Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and currently ranked World No. 17 in singles and No. 20 in doubles with sister Venus Williams. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her World No. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on November 2, 2009. She is considered to be one of the greatest women's tennis players of all-time in a career hampered by numerous injuries.Williams is the reigning champion in singles at Wimbledon, and in women's doubles at the French Open. Her 27 Grand Slam titles places her ninth on the all-time list: 13 in singles, 12 in women's doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles. She is the most recent player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously and only the fifth woman in history to do so. Her 13 Grand Slam singles titles is sixth on the all-time list Williams ranks fourth in Grand Slam women's singles titles won during the open era, behind Steffi Graf (22 titles) and Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova (18 titles each) She has won more Grand Slam titles in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles than any other active female player.Williams has won two Olympic gold medals in women's doubles has won more career prize money than any other female athlete in history Serena has played older sister Venus in 23 professional matches since 1998, with Serena winning 13 of these matches. They have met in eight Grand Slam finals, with Serena winning six times. Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, which was the first time in the open era that the same two players had contested four consecutive Grand Slam finals. The pair have won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles together.Contents 1 Early life 2 Playing style 3 Professional career 3.1 1995–99: Professional debut 3.2 1999–2001: Becoming a top 10 player 3.3 2002–03: Four consecutive Grand Slam singles titles 3.4 2004–06: Injuries and inconsistent results 3.5 2007–08: Return to the top 10 3.6 2009: Back at World No. 1 3.7 2010: Two Grand Slam singles titles in an abbreviated year 3.8 2011: Medical complications 3.9 Rivalry with Venus Williams 3.10 Controversy 4 Off-court activities 4.1 Fashion 4.2 Entertainment 4.3 Miami Dolphins venture 4.4 Charity work 4.5 Writing 4.6 Security 5 Other records and achievements 6 Awards 7 Recognition 8 See also 9 References 10 External linksSerena Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan to Richard Williams and Oracene Price. She is of African American heritage and is the youngest of Price's five daughters: half-sisters Yetunde (1972–2003), Lyndrea and Isha Price, and full sister Venus. When the children were young, the family moved to the city of Compton in Los Angeles county, where Serena started playing tennis at the age of five Her father home-schooled Serena and her sister Venus and to this day, Serena Williams was and remains coached by both her parentsWilliams' family moved from Compton to West Palm Beach when she was nine so that she could attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci, who would provide additional coaching. Macci spotted the exceptional talents of the sisters. He did not always agree with Williams' father but respected that "he treated his daughters like kids, allowed them to be little girls Richard stopped sending his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments when Williams was 10, since he wanted them to take it slow and focus on school work. Another motivation was racial, as he had allegedly heard parents of white players talk about the Williams sisters in a derogatory manner during tournaments At that time, Williams had a 46–3 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among under 10 players in FloridaIn 1995, when Serena was in the ninth grade, Richard pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy, and from then on took over all coaching at their home. When asked in 2000 whether having followed the normal path of playing regularly on the junior circuit would have been beneficial, Williams responded: "Everyone does different things. I think for Venus and I, we just tried a different road, and it worked for us.Williams is primarily a baseline player. Her game is built around taking immediate control of rallies with a powerful and consistent serve (considered by some to be the best in the women's game return of serve, and forceful groundstrokes from both her forehand and backhand swings. Her serve is technically very sound[citation needed] and has been hit as hard as 129 mph (206.5 km/h), the second-fastest (after her sister Venus) all-time among female playersWilliams's solid volleys—especially her drive volleys and powerful overheadsgive her advantages at the net She produces good drop volleys a shot that not many players useAlthough Williams' forehand is among the most powerful shots in the women's game, her double-handed backhand is considered to be one of, if not the, best on the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tour can hit a winning backhand shot from any position on the court, down the line or cross court, even when on the defensive or otherwise under pressure Williams strikes her backhand groundstroke using an open stance, and uses the same open stance for her forehandWilliams's aggressive style of play results in a relatively high number of unforced errors This "high risk" style is balanced in part by her serve, which combines great power and placement with very high consistencyAlthough many think of Williams as only an offensive player, she also plays a strong defensive gameSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena Williams
