Serena Williams: We look back at her ace career
- Published
Serena was born in Michigan in the US but moved to California when she was three, where she started to play tennis. She has four sisters - here she is with her older sister Venus, who has also been very successful in her tennis career.
Their dad, Richard, taught Venus and Serena at home instead of going to school, to give them more time to practise tennis.
Serena became a professional tennis player when she was just 14 years old. Even at this young age, the two Williams sisters were getting a lot of attention from the press because of their talent.
In 1998, Serena won her first match at a Grand Slam competition. She beat Irina Spirlea from Romania during the Australian Open - it was a huge moment for her. Grand Slams are the most important competitions in tennis and include Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open and the French Open.
Serena won the US Open in 1999, which was her first Grand Slam singles win. This meant she became only the second African-American woman to win a Grand Slam singles tournament. The Williams sisters also won the doubles title that year.
Serena won Wimbledon in 2002 for the first time, beating her sister Venus to win the singles title. This earned her the number one ranking in the world, knocking Venus off the top spot.
At the 2003 Australian Open, Serena won the 'Grand Slam', or 'Serena Slam' - winning of all four Grand Slam competitions in a row. She did it for a second time in 2014-2015. In total, she has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
Serena reached another milestone at Wimbledon 2016 - winning her 22nd Grand Slam title, and matching the record set by Steffi Graf.
In September 2017 Serena released the first image of her newborn daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr on Instagram. She says having a daughter has made all the more determined and has given her the inspiration to win even more Grand Slams! Go Serena!!
In 2019 Serena made it through to the finals in the Wimbledon women's singles tournament. She was hoping for her 24th Grand Slam victory but missed out when she was beaten by Simona Halep.
Serena waved farewell to professional tennis with her final match at the US Open in 2022. She gave an emotional speech where she looked back at her 27 year career. She also thanked her parents, Venus and her supporters.
- Published28 June 2021
- Published27 June 2016
- Published3 July 2016
