she had suffered a hematoma and a pulmonary embolism.
2011–2013: Return to dominance, Career Golden Slam
Williams made her first appearance on the WTA tour in almost a year in 2011 Aegon International, Eastbourne, where she lost in round two to Zvonareva. In June, she attempted to defend her title at 2011 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, but was eliminated in the round of 16, which dropped her ranking to No.169. Later in the summer, she won titles in both 2011 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford and 2011 Rogers Cup, Toronto. Williams played the 2011 Western & Southern Open, Western & Southern Open, but withdrew due to injury. She reached the final at the 2011 US Open (tennis), US Open, where she faced Stosur. During the match, Williams became angry with umpire Eva Asderaki, Eve Asderaki. She made gestures and unflattering comments towards her, including calling her "a hater". Williams eventually lost the match, and then declined to offer Asderaki the customary handshake. A writer for ESPN suggested that Williams did not violate the terms of her probation (on which she was placed following her 2009 outburst), since she did not use profanity when addressing the umpire. In the end, Williams was fined $2,000, but was not barred from competing. The US Open was Williams's final event of 2011, and she ended the year ranked No.12, with two titles and a 22–3 record for the season. She only played in six tournaments during the season.
Williams started the 2012 season at the 2012 Brisbane International, Brisbane International. During her match against Bojana Jovanovski, she injured her left ankle, and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. Next she participated in the 2012 Australian Open – Women's singles, Australian Open, where she was upset by Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round. After a month layoff, Williams returned to competition in 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, Miami, losing in the quarterfinals. She then won consecutive titles in 2012 Family Circle Cup, Charleston and 2012 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, but withdrew from her semifinal match in 2012 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome due to a lower back injury. At the French Open, Williams suffered her first ever loss in the opening round of a Grand Slam. She notched up a 33–1 record for the second half of the season, winning five titles in the process. She captured her fifth 2012 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon singles title (her 14th Grand Slam victory), and became the first female player to serve 24 Ace (tennis), aces in a match. She also set a record for the most aces in a tournament by any player—male or female—with a total of 102. Williams and her sister also captured their fifth trophy in Wimbledon doubles.
Williams returned to America to successfully defend her 2012 Bank of the West Classic, Stanford title, overcoming CoCo Vandeweghe in the final. At the Olympics, she won gold by defeating Sharapova in a dominating performance. She and Venus also won a second consecutive Olympic doubles title. In New York, Williams claimed her fourth 2012 US Open (tennis), US Open singles title, which was her 15th career Grand Slam singles title. She ended the season by going undefeated at the WTA Championships and winning the event for the third time. She was named International Tennis Federation, ITF World Champion, and was voted WTA Player of the Year for the fourth time.
Williams's first tournament of the 2013 season was in 2013 Brisbane International, Brisbane, where she won the title without dropping a set. At the 2013 Australian Open, Australian Open, she was upset in the quarterfinals by fellow American Sloane Stephens. After defeating Petra Kvitová in Doha, Williams returned to No.1 for the sixth time in her career, becoming the oldest woman in the Open Era to hold the ranking. In the Miami final, Williams recorded her 70th come-from-behind win. The victory made Williams a six-time champion in Miami, breaking the record she held with Graf. She also became the fourth woman in the Open Era to win a given tournament six times. Williams then defended her Charleston title, winning the event for the third time. She won her 50th career singles title in 2013 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid, prevailing over Sharapova in the final. She then played in Rome, where she won the title a second time. At the French Open, Williams lost only one game whilst defeating Sara Errani in the semifinal. Evert said Williams's play during the match was the finest performance she had ever seen by a female player on clay. Williams bested Sharapova in the final to claim her second French Open title and her 16th Grand Slam title overall. She also became the fourth woman in the Open Era to win each Grand Slam tournament at least twice. At 2013 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, she advanced easily to the fourth round before being defeated by eventual finalist Sabine Lisicki. Williams then won the Swedish Open, her first victory at the WTA International tournaments, International level. She was undefeated on clay during the season.
Williams won her third Rogers Cup title in Toronto, beating Sorana Cîrstea in the final. She reached the final of the 2013 Western & Southern Open, Western & Southern Open for the first time, but lost to Azarenka. At the 2013 US Open (tennis), US Open, Williams began as top seed and defending champion. She reached the final and defeated Azarenka in three sets, capturing her 17th Grand Slam singles title and pushing her career prize winnings past $50million. At 31, she became the oldest US Open champion in the Open Era. After the US Open, Williams beat Janković to win the China Open, which was her 10th title of 2013. She 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. She also 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 (her total for 2013 was $12.4 million). Only Rafael Nadal (in 2013), and Novak Djokovic (in 2011, 2012 and 2013) have earned more money in one season.
Williams finished as the year-end No.1 for the third time, becoming the oldest No.1 player in WTA history. She was named the ITF World Champion for the fourth time. She 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. In December, Williams received the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award for the third time. Only Evert and Babe Didrikson have been chosen more often as Athlete of the Year since the awards were first handed out in 1931.
2014–2015: Second "Serena Slam"
Williams defended her title at the 2014 Brisbane International, Brisbane International by defeating No.2 Azarenka in the final. At the 2014 Australian Open, Australian Open, she fell in the fourth round to Ana Ivanovic. In 2014 Dubai Tennis Championships, Dubai, Williams lost her semifinal match to Alizé Cornet in straight sets. Williams then played in the Miami Open, where she won her record seventh title with a straight-sets victory over No.2 Li Na. At the 2014 Family Circle Cup, Family Circle Cup, she lost to Jana Čepelová in the second round. She made it to the quarterfinals at the 2014 Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid Open before withdrawing with a thigh injury. In 2014 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome, Williams won her third title of the season. She suffered the worst loss of her Grand Slam career in the second round of the 2014 French Open, French Open when Garbiñe Muguruza defeated her while losing just four games in two sets. Cornet defeated Williams in the third round of 2014 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon, handing Williams her earliest Wimbledon elimination since 2005. During the doubles event with Venus, Serena hit four consecutive doubles faults. She appeared disoriented and unsteady on her feet, and withdrew from the tournament. The official cause of withdrawal was "viral illness".
Williams rebounded by winning 19 out of her next 20 matches (losing only to Venus in the semifinals of the 2014 Rogers Cup, Rogers Cup). The streak included titles at the 2014 Bank of the West Classic, Bank of the West Classic and the 2014 Western & Southern Open, Western & Southern Open, and her third consecutive and sixth overall 2014 US Open (tennis), US Open singles title. With this victory, Williams tied Evert for most US Open singles titles won by a woman in the Open Era. Williams also tied Evert and Navratilova's record of 18 career Grand Slam singles titles won in the Open Era. By virtue of winning both the 2014 US Open (tennis), US Open and the 2014 US Open Series, US Open Series, Williams collected $4 million—the biggest payday in tennis history. At the 2014 WTA Finals in Singapore, Williams advanced to the final for the third consecutive year despite having equaled her career-worst loss in her second round robin match against Simona Halep. She 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. She held the top ranking for the entire calendar year, a feat not accomplished since Graf achieved it in 1996. Williams was voted WTA Player of the Year and ITF World Champion for a third consecutive year.
Williams began the 2015 WTA Tour, 2015 season by reaching the final of the 2015 Hopman Cup, Hopman Cup, where she and her partner John Isner lost to Poland. At the 2015 Australian Open, Australian Open, Williams defeated Sharapova for the 16th consecutive time to claim her sixth Australian Open singles title and 19th career Grand Slam singles title. With this victory, Williams surpassed both Evert and Navratilova for the List of Grand Slam women's singles champions, second most Grand Slam singles titles won in the Open Era. She is the only player in history to win all four Grand Slams at age 30 or older. She and Venus next traveled to Buenos Aires to face Argentina in a World Group II tie in the Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
. She played and won her only match against María Irigoyen to help the US team win against the Argentines. After a 14-year boycott of the Indian Wells Masters, Williams announced that she would be competing at 2015 BNP Paribas Open, the event. Upon her return, she received a standing ovation from the crowd and won her first match in straight sets. She reached the semifinals, but was forced to withdraw because of a knee injury. When Williams defeated Lisicki in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Miami Open, Miami Open, she became the eighth woman in the Open Era to record 700 match wins in her career. This also made her one of only three active players to have won 700 or more matches in singles, the others being Nadal and Roger Federer. Williams went on to win a record eighth title in Miami.
As preparation for the clay-court season (and to ensure her eligibility for the 2016 Summer Olympics), Williams travelled to Brindisi, Italy, where she competed with that country's team for a place in the Fed Cup
The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier international team competition in women's tennis, launched as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). The name was cha ...
's World Group. Williams and teammate Alison Riske lost the decisive doubles match to Errani and Flavia Pennetta, which meant the United States Fed Cup team, United States was relegated to World Group II. It was Williams's first loss in the Fed Cup. The week of April 20 marked Williams's 114th consecutive week ranked No.1, the third-longest run in WTA history at the time, behind Graf's 186 weeks and Navratilova's 156. In the semifinals of the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open, Mutua Madrid Open, Williams suffered her first defeat of the season, ending a 50-match winning streak at WTA Premier tournaments, Premier-Mandatory events. She played one match at the 2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia before withdrawing with an elbow injury.
At the 2015 2015 French Open, French Open, Williams defeated Lucie Šafářová in three sets to claim the trophy and win her third French Open and 20th Grand Slam singles title. The accomplishment made Williams only the third person in history to win each Grand Slam at least three times, the others being Court and Graf. At Wimbledon, Williams defeated three former No.1 players—Azarenka, Sharapova, and her sister Venus—to advance to the final. Awaiting her was Muguruza, who had previously handed Williams the worst Grand Slam defeat of her career. Williams bested Muguruza and claimed her sixth Wimbledon singles title and 21st Grand Slam singles title overall. With this triumph, she completed her second "Serena Slam" (winning all four Grand Slams in a row, but not in the same calendar year). The Wimbledon victory made Williams the oldest woman in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam singles title. It also was her eighth consecutive victory in Grand Slam singles finals appearances, breaking Graf's Steffi Graf career statistics, Open Era record of seven and tying Pete Sampras's Pete Sampras career statistics, Open Era record of eight. The week of July 13 marked the first time in WTA history that the No.1 player had more than twice as many points as the No.2. Following her win at Wimbledon, Williams was awarded her seventh ESPY Award, ESPY for Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award, Best Female Tennis Player.
Williams was the defending champion at the 2015 Bank of the West Classic, Bank of the West Classic, but withdrew from the tournament to recover from an elbow injury. In the semifinals of the 2015 Rogers Cup, Canadian Open, Williams had a 19-match winning streak ended by 18-year-old Belinda Bencic. The next week Williams defended her title at the 2015 Western & Southern Open, Western & Southern Open with a straight sets victory over No.3 Halep. Williams's attempt at capturing the "Grand Slam" (winning all four Grand Slams in a calendar year) came to an end at the 2015 US Open (tennis), US Open, where she lost to Roberta Vinci in the semifinals. The defeat has been described by some as one of the biggest upsets in tennis history. On October 1, Williams called an end to her season, stating that she had been injured for most of the year and wanted to "properly address [her] health". Coach Patrick Mouratoglou hinted that her decision to end the season early might be due to a lack of motivation and disappointment following her loss at the Open.
On October 5, Williams surpassed Evert for List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, third-most weeks ranked world No.1. Williams held the top ranking the entire season for the second consecutive year, finishing there for the fifth time in her career. She was voted WTA Awards, WTA Player of the Year for the seventh time, and named ITF World Champions, ITF World Champion for the sixth time. She was also voted Associated Press Athlete of the Year, Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press for the fourth time in her career, and was chosen as Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year, Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...
. She became the third solo woman, and the first since 1983, to receive the latter award.
2016: Equalling the records of Steffi Graf
Williams was the No.1 seed and defending champion at the 2016 Australian Open, Australian Open. She reached the final without dropping a set, and faced first time Grand Slam finalist Angelique Kerber. Williams was considered the heavy favorite, as she had never lost an Australian Open final or semifinal. She had also dominated in past matches against Kerber, losing only once to her in six meetings. Williams lost the final in three sets, however, which marked her first-ever three-set loss in the final of a Grand Slam.
The week of February 15 marked Williams's 157th consecutive week ranked No.1, the second-longest streak in WTA history. Only Graf had held the ranking longer, for 186 weeks. Williams competed in 2016 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells as the No.1 seed, and reached the final for the first time since 2001. She was defeated by Azarenka, whom she had beaten the last five times the pair had met. This marked the first time since 2004 that Williams lost two consecutive finals. She next played the 2016 Miami Open, Miami Open as the defending champion, losing in the fourth round to Kuznetsova. In Rome, she prevailed over Anna-Lena Friedsam and Christina McHale to progress to the quarterfinals, where she defeated Kuznetsova. She then defeated Irina-Camelia Begu and Madison Keys to win her 70th career WTA title and her first title of the year.
At the 2016 French Open, French Open, Williams dropped only one set en route to the final, where she faced Muguruza. She lost to the Spanish-Venezuelan player in straight sets, marking the first time she had lost two consecutive Grand Slam finals. At 2016 Wimbledon, Wimbledon, 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. Williams defeated Kerber in straight sets and tied Graf's record of 22 Open Era Grand Slam singles titles. Later that day, Williams and her sister won their sixth Wimbledon doubles title and 14th Grand Slam doubles title overall, keeping their perfect record at Grand Slam doubles finals intact.
In July, Williams withdrew from the 2016 Rogers Cup, Rogers Cup due to a shoulder injury. She next participated in the 2016 Summer Olympics, 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. The sisters suffered a shock exit in the first round of doubles, losing to the Czech duo of Šafářová and Barbora Strýcová, which ended their career record of 15–0 dating back to the Tennis at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Women's doubles, 2000 Olympics. In singles, Williams lost to Elina Svitolina in the third round. Days after the Olympics, Williams entered the 2016 Western & Southern Open, Western & Southern Open to defend her crown, but then withdrew due to the same shoulder injury from earlier in the summer. The week of September 5, 2016, marked Williams's 186th consecutive week ranked No.1, tying her with Graf for the longest run in WTA history. Williams's streak ended when she lost to Karolína Plíšková in the semifinals of the US Open. In October, she pulled out of the WTA Finals, citing her shoulder injury.
2017: Australian Open victory and pregnancy
Williams started 2017 by playing in the WTA Auckland Open for the first time in her career. In the second round, she lost to Madison Brengle. She then won the 2017 Australian Open, Australian Open for an Open Era record seventh time, defeating Venus in the final. It was her 23rd Open Era Grand Slam singles title, pushing her past Graf's record of 22. It was the first time in the Open Era that two players aged 35 or older had competed in the final of a Grand Slam tournament. The win ensured Williams's return to the No.1 ranking. She subsequently withdrew from the 2017 BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells and 2017 Miami Open, Miami Opens, citing a knee injury.
On April 19, 2017, Williams revealed that she was 20 weeks pregnant and would miss the remainder of the season. The timing of her announcement meant she was already pregnant when she won the Australian Open. In interviews, she said that she intended to return to tennis after giving birth, saying she had an "outrageous plan" of competing in the 2018 Australian Open. On September 1, 2017, Williams gave birth to a daughter. She suffered a pulmonary embolism after delivery, leaving her bedridden for six weeks and delaying her return to training. On December 30, Williams played her first match since giving birth, an exhibition match at the World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi, where she lost to Jeļena Ostapenko.
2018: Return to tennis, Wimbledon, and controversies
On January 5, 2018, Williams withdrew from the upcoming Australian Open, citing a lack of sufficient preparation in the wake of her pregnancy. In February, after overcoming pregnancy-related health problems, she returned to the tennis court with Venus. The pair lost to Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, Lesley Kerkhove and Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in the first round of the Fed Cup. Williams then suffered back-to-back early exits in Indian Wells and Miami. Williams returned to Grand Slam tennis at the 2018 French Open, playing singles and doubles with her sister. In the first round, she defeated Kristýna Plíšková, then overcame Ashleigh Barty in the second round. She then defeated 11th seed Julia Görges to set up a fourth-round match against Sharapova, whom she had bested 18 consecutive times since 2004. Williams withdrew from the match due to an injury, however.
In July, she played Wimbledon and was seeded No.25. Many felt the decision showed bias and unduly favored Williams, who was ranked No.181. Others argued that the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club, which does not base seedings on players' world rankings—as other Grand Slam tournaments do—had sensibly considered Williams's excellent historic record at Wimbledon. Williams reached the Wimbledon semifinals, becoming the lowest-ranked player to do so. She bested 13th seed Görges in the semifinal match, but lost to Kerber in a rematch of the 2016 final. Following Wimbledon, Williams entered the 2018 Silicon Valley Classic, her first appearance in a US Open series tournament since 2015. She suffered the worst loss of her career in the first round, winning just a single game against Johanna Konta. Williams later revealed in an interview with Time (magazine), ''Time'' that she checked Instagram prior to the match, and discovered that the man who had Murder of Yetunde Price, murdered her half-sister, Yetunde, in 2003 had been released on parole earlier in the year. Williams said she "couldn't shake it out of [her] mind."
Williams's next tournament was the 2018 Western & Southern Open – Women's singles, Cincinnati Masters. She beat Daria Gavrilova in straight sets in the first round, but lost to Petra Kvitová in the second round. She was then seeded 17th at the US Open, although ranked 26th in the WTA. She prevailed over Magda Linette in the first round, Carina Witthöft in the second, Venus in the third, and Kaia Kanepi in the fourth. Williams's quarterfinal face-off against Karolína Plíšková was a rematch of the 2016 US Open semifinal, which the Czech player had won. Williams prevailed, notching her first win against a top 10 player since her return from pregnancy. Williams then won her semifinal match against Anastasija Sevastova, putting her into the 2018 US Open – Women's Singles final, final against Naomi Osaka. During the second set of the match, Williams was given a code violation because her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, gave her coaching hand signals. Williams claimed Mouratoglou was simply giving her a thumbs-up, and demanded an apology from umpire Carlos Ramos (umpire), Carlos Ramos. However, Mouratoglou later admitted in the after-game interview that he had been coaching, but believes Williams did not understand the hint. Williams then received a second violation for racket abuse, which resulted in a point penalty. After her third code violation for verbal abuse of the umpire, Williams received a game penalty, and went on to lose the match. She was fined a total of $17,000 for the three offenses, although she claimed she was treated unfairly because she is a woman.
Following the US Open final match, the Melbourne newspaper the Herald Sun published a cartoon by Mark Knight depicting Williams throwing a tantrum while the umpire asks her opponent to "just let her win". The cartoon was widely criticized as racist and sexist, including by Williams's husband, Alexis Ohanian, and author J. K. Rowling. Complaints centered on the portrayal of Williams as an angry black woman with exaggeratedly large lips and a broad, flat nose; the depiction of Williams in an ape-like pose; and the rendering of Osaka with blonde hair (only some of her hair was colored blonde during the tournament). Knight defended his work, claiming his satire was never about race or gender, but rather about shining a spotlight on bad behavior by sports superstars.
2019: Return to the top 10
Williams started her 2019 season at the 2019 Australian Open, Australian Open, her first appearance at the tournament since winning it in 2017. Seeded 16th, she defeated Tatjana Maria, Eugenie Bouchard, and Dayana Yastremska in the first three rounds, then bested top seed and world No.1 Halep in the fourth. In the quarterfinals, she met Karolína Plíšková, who won the match after Williams twisted her ankle. This was Williams's earliest defeat at the Australian Open since her fourth-round loss in 2014. Despite the loss, her ranking climbed to No.11. Williams prevailed over Azarenka in the second round of the Indian Wells Masters, but a viral illness caused her to retire. She then experienced a recurrence of a long-term knee injury, which caused her to pull out of upcoming Miami and Rome events. She could not train properly until after the French Open, where she lost in the third round. Williams then reached the final at 2019 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, Wimbledon, making 2019 the 13th consecutive year in which she played in a Grand Slam final. She became the oldest Grand Slam finalist in the Open Era. Williams lost the final to Halep in two straight sets.
At the Canadian Open (tennis), Canadian Open, Williams defeated Osaka in the quarterfinals and Marie Bouzkova in the semifinals, then faced Bianca Andreescu in the final. However, Williams was forced to withdraw early in the match after experiencing back spasms. Her back problems continued at the Cincinnati Masters, Cincinnati Open, where she withdrew before her first-round match. Williams was seeded eighth at the 2019 US Open (tennis), US Open, where she bested Sharapova in the first round. In the quarterfinals she defeated Wang Qiang (tennis), Wang Qiang, and in the semifinals she triumphed over Svitolina. Williams then proceeded to the final against Andreescu, who won the title in straight sets. Williams finished the year ranked No.10.
2020–2022: Final years
In January 2020, Williams won her first singles title as a mother at the 2020 ASB Classic – Women's singles, ASB Classic, defeating Jessica Pegula in the final. At the 2020 Australian Open – Women's singles, Australian Open, Williams lost in the third round to Wang in three sets. 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 2020 US Open – Women's singles, US Open, Williams defeated Stephens in the third round before losing to Azarenka in the semifinals. Williams withdrew from the delayed 2020 French Open – Women's singles, French Open in October, citing an Achilles injury she had sustained during the US Open. She failed to reach a Grand Slam final in 2020.
Williams started the 2021 season by playing the 2021 Yarra Valley Classic – Singles, Yarra Valley Classic, where she withdrew prior to her semifinal match, citing a right shoulder injury. In the 2021 Australian Open – Women's singles, Australian Open, Williams lost in the semifinal to Osaka. In May, Williams played her 1000th match of her career against Nadia Podoroska in the second round of the 2021 Italian Open (tennis), Italian Open, which she lost in straight sets. She sustained an injury during the first round at 2021 Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon against Belarusian player Aliaksandra Sasnovich, forcing her to withdraw from the tournament. In August, a leg injury forced Williams to retire from the 2021 US Open (tennis), US Open. The withdrawal saw Williams plummet nineteen places to 41st in the world, her lowest year-end ranking in 15 years.[
In December 2021, Williams announced she would not play the 2022 Australian Open – Women's singles, 2022 Australian Open, citing the same leg injury. She returned to professional play in June 2022 when she teamed up with Ons Jabeur for the 2022 Eastbourne International – Women's doubles, Eastbourne International. The pair won two matches before retiring from the tournament due to an injury sustained by Jabeur. Williams also played singles at 2022 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, Wimbledon, where she lost to No.113 Harmony Tan in the first round. Williams was ranked No. 320 at the end of 2022.
]
Farewell tour
In the September 2022 issue of ''Vogue (magazine), Vogue'', Williams announced her plans to "evolve away" from tennis after the 2022 US Open (tennis), 2022 US Open, indicating retirement. She stated her intention to focus on her family and her venture capital firm. Williams began her farewell tour by entering the 2022 National Bank Open – Women's singles, Canadian Open in Toronto using a protected ranking. She beat Nuria Párrizas Díaz in straight sets for her first singles win in 14 months, before losing to Belinda Bencic. After her elimination, tournament organizers gave Williams gifts to remember the city. Williams subsequently entered the 2022 Western & Southern Open – Women's singles, Cincinnati Masters, where she fell to reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the first round.
At the US Open, Williams played doubles with Venus for the first time since 2018; the sisters lost to the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecká and Linda Nosková. In the first round of 2022 US Open – Women's singles, singles, Williams defeated Danka Kovinić of Montenegro. After the match—which was attended by Eric Adams, Bill Clinton, Spike Lee, Mike Tyson, Vera Wang, Ruth Westheimer, and Tiger Woods—a tribute video narrated by Oprah Winfrey was played, and an interview was conducted by Gayle King. In the second round, Williams upset world No. 2 Anett Kontaveit, becoming the oldest woman in the Open Era to defeat a top-three ranked player. She then lost to Ajla Tomljanović in what was ultimately her final match.
Rivalries
Serena vs. Venus
Serena played her older sister Venus in 31 professional matches starting in 1998. Overall, Serena is 19–12 against her sister. The pair played 15 times in Grand Slam singles and 13 times in other tournaments (including 11 finals). They have met in nine Grand Slam tournament finals, with Serena winning seven times.[ Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam finals, which was the first time in the Open Era that the same two players had faced off in four consecutive finals in Grand Slam singles.
When both the Williams sisters entered the top ten and started facing off in tournaments, rumors of match fixing started to circulate. John McEnroe, while commenting on the 2000 Wimbledon semifinal between the two sisters, said that "Serena may not be allowed to win. Richard [Williams] may have something to say about this." After losing to Venus at the Indian Wells quarterfinals in 2001, Elena Dementieva claimed that Richard Williams had decided the results of matches between the sisters. Shortly after that, Venus pulled out of her Indian Wells semifinal match against Serena at the last minute, claiming tendinitis; this led to much speculation in the press, and some spectators demanded their money back. The final, in which Serena defeated Kim Clijsters, was marred by the behavior of the crowd toward Williams and her family.
]
Williams vs. Hingis
One of Williams's first rivalries was with Martina Hingis, who turned pro less than one year before her (Hingis in October 1994, Williams in 1995). They first played each other at the 1998 Miami Open where Hingis won in three sets. All but one of their matches was played on a hard court with the exception being a contest on clay in Rome in 1999, which Hingis won in straight sets. Their last match took place at the 2002 Miami Open, which Williams won. Williams leads the rivalry 7–6.
Williams vs. Capriati
Williams leads the series against Jennifer Capriati 10–7. The rivalry—which began in 1999 and was once considered one of the best rivalries in women's tennis—started off one-sided, with Capriati winning four of the first five matches. Williams went on to win the next eight. Twelve of the pair's seventeen meetings went three sets.
Williams vs. Henin
Justine Henin and Williams have met 14 times, five of which were in tournament finals. In Grand Slam tournaments, they have faced each other seven times, with Henin leading 4–3. The two women's different personalities and styles of play are often credited with making the rivalry entertaining. Williams leads the series 8–6.
Williams vs. Azarenka
Williams leads the series 18–5. The rivalry began at the 2008 Australian Open, and their most recent match was in the semifinals of the 2020 US Open. Williams holds a 10–1 record in Grand Slams. Azarenka is the only player to win four WTA tour-level finals against Williams, and, despite only winning five matches against Williams, is considered one of the few modern players to truly challenge Williams.
Williams vs. Sharapova
Williams leads the series 20–2. The pair first met in the fourth round of the 2004 NASDAQ-100 Open – Women's singles, 2004 Miami Open, where Williams defeated Sharapova. Their rivalry truly began at the 2004 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles, 2004 Wimbledon final, where Williams was the two-time defending champion; Sharapova bested her in an upset. Williams next lost to Sharapova in the finals of the 2004 WTA Tour Championships – Singles, 2004 WTA Tour Championships. Since then, however, Williams has dominated the rivalry, winning all of their clashes, with only three of their matches going to three sets. They met 10 times in Grand Slam tournaments, where Williams leads 9–1. They faced off in a further nine finals, with Williams leading 7–2. Their final match was in the first round of the 2019 US Open (tennis), 2019 US Open, where Williams defeated Sharapova in two sets.
Legacy
Williams is regarded as one of the best female tennis players of all time. In 2017, BBC Sport users selected Williams as the greatest female tennis player of the Open Era. In 2018, a Tennis.com panel arrived at the Tennis (magazine)#"The 50 Greatest Players of the Open Era" (2018), same conclusion. Many players, commentators, and sports writers regard Williams as the greatest female tennis player of all time. In 2018, Roger Federer said the player who probably has the best case for "Greatest Of All Time", man or woman, is Serena Williams. In 2020, the Tennis Channel ranked Williams as the greatest female tennis player in history. In 2022, McEnroe described Williams as an "icon" and the "GOAT of GOATs". BBC presenter and former French Open Champion Sue Barker has called Williams's serve "without question the greatest ever".
Williams has won the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportswoman of the Year a record four times (2003, 2010, 2016, 2018). In December 2019, the Associated Press named her Female Athlete of the Decade for the 2010s. In 2024, the International Sports Press Association (AIPS) voted her as the best female athlete of the past 100 years. She is the highest-earning woman athlete of all time.
For their first match in March 2019, the members of the United States women's national soccer team each wore a jersey with the name of a woman who inspired them on the back. Crystal Dunn chose Serena Williams. In September 2022, Twitter said that Williams was the most tweeted-about female athlete of all time. She and Venus have been widely credited with increasing diversity within the sport.
Player profile
Playing style
Williams was an Tennis strategy#Offensive baseliner, aggressive baseliner whose game was centered around her powerful serve and forceful groundstrokes. Owing to her high-risk playing style, she typically hit a large number of winners and a large number of unforced errors. Williams's serve—which is considered the greatest in the history of women's tennis—is known for its speed and accurate placement, which allowed her to deliver numerous aces. At the 2013 Australian Open, she delivered the third-fastest serve in WTA recorded history, a 128.6 mph (207 km/h) ace against Ayumi Morita. 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. Williams also possessed effective and accurate kick and slice serves. She deployed these as second serves, minimizing double faults and preventing opponents from scoring free points.
Williams's forehand and backhand are considered two of the most powerful shots in the history of women's tennis. She hit both her forehand and her backhand in an open stance, allowing her to generate consistently powerful, heavy, and dominating groundstrokes. She was able to generate sharp, acute angles, which allowed her to hit winners from any position on the court. Her forehand—which has been described as "devastating"—was hit with heavy topspin, which allowed her to dominate rallies. She was capable of hitting her forehand both crosscourt and down the line to produce winners. Her two-handed backhand was equally dominant, and has been described as one of the greatest backhands of all time. 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. Despite playing primarily from the baseline, Williams was an adept net player thanks to her extensive doubles experience. She frequently chose to finish points at the net, either with deft touch, aggressive drive volleys, or a solid, powerful, and reliable overhead smash. She possessed an aggressive return of serve; she neutralized powerful first serves, and attacked weak second serves. She is widely considered one of the greatest returners of all time.
Despite predominantly employing an aggressive style, Williams was also an excellent defender who was capable of counterpunching against aggressive opponents until she created an opportunity to hit a winner. She was an exceptional athlete, known for her movement, speed, court coverage, agility, flexibility, balance, and footwork. Her on-court intelligence, shot selection, and point construction allowed her to execute her game plan effectively. American tennis player Christina McHale praised her composure in high-pressure moments, while Martina Navratilova called her mental strength "unbelievable". Williams has been noted for her ability to produce extraordinary comebacks, particularly at the Grand Slam level. She won three Slams after saving match points, more than any other player in history. Williams bounced back from a set down to win 37 Grand Slam matches. Her ability to come back from set and break deficits in Grand Slam matches was described by McEnroe as "a gift", and he called her "the greatest" competitor in the history of women's tennis. She has also been praised for her ability to serve aces at critical moments. As noted by retired player Li Na in 2016, "break point down, [there is an] 80% chance [she] serves an ace".
Coaches
Williams had five coaches during her career: Richard Williams (1994–2022), Oracene Price (1994–2003), Patrick Mouratoglou (2012–2022), Eric Hechtman (2022) and Rennae Stubbs (2022).
Endorsements
Williams graduated from Driftwood Academy in 1999, and soon after signed a $12 million endorsement deal with Puma. In 2004, she signed a five-year deal with Nike for $40 million, and has been sponsored by the company ever since. During Williams's tennis career, Nike designed custom clothing and footwear for her. 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. According to John Hoke III, John Hoke, Nike's Chief Design Officer, Williams assisted with the design of the building.
In 2015, Williams became the Chief Sporting Officer for British luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin, and in 2018 she joined the board of directors of SurveyMonkey. During her career, Williams had endorsement deals with AbbVie, AB InBev, Anheuser-Busch InBev, AT&T, Audemars Piguet, Beats by Dre, Berlei, Berlei Bras, Block, Inc., Block Inc, Bumble, Chase Bank, Delta Air Lines, DirecTV, DoorDash, Ford Motor Company, Ford Motor, Gatorade, Gucci, Hanes, IBM, Intel, Mission Athletecare, OnePiece, OPI Products, Pepsi, Subway (restaurant), Subway, Tempur, Tonal and the The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Company.
Rackets
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. She switched to the Wilson nCode briefly in 2005, and has used various iterations of the Wilson Blade since 2008. Her racket is typically oversized, with a head size of 104 square inches. Since 2017, Wilson has manufactured a signature racket, the Wilson Blade SW104, which is designed to Williams's specifications. Since 2020, Williams has used a smaller variant of this racket, the Wilson Blade SW102 Autograph.
Career statistics
Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
''Current through the 2022 US Open.''
Note: ''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.''
Grand Slam tournament finals
Singles: 33 (23–10)
Doubles: 14 (14–0)
Mixed doubles: 4 (2–2)
Records
* Records in bold indicate peer-less achievements.
Personal life
Williams is married to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. He proposed to her on December 10, 2016, and they married on November 16, 2017, in New Orleans. Their wedding ceremony was attended by prominent personalities such as Beyoncé, Anna Wintour, Kelly Rowland and Kim Kardashian.
On April 19, 2017, Williams posted a picture of herself on Snapchat that focused on her midsection. It had the caption, "20 weeks", prompting speculation that she was pregnant. Later that evening, her spokesperson confirmed the pregnancy. The fact that she was 20 weeks pregnant when announcing her pregnancy meant that she was roughly eight to nine weeks pregnant when she won the Australian Open earlier that year. Williams later said that posting the picture was an accident. On September 1, 2017, Williams gave birth to a daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. The child, who goes by "Olympia," was delivered through emergency caesarean section, caesarean-section after her heart rate dropped during labor. Williams gave Olympia a doll, Qai Qai, that has become famous on social media. By February 2021, Williams had hired a tennis coach for Olympia, then three years old. In August 2023, Williams gave birth to a second daughter, Adira River Ohanian.
Williams was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, but was not baptized until 2023. In 2017, she said she "never really practiced [the faith]". However, she would often thank Jehovah after winning a match. She does not celebrate birthdays, which is a practice of the faith.
Williams made an appearance on stage during Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl LIX halftime show, doing a Crip Walk, crip walk amongst other background dancers. Williams is alleged to have been romantically involved with Drake (musician), Drake, with whom Lamar is involved in Drake–Kendrick Lamar feud, an ongoing feud, in 2011 and 2015.
Other activities
Philanthropy
Williams runs the Serena Williams Foundation, which has partnered with major organizations to advance community development. In 2008, as part of the foundation's work, Williams helped to fund the construction of the Serena Williams Secondary School in Makueni County, Matooni, Kenya. The foundation also provides university scholarships for underprivileged students in the United States. In 2016, the Serena Williams Fund partnered with Helping Hands Jamaica to build the Salt Marsh Primary School for Jamaican youth in Trelawny Parish.
Williams received a Celebrity Role Model Award from the Avon Foundation in 2003 for her work fighting breast cancer. The same year, she won the "Young Heroes Award" from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater L.A. and Inland. In 2004, she won the "Family Circle and Prudential Financial Player Who Makes a Difference Award". She has been an List of UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, International Goodwill Ambassador with UNICEF since 2011, and helped launch UNICEF's Schools for Asia campaign. In 2004 and 2005, Serena and Venus visited hospitals and played several tennis matches in predominantly Black cities to raise funds for the local Ronald McDonald House charities. An ESPN episode was dedicated to the charity tour.
In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Williams, along with other ATP and WTA stars, decided to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open, Australian Open to assist earthquake victims. Serena and Venus are contributors to First Serve Miami, a foundation for youth who want to learn tennis but face social and economic obstacles. The sisters have collaborated on philanthropic projects through the Williams Sisters Fund, which assists individuals and communities affected by violence, and aims to ensure that youth have access to education. In 2014, Williams began hosting an annual charity run named "The Serena Williams Ultimate Fun Run" to support the Fund. In 2016, in her childhood home of Compton, she and Venus founded the Yetunde Price Resource Center, in honor of their late half-sister Yetunde.
Williams's return to Indian Wells in 2015 (after a 14-year boycott) occurred in partnership with the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit organization that provides legal representation to people who may have been denied a fair trial. In 2017, Williams became Ambassador for the Allstate, Allstate Foundation's Purple Purse project, an initiative to provide financial empowerment to domestic abuse victims. Other organizations Williams supports include the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Hearts of Gold, the Common Ground Foundation, the Small Steps Project, the HollyRod Foundation, Beyond the Boroughs National Scholarship Fund, World Education, the Eva Longoria Foundation, the Caliber Foundation and the Cure for MND Foundation.
Business ventures
In August 2009, Serena and Venus became minority owners of the Miami Dolphins after purchasing a small stake in the team. According to the Dolphins, they are the first African-American women to hold any amount of ownership in an NFL franchise. In 2014, Williams founded the venture capital firm Serena Ventures, which invests in start-up companies whose "perspectives and innovations level the playing field for women and people of color." As of 2022, Serena Ventures had raised more than $110 million.
In July 2020, it was announced that Williams was part of a nearly all-women investors' group that was awarded Los Angeles NWSL team, a new franchise in the National Women's Soccer League, the highest level of the women's sport in the United States. Williams's husband Alexis Ohanian is classified as the "lead investor", but he holds a minority interest, and is the only man in the ownership group. Other owners in the group include prominent actresses, media figures, businesswomen, former members of the US women's national team, and Williams's eldest daughter. The new team began playing in 2022 as Angel City FC.
Activism
Williams became more involved in social change as her career progressed, primarily using social media to express her views. In 2016 she voiced her support for Black Lives Matter on her Facebook page. She expressed concern that her young nephew could be in danger from police due to his skin color. During American tennis player Tennys Sandgren's breakthrough run to the quarterfinals of the 2018 Australian Open, it was revealed that he tweeted insensitive words about the LGBT community, followed members of the alt-right, and referred to an article describing Williams's on-court behavior as "disgusting". Williams responded to him by saying, "I don't need or want [an apology]. But there is an entire group of people that deserves an apology."
Also in 2016, 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. She claimed that women's contributions to the sport are not recognized in the same way as men's contributions, and she also commented on the issue of unequal pay. Williams has received several awards for her activism, particularly her endeavors involving Black communities. The NAACP has honored Williams with its President's Award (2003) and the Jackie Robinson Sports Award (2023).
Fashion
Williams was noted for her unusual and colorful outfits on court. She 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'' by wearing a catsuit, which was subsequently banned by the French Tennis Federation. At the 2018 US Open, Williams wore a black tutu during her first match.
In 2009, she launched a signature collection of handbags and jewelry, Signature Statement, which is sold mainly on the Home Shopping Network. In 2010, she became a certified Manicure#Nail care, nail technician in preparation for her upcoming nail collection with HairTech.
In February 2019, Williams was appointed to the board of directors of the online fashion marketplace Poshmark. In the fall of that year, she launched the first collection of her clothing line ''S by Serena''. Inspired by 1990s street wear, the apparel is designed for a range of body types and body sizes.
Media and publishing
In 2005, the Williams sisters authored the book ''Venus & Serena: Serving From The Hip: 10 Rules For Living, Loving and Winning'', which was written with Hilary Beard. In 2009, Williams released the autobiography ''On the Line''. The same year, she appeared in online videos and print advertisements for Tampax Pearl tampons, becoming the first active female professional athlete to appear in advertising for a feminine hygiene product. Williams posed for the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Sports Illustrated'' Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Swimsuit Issue in 2003 and 2004.
Filmography
Williams has appeared in films, television series, and music videos. She and Venus also served as executive producers on the 2021 film ''King Richard (film), King Richard'', a biopic about their father.
See also
*WTA Tour records
*Grand Slam (tennis)
*List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players
*List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players
*List of highest ranked tennis players per country
*List of female tennis players
*List of tennis tournaments
*List of tennis rivalries
*Tennis records of the Open Era – Women's singles
*All-time tennis records – women's singles
*Williams sisters rivalry
*List of Grand Slam women's singles champions
*List of Grand Slam women's doubles champions
*List of Grand Slam mixed doubles champions
*Women's sports
*Vogue World 2024
Explanatory notes
References
General references
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Further reading
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External links
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Serena Williams
video produced by ''Makers: Women Who Make America''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Serena
Serena Williams,
1981 births
Living people
American female tennis players
American autobiographers
American Jehovah's Witnesses
American women ambassadors
African-American designers
African-American tennis players
Australian Open (tennis) champions
Angel City FC owners
French Open champions
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles
Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles
Hopman Cup competitors
Laureus World Sports Awards winners
Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for the United States in tennis
Olympic tennis players for the United States
Sportspeople from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
Shorty Award winners
Sports world record holders
Sportspeople from Compton, California
Sportspeople from Saginaw, Michigan
Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida
Tennis players from California
Tennis players from Michigan
Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
UNICEF goodwill ambassadors
Isenberg School of Management alumni
US Open (tennis) champions
Wimbledon champions
American women autobiographers
20th-century African-American sportswomen
20th-century American sportswomen
Williams family (tennis)
WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players
WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players
ITF World Champions
21st-century American sportswomen
21st-century African-American sportswomen