Serena Williams

Serena Williams is an American tennis player who is widely seen as one of the greatest athletes in the history of sports. She was born in 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, and grew up in Compton, California. During her career, she won 23 Grand Slam singles titles. That is more than any other player, man or woman, in the modern era of tennis.

Serena learned tennis from her father, Richard Williams. He started teaching her and her older sister Venus on public courts in Compton when Serena was about three years old. The courts were sometimes covered in broken glass. The sisters practiced for hours every day. Their father had never played tennis professionally. He taught himself the sport from books and videos so he could coach his daughters.

Serena turned professional in 1995, when she was just 14. She won her first Grand Slam title at the 1999 US Open at age 17. A Grand Slam is one of the four biggest tournaments in tennis: the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Over the next 20 years, she won all four many times. She also won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister Venus. The two sisters often had to play against each other in finals.

Serena's serve became one of the most famous weapons in tennis. She could hit the ball at over 128 miles per hour, faster than most cars drive on the highway. Her power changed how women's tennis was played. Younger players started training to hit harder and move faster because of her.

In 2017, Serena won the Australian Open while she was about two months pregnant. Months later, her daughter Olympia was born. Serena almost died from blood clots in her lungs after giving birth. She has since spoken openly about how Black women in the United States face higher risks during childbirth, and she has worked to bring attention to the problem.

Serena retired from tennis in 2022 after the US Open. She finished her career with four Olympic gold medals and prize money of more than 94 million dollars, the most any woman in tennis history has earned. Off the court, she has started a clothing line and a company that invests in businesses owned by women and people of color.

She and Venus also helped change who plays tennis. Before the Williams sisters, the sport was mostly played by white players from wealthy families. The two sisters from Compton showed that anyone could become a champion.