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Serena was born in Saginaw,
Michigan. When she and her four sisters were young, their parents, Richard
and Oracene (also called Brandy), lived in the Los Angeles suburb of
Compton. Her father dreamed of making at least one of his daughters a
tennis superstar, hoping that involvement in sports would give them
opportunity for a better life.
When Serena was four and a half, she won her first tournament, and she
entered 49 tournaments before the age of 10, winning 46 of them. At one
point, she replaced her sister Venus as the number one ranked tennis
player aged 10 or under in California.
1991-1997
In 1991, Richard Williams, saying that he hoped to prevent his daughters
from facing racism, stopped sending them to national junior tennis
tournaments, and Serena instead attended a tennis school run by
professional player Rick Macci in Florida. Macci had already helped the
careers of Jennifer Capriati and Mary Pierce, among others. Soon Richard,
who had struck a deal on behalf of Venus and Serena with a major clothing
company, was able to move the rest of the Williams family to West Palm
Beach, to be near Serena and Venus.
Serena became a professional tennis player in September 1995 at the age of
14, Because of her age, she had to participate in non-WTA events at first;
Her first professional event was the Bell Challenge in Quebec City|Québec,
and she was ousted in less than an hour of play. By 1997ranked number 304
in the world, she upset both Monica Selesand Mary Pierce at the Ameritech
Open in Chicago, Illinois, recording her first career wins over top 10
players. She finished1997 ranked No. 99 in the world.
1998
1998 was the first year that Williams finished ranked in the WTA top 20.
She began the season in Sydney as a qualifier, ranked no. 96, and beat
world no. 3 Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinal. With her top 20
ranking, Williams was then expected to do well in her first Grand Slam
tournament. However, she lost in the second round of the Australian Open
to sister Venus.
Williams reached six other quarterfinals during the season. She won the
mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open with Max Mirnyi,
completing the Williams family's sweep of the 1998 mixed doubles Grand
Slams. Williams won her first pro title in doubles at Oklahoma City with
sister Venus, becoming the third pair of sisters to win a WTA tour women's
doubles title. She earned U.S. $2.6 million in prize money during the
year.
1999
In 1999, Serena defeated Amélie Mauresmo in a final the same day that
Venus won in Oklahoma City, marking the first time in professional tennis
history that two sisters had won titles in the same week.
In March Williams won the prestigious tier event Indian Wells, the second
of only five unseeded Tier I champions in WTA history. Williams (ranked
No.21) defeated the world no.2 Davenport in the second round; the world
no.8 Mary Pierce in quarter-final; and the world no.7 Graf in final, in
three sets. At her next tournament, tier I Miami, her sister Venus halted
Williams' 16-match win streak in the tournament final in three sets, the
first all-sister Tour singles final in Open Era (Williams defeated world
no.3 Seles; world no.9 Coetzer; and world no.1 Hingis, en route to final).
A week after Miami (April 5), Williams made her top 10 debut at No.9;
Venus was No.6 same week, marking first time two sisters appeared in Top
10 simultaneously since April 22, 1991 (Man. and K.Maleeva). Later that
year, Williams won another US hardcourt tite at Los Angeles, defeating
elite level competition in the form of world no.8 Sánchez-Vicario; the
world no.1 Hingis in semi-final; and Julie Halard-Decugis. Williams'
championship title run at the 1999 US Open was astonishing: encompassing
wins against the world no.4 Seles, the world no.2 Davenport and the no.1
Hingis to become lowest seed (at no. 7) to win the title and second
African-American woman (after Althea Gibson in 1958) to win a Grand Slam
tournament. Williams finished 1999 ranked no.4 in the world in just her
second full season on the main Tour.
Williams also went 1-0 in the United States 4-1 win in the final of the
1999 Fed Cup against Russia giving the U.S. its 16th title. She teamed up
with sister Venus Williams to defeat Elena Dementieva and Elena Makarova
6-2, 6-1.
Williams became the focus of many ad campaigns, including one with shoe
and clothes maker Puma, which signed her to a U.S. $12 million agreement.
2000-2002 period of dominance
In 2000, Williams won the doubles gold medal at the Sydney Olympics with
her sister Venus.
Williams finished 2001 in the top ten for the third consecutive year. She
reached her first Grand Slam singles final in two years, losing to her
older sister Venus at the U.S. Open 6-2, 6-4. Later that year, Serena won
the WTA Tour Championships after saving eight match points in the
semifinals against Jennifer Capriati.
In 2002, Serena won the French Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open (where
she wore her famous black catsuit) by defeating Venus in the finals of all
three. She also reached the final of the WTA Tour Championships for the
second time, where she lost to Kim Clijsters. She finished the year with a
56-5 record, eight singles titles, and the World No. 1 ranking. She also
won the Wimbledon doubles title with Venus for the second time.
This season was arguably one of the most dominant performances by any
female tennis player in recent years.
2003
Williams beat her sister Venus to win the 2003 Australian Open, her fourth
straight Grand Slam singles title, becoming only the ninth woman ever to
win all four Grand Slam events, and only the fifth woman in the Open era,
joining the ranks of Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navrátilová
and Steffi Graf. She named the feat of winning all 4 Grand Slams
consecutively as the "Serena Slam". This was only the sixth time that a
woman had held all four of tennis' major championships within 12 months.
This accomplishment was also remarkable in that Williams faced off against
her sister each time. The Williams sisters are the only two siblings in
Grand Slam history to square off in four consecutive finals.
"Serena Slam" almost didn't happen, as twice she was a point away from
losing in the semifinals to Kim Clijsters. The Belgium player had stunned
Serena in the Year-End Championships of 02 in straight sets, and she
seemed well on her way for another upset victory. Kim was leading 6-4,
3-6, 5-1 when Serena fought back and ran off six straight games, saving
two matchpoints along the way.
For the first time since January 2002, a Grand Slam final did not read
Williams-Williams. Venus lost to Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round of the
French Open. Among boos and catcalls, Serena lost to Justine Henin-Hardene
in an acrimonious and controversial semifinal match. With Serena leading
4-2 (30-0) in the third set, she hit her first serve into the net (whether
intentional or not the subject remains undisputed, though Serena claimed
she intentionally dumped the ball into the net). Henin-Hardenne had raised
her hand during Serena's service motion to indicate to hold the serve, but
the chair umpire ruled that Serena should be allowed only a second serve.
The crowd then booed and hissed in response to Serena's protests, and
continued throughout Williams's service motion. Serena went on to lose the
next 5 of 6 games, and eventually the match, snapping her 33 Grand Slam
match win streak. In her post-match interview, Serena expressed
disappointment in Henin-Hardenne's behavior during the third set incident,
and broke down in tears from the crowd siding with Henin.
Williams successfully defended her Wimbledon title by defeating her sister
for the 5th straight major in which they met. She also gained revenge on
Henin, easily defeating her in straight sets in the semis.
Williams's older sister, Yetunde Price, was murdered on the morning of
September 14, 2003, by gunshots as she passed by in a car driven by a man
in the Compton area.
2004-2005
Serena Williams delivering a serve in 2004.Williams withdrew from the 2004
Australian Open to continue rehabilitating her left knee. After eight
months away from the tour, Williams began her comeback in Miami, where she
defeated Elena Dementieva in the final 6-1, 6-1. She then lost in the
French Open quarterfinals to Jennifer Capriati 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. She reached
the final of Wimbledon but in one of the most surprising upsets in the
tournament's history, the 17-year old Russian player Maria Sharapova
produced a far more consistent and confident performance, to defeat
Williams 6-1, 6-4. Serena William's biography
On July 30, Williams withdrew from her quarterfinal match in San Diego
against Russia's Vera Zvonareva with another left knee injury. On August
1, she announced her withdrawal from the Rogers Cup due to the same
injury. The injury also forced her to pull out of the 2004 Summer
Olympics.
Williams's next tournament was the U.S. Open, where she lost a
quarterfinal match to Capriati. The match was plagued by controversial
calls from the umpire that all seemed to go against Serena. One in
particular was the first game of the third set, where Serena hit a
backhand winner that landed a 3 - 4 inches inside the line. The point was
rewarded to her, but was then overuled by the umpire as she gave the point
to Capriati. It lead to a shell-shocked Serena, who argued with the
umpire, but didn't get the point back. Instant replays (player challenges
weren't available at the time) on TV clearly showed the ball bouncing at
least 2-3 inches within the sideline. It was enough to even cause John
McEnroe to call it the "worst he's ever seen at the Open". Serena
protested later in a press conference by wearing a bright orange shirt
with white capital letters, stating "THE BALL WAS IN!"
At the China Open in Beijing, Williams defeated the newly crowned U.S.
Open champion, Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the final. Williams was down 4-6,
4-5 with a couple of championship points against her. She was able to save
them both, and came back 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Williams earned enough points
there to reach the WTA Tour Championships, where she again lost to
Sharapova in the final. Williams suffered a stomach muscle strain during
the match after leading 6-4, 2-1. Clearly hampered by this injury, Serena
began delivering serves barely reaching the 100 mph mark. It was enough
for Sharapova to run off 5 games in a row to take the second set.
Realizing now that her strongest weapon was disabled, Serena began going
for winners on almost every shot. The gamble led her quickly to 4-0 lead,
surrendering only one point. However, the injury took its toll as Serena
could now barely serve up to 80 mph, and a disappointed Serena watched as
her young opponent ran off six straight games to win the match, 4-6, 6-2,
6-4. Despite the loss, Serena finished at No.8 in the world.
In 2005, she won her seventh Grand Slam event, winning the Australian
Open. She defeated three of the tournament's top 4 seeds (#2 Amélie
Mauresmo, #4 Sharapova, and #1 Lindsay Davenport) en route to the title.
Like her 2003 Australian Open title where she saved two matchpoints after
being down 1-5 in the third set to Kim Clijsters, Williams saved a
remarkable three match points against Sharapova in the semifinals, two of
them coming off her own winners.
Her participation in the 2005 Wimbledon Championships ended in the third
round when she was beaten by fellow American Jill Craybas (ranked 85th in
the world) 6-3, 7-6(4). Williams broke down in tears in the subsequent
press conference. She had come into the tournament with a stress fracture
in her ankle (which forced her to place extra strain onto her right knee)
and a severe lack of conditioning. She also had not played a competitive
match for six weeks, missing the French Open.
At the 2005 U.S. Open, Williams made it through the first three rounds but
was defeated by her sister Venus in the fourth round 7-6, 6-2. This was
the earliest the two sisters had met in a Grand Slam tournament since
their first meeting at the 1998 Australian Open.
Williams then was forced to take a break for the rest of 2005 because of
ankle and knee injuries.
In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put her in 17th place in its list of 40 Greatest
Players of the TENNIS era.
2006
Williams hitting a return at the US open in 2006.Williams went into the
Australian Open with no official warm-up tournaments. Williams was the
defending champion at the Australian Open but fell to Daniela Hantuchová
6-1, 7-6(5) in the third round. In earlier rounds, Williams defeated Li Na
of China and Camille Pin of France. Her early exit provoked media reports
that Williams had lost her enthusiasm for the sport, which she denied. She
then fell out of the top 50 for the first time in many years. She then
pulled out of the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, the Dubai Duty Free
Women's Open, and the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida.
After withdrawing from the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South
Carolina, Williams fell out of the top-100 players in the world for the
first time in almost a decade. Shortly after, she announced that she would
miss both the French Open and Wimbledon because of a chronic knee injury.
She said that she would not be able to compete before "the end of the
summer," on doctors' orders.
Williams, however, made a return to the game earlier than expected,
accepting wildcards into events in Cincinnati and Los Angeles. She
admitted that her six-month break from competitive tennis was as much for
a "mental break" as for urgent rehabilitation for her knee injury.
Ranked No. 139 due to her inactivity, Williams made a successful comeback
by defeating the Cincinnati tournament's No. 2 seed and No. 11-ranked
Anastasia Myskina 6-2, 6-2 in the first round before losing in the
semifinals to the eventual champion Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-3. Williams's
ranking rose to No. 108 as a result of this tournament.
In Los Angeles, Williams defeated Hantuchová in the third round, the woman
responsible for her early Australian Open exit. Williams then defeated
Meghann Shaughnessy to set up a semifinal match against Jelena Janković.
Williams lost the match 6-4, 6-3.
Williams was granted a wildcard into the U.S. Open, as her ranking
prevented her from gaining direct entry into the tournament. She was
ranked 79th in the main draw and was unseeded in a Grand Slam tournament
for the first time since 1998. Williams lost to Amélie Mauresmo in the
fourth round 6-4, 0-6, 6-2.
2007
Williams at the French Open in 2007.Williams began the year by stating
that she had no doubt she would be number one again. She competed in the
Moorilla Hobart International in Tasmania as a warm-up for the 2007
Australian Open. However, she lost to Sybille Bammer of Austria in the
quarterfinals.
At the Australian Open, the unseeded Williams defeated fifth-seeded Nadia
Petrova of Russia in the third round 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. It was Williams's
first win over a top 10 player since her defeat of Lindsay Davenport in
the 2005 Australian Open final. In the fourth round, Williams defeated the
eleventh-seeded Jelena Janković of Serbia 6-3, 6-2. She then defeated
sixteenth-seeded Shahar Pe'er in the quarterfinals 3-6, 6-2, 8-6 and
tenth-seeded Nicole Vaidišová 7-6(5), 6-4 in the semifinals. In the final,
Williams crushed top-seeded and then second ranked Maria Sharapova 6-1,
6-2 in 63 minutes to take her third Australian Open singles title and her
eighth Grand Slam singles title. The victory elevated her ranking from
81st to 14th in the world and it also marked the first time either
Williams sister had won a Grand Slam singles title in the absence of the
other's participation in the same tournament. Williams dedicated the win
to her deceased sister, Yetunde Price. It was Williams's 16th career Grand
Slam title, including 6 women's doubles titles and a career Grand Slam
with her sister Venus, 2 mixed doubles titles, and 8 singles titles.
Williams then withdrew from her next two scheduled tournaments in
February, the Sony Ericsson International in Bangalore, India and the
Dubai Tennis Championships. She stated that she was unable to play either
event because of the flu.
Her next tournament was the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida,
where she won the title in 2002, 2003, and 2004. In her third round match,
a heckler allegedly hurled what Williams called "derogatory" remarks at
her. Donald Winton of Cocoa Beach was removed from the stands towards the
conclusion of the second set, at Williams's request. In the fourth round,
Williams defeated second ranked Sharapova 6-1, 6-1, then went on to beat
eighth ranked Nicole Vaidišová 6-1, 6-4 in her quarterfinal round. In the
semifinals, Williams defeated Pe'er 7-6, 6-1. In the final against top
ranked Justine Henin, Williams won 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 after saving two match
points in the second set. With wins over top ranked Henin and second
ranked Sharapova, Williams became the lowest-ranked player in history to
beat the world’s top two players at the same event.
At the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, Williams retired
from her second round match due to a groin pull. Had she won that match,
she would have played her sister Venus in the third round.
Williams played the first round Fed Cup tie against Belgium in Delray
Beach, Florida. She defeated Caroline Maes 6-1, 6-4. She then withdrew
from the second rubber to rest her knee.
In the fourth round of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia tournament
in Rome, Italy, Williams defeated eleventh-seeded Peer 6-3, 6-3. In the
quarterfinals, Williams lost to fourteenth-seeded Patty Schnyder of
Switzerland 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(5). After the tournament, however, she reentered
the Top 10, moving up to number 9.
Williams next played the French Open where she was seeded eighth and drawn
to meet Henin, the defending champion and top seed in the quarterfinals.
However, she was tested in her first round match against Tsvetana
Pironkova, losing the first set before winning, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. Though she
initially appeared sluggish and somewhat uncomfortable with her movement,
her results improved during each successive match allowing her to reach
the quarters to face Henin without the loss of another set. The match was
the most anticipated of the women's event. Most media commentators,
particularly Americans, expected an emotional rematch of the players' 2003
semifinal at Roland Garros, which featured controversy over Henin's
sportsmanship as well as Williams' poor rapport with the crowd. However,
William's previous sluggish form leading into the match was exposed by
Henin whose own movement and comfort on clay was far more assured.
Williams never appeared comfortable with Henin's constant changes of spin,
pace, direction, and depth and made numerous errors, particularly off her
forehand. Henin regularly exploited these openings and secured a
relatively easy 6-4, 6-3 victory. Following the match, Williams was so
disappointed with her lackluster performance that she proclaimed 'it's the
worst match I've ever played.' She also said that she felt 'violated.'
Her next scheduled tournament was Wimbledon. During her fourth round match
against Daniela Hantuchová Williams collapsed in agony on Centre Court
after being down 4-2 in the second set. It took close to 7 minutes for her
trainer to define what happened to Williams (an acute muscle spasm, it
later emerged). Then, Serena received a medical timeout taking the break
in play to 10 minutes. Serena delayed her play for the rain to return to
allow her to recover and after holding serve to force a tiebreak despite
being barely able to walk, the rain came and play was suspended for nearly
2 hours. Next up for Williams was a quarterfinal matchup against the
top-seeded and top-ranked Justine Henin. The much anticipated match-up
lived up to its expectations. Williams arrived at the court with a heavily
taped calf, and because an injury to her left thumb had forced her to
revert to a one-handed slice. Williams lost the quarterfinal matchup 4-6,
6-3, 3-6, but drew more criticism by claiming she would have beaten Henin
had she been healthy. Serena stated that her health was "only at 50%
today, and that she felt she would've won if she hadn't been injured."
After Wimbledon, Williams moved up to World No. 7, the highest she had
been since 2005. Serena alo participated in the doubles tournament with
sister Venus, receiving wildcards into the main draw. The tandem
walked-over to Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual in the
second round, after defeating fellow wildcards Claire Curran and Anne
Keothavong.
Serena pulled out of the doubles later, the Fed Cup semifinal against
Russia, Cincinnati, Stanford, San Diego, and Los Angeles due to a thumb
injury suffered in the match against Hantuchová. Williams entered the
tournament in New Haven mid-way through the US Open Series, but her thumb
had not recovered yet and she pulled out. Due to her withdrawals, her
ranking slightly slipped to World No. 9.
Serena's next tournament was the U.S. Open. She beat Angelique Kerber 6-3,
7-5 in her first round, Maria-Elena Camerin 7-5 6-2 in the second round,
Vera Zvonareva 6-4 7-6 in the third, and 2007 Wimbledon finalist Marion
Bartoli 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth, setting up her third consecutive grand
slam quarterfinal matchup with Justine Henin. However, she lost to Henin
yet again, 6-7, 1-6. Serena could not convert as the first set was brought
to a tiebreaker, even after saving a set point, down 4-5, and having her
own set point, at 6-5, on Henin's serve. Serena never seemed to find her
form as Henin dominated the tiebreak 7-3. The first set took over an hour.
In the second set, Henin quickly raced out to a 3-0 lead before Serena
could win her first game. She had several chances to break for 3-2, but
couldn't capitalize as Henin won the last three games of the match. The
second set raced by in comparison to the first, finishing in almost half
the time. It was Serena's third straight lost to Henin, third straight
loss in a Grand Slam to Henin this year, as well as her third straight
loss in the quarterfinals of a major this year. It was also Henin's first
win over Serena on a hard court. Henin and Williams' lifetime record is
now tied at 6-6. The post match press conference was rather controversial
with Serena claiming that Henin had benefited from 'lucky' shots and
Williams's own errors. Serena was heavily criticised in the press for not
showing sportsmanship.
Despite the quarterfinal loss, Williams moved up to World No. 7 in the
rankings, 2 spots ahead of her sister Venus (No. 9), who is in the top 10
for the first time since 2005.
Serena next played Stuttgart on October 1 where she reached the quarter
finals. Williams breezed through her first match in 47 minutes 6-0, 6-0
against Zuzana Ondraskova, who was a late replacement after Elena Bovina
withdrew. Williams then beat Julia Vakulenko 7-6, 6-2. Serena was beaten
in the quarterfinals 6-3, 6-3 by Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova.
The following week Serena played The Kremlin Cup in Moscow. After a first
round bye, she struggled a little to beat Tatiana Perebiynis 7-5, 6-4,
before a good win over Nicole Vaidisova 6-4 7-6. Serena then got her
revenge over Svetlana Kuznetsova, beating her 7-6, 6-1. She lost the final
to Elena Dementieva 5-7, 6-1, 6-1. Williams' performance brought her
ranking up to #5 in the world, and it guaranteed her a spot in the
Year-End Championshps in Madrid. However, after losing her first match to
Anna Chakvetadze by retirement, she decided to withdraw from the
championships. Her place was taken by Marion Bartoli.
Fashion
Williams is known for her unusual and colorful outfits on court. In 2002,
Williams created an on-court stir when she wore a leather-looking catsuit
at the U.S. Open. Again at the U.S. Open, in 2004, Williams wore denim
skirts and boots. Williams had a special line at Puma and has a current
one at Nike.
Outside the tennis courts, Williams was also the center of attention when
in November 2004, she reached a new level of exposure at the London
premiere of Pierce Brosnan's new film, After the Sunset. In an outfit that
had a near-topless effect, Williams wore a red gown with strips of sheer
fabric.
Williams has her own line of designer clothing called Aneres — her first
name spelled backward (a la Oprah Winfrey and Harpo productions) — that
she plans to sell in boutiques in Miami and Los Angeles. Venus also
appeared as one of her models, showing her latest designs.
Entertainment
In 2001, Serena along with her sister, Venus appeared on The Simpsons
tennis themed episode after Bart and Lisa boycott to play against each
other in the family. She has also posed for a Sports Illustrated swimsuit
issue and has had a lucrative career in advertisements.
In April 2005, MTV announced plans to broadcast a reality show around the
lives of Serena and Venus Williams, but ABC Family aired the show.
Williams was the fifth victim and the ninth star ever to be on Punk'd more
than once. Her first appearance was when Williams had to save a Punk'd
problem kid played by Rob Pinkston until Kutcher exposed the set-up. Her
second is when Serena passed the prank on her sister Venus after both
Serena and Venus were fighting with a fraud during a photoshoot with some
handicapped people.
In 2002, Williams played Miss Wiggins in the season 3 episode "Crouching
Mother, Hidden Father" of My Wife and Kids. In 2005, Serena guest starred
in an episode of the twelfth season of ER. She also guest starred on an
episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Welsh indie band, Super Furry Animals, sang a track on their 2003 album
Phantom Power called "Venus and Serena" - dedicated to the sisters.
In 2007, Williams appeared in the ABC reality television series Fast Cars
and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, featuring a dozen
celebrities in a stock car racing competition. In the first round of
competition, Williams matched up against surfer Laird Hamilton and former
NFL quarterback John Elway. That same year, Serena appeared on Late Night
with Conan O'Brien, where he challenged Serena to a tennis match on the
Wii video game console. Conan overcame a break point to win the match.
In June 2007, Serena was interviewed on BBC One's Friday Night with
Jonathan Ross along with Iggy Pop and Russell Brand.
On the fourteenth page of a January 2007 issue of TV Guide, it is stated
that "Tennis star Serena Williams will provide a guest voice on the
Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender next season." Serena
herself has gone as far to state that Avatar is her favorite show.
Serena appears semi-nude in the July issue of Jane Magazine along with Eva
Mendes, Joss Stone, and five other famous faces.
Serena appears in an American music video with singers Common, Alicia
Keys, and Kanye West called "I Want You", released on November 2007. |
