Serena Williams, famous professional tennis player, was born on September 26th, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan.
Williams began her professional tennis career in 1995, but she had been playing tennis since the mere age of four. She has set records, made history, and is a feminist icon to many young women across the globe. Her career spans over 25 years! With that in mind, let us jump right into her astounding pro tennis career!
At the age of nine, Williams began attending Rick Macci’s tennis academy in Boca Raton, Florida. Around this time, she was also competing in junior tournaments. Her father, Richard Williams, pulled Serena and her sister Venus from the tournaments. That was partially due to racism coming from their white competitors’ parents.
In 1995, Williams played her first professional match; it was at the Bell Challenge in Quebec. She lost this match to Annie Miller, a now-retired professional tennis player. Four years later, in 1999, Williams went on to win her first Grand Slam title. That made her the second African-American woman in history to win a Grand Slam Singles title!
Since the first Grand Slam win in 1999, Williams has gone on to win 22 more. She has also won 14 Grand Slam Doubles titles with her sister Venus and has four Olympic Gold Medals under her belt!
Along with the previously mentioned grand achievements, Williams has also won many awards in her lifetime, including
- Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year (2002)
- NAACP Image Award – President’s Award (2003)
- Laureus World Sports Award for Comeback of the Year (2007)
- Glamour Award for The Athlete (2009)
- Best Female Athlete ESPY Award (2013)
- Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year (2015)
- BET Award for Sportswoman of the Year (2018)
- Teen Choice Award for Choice Female Athlete (2019)
Many of the awards listed above she has won on more than one occasion! No one can deny the hard-hitter’s talent!
In 2018 Williams received backlash after she told the umpire he called out multiple false code violations. She called the umpire, Carlos Ramos, a thief. She was aiming for her 24th Grand Slam title win, but ultimately lost to Naomi Osaka. Williams was also fined a total of 17,000 dollars for the code violations.
No one could completely rain on Williams’ parade, though! In 2017 she got married to big-name entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian. Her husband is most known for being a co-founder of the social media site Reddit. That same year Williams also had her baby girl Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.! You can find many pictures of Williams with her daughter on Instagram!
Serena Williams is a powerhouse that cannot be shaken. She is a feminist icon that inspires many women all over the world. She has changed the industry one swing at a time! What do you love about Serena Williams? We cannot seem to choose just one thing!