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Pulse Sports lets you in on everything you need to know about American tennis icon Serena Williams, considered by many as the best woman to have ever played the game.
Serena Williams is considered the best female tennis player of all-tie given the numerous titles she has won and her historic achievements in the sport.
Serena Williams won the most career Grand Slams by a woman in the Open Era and has the most Olympics tennis gold medals besides making history in the doubles where she is the joint most successful player, alongside her elder Venus Williams.
Serena Williams has therefore transcended the sport as her influence goes beyond tennis, having become an inspiration to female athletes as well as girls around the world given how she rose from a humble background.
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Serena Williams: Biography, Age, Family, Career, Titles, Husband, How Rich Is She In 2025?
Serena Williams Biography
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Serena Williams started playing tennis when she was four when her father Richard Williams realized her talent and started homeschooling her with her sister Venus after the family had moved to Compton, California.
Richard would soon leave the coaching duties to Richard Williams, a man from Compton, who shared names with him, and the new coach would later start the Venus and Serena Williams Tennis Tutorial Academy.
However, when Serena was nine, the family relocated to Florida where she was able to attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci, shaping her into a fearless player.
By 1991, Serena had a 46-3 record on the US Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No.1 among under-10 players in Florida but when she was 10, her father stopped sending her and sister Venus to the academy in a bid to protect them from ‘burning out early before turning pro” and also wanted them to focus on school.
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Richard then focused on coaching his daughters on his own until they turned pro with Serena playing in her first professional event in October 1995 at the Bell Challenge in Quebec, losing in the first qualifying round.
After a year out, Serena Williams returned in November 1997 at the Ameritech Cup Chicago where she upset No.7 Mary Pierce and No.4 Monica Seles, recording her first career win over top 10 players and becoming the lowest-ranked player in the Open Era to defeat two top-10 opponents in one tournament. She was ranked 304 at the time.
Serena Williams played her first Grand Slam at the 1998 Australian Open when she won in the first round but lost to sister Venus Williams in the second round.
However, that served as the grounding she needed as in February 1999, Serena Williams won her first professional singles title when she defeated Amelie Mauresmo in the final of the Open Gaz de France in Paris and the following month, she won her first WTA 1000 event at the Evert Cup in California, defeating Steffi Graf in the final.
Serena Williams won her first Grand Slam title at the 1999 US Open, becoming the first African-American woman since Althea Gibson to do so.
This set her up on a journey that saw her win 73 career titles, including 23 Grand Slams, the most from a woman in the Open Era and earned $95 million in prize money to make her the highest paid female athlete in history while she won four Olympics gold medals.
How Old is Serena Williams?
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Serena Williams was born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, to mother Oracene Price and father Richard Williams.
She is the youngest among seven siblings and when the family moved to Compton, California, Serena discovered her love for tennis alongside her elder sister Venus, who were later trained by their father Richard before joining an academy.
Serena Williams’ Family
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Serena Williams is the youngest of Price's five daughters, after half-sisters Yetunde, Lyndrea, and Isha Price and full older sister Venus and has seven paternal half-siblings.
Serena is married to businessman Alexis Ohanian and the couple have two daughters Olympia and Adira.
Serena Williams’ Career
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Considered by many as the best female tennis player of all-time, only one player has won more tennis titles than Serena Williams, who was ranked as the world No.1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 319 weeks (third-most of all-time).
Serena Williams also finished as the year-end No.1 five times, winning 73 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including 23 major women's singles titles, the most in the Open Era, and the second-most of all time. She is the only player to accomplish a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
Since turning pro in 1995, Serena won eight Grand Slam titles before injuries started hampering her in 2007 but she returned in 2012 and regained her best form, although that was after capturing four more Grand Slams while not at her brilliant best.
From 2012, Serena Williams won 11 more titles but in her late 30s, injuries returned again and greatly affected her performances.
At the 2017 Australian Open, she won her 23rd major singles title, surpassing Steffi Graf's Open Era record before taking maternity break after which she returned and won four major finals.
In August 2022, Williams announced her retirement from tennis and played her final match at the 2022 US Open.
What did Serena Williams win?
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Serena Williams won 73 titles, including 23 Grand Slams, being seven Australian Open (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017), as many Wimbledon titles (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016), six US Open crowns (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014) and three French Open (2002, 2013, 2015).
Williams also won 23 WTA Tour-level doubles titles. This includes 14 major women's doubles titles, all won with her sister Venus.
The sisters achieved a non-calendar year Grand Slam between the 2009 Wimbledon Championships and the 2010 French Open, which granted them the doubles world No.1 ranking.
Williams won four Olympic gold medals, three in women's doubles—an all-time joint record in tennis, shared with her sister.
Serena and Venus Williams are the only women in the Open Era to win Olympic gold in both singles and doubles.
Who is Serena Williams’ Husband?
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Serena Williams is married to venture capitalist Alexis Ohanian, the co-founder of Reddit, who proposed to her on December 10, 2016 before their wedding on November 16, 2017, in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Serena delivered the couple’s first daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr on September 1, 2017 before the second born, also a girl, named Adira River Ohanian, arrived in August 2023.
Alexis Ohanian is passionate about women’s sport and has invested in the women’s-only athletics meet Athlos while he also has a controlling stake in Los Angeles-based National Women's Soccer League team Angel City FC.
Serena Williams Net Worth
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Serena Williams is the highest-earning female athlete of all-time with an estimated net worth of $340 million, thanks to prize money, lucrative endorsement deals and business ventures.
She earned nearly $95 million in prize money from tennis, more coming from endorsement deals with brands like Nike but she has made a lot from her businesses post retirement.
Serena Williams is the founder of Serena Ventures, Nine Two Six Productions and a healthcare brand Will Perform, which are generating millions of dollars for her.
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