Date of Birth
26 September 1981, Saginaw, Michigan, USA
Birth Name
Serena Jameka Williams
Height
5' 10" (1.78 m)
Mini Biography
Serena Williams, currently the #7 female tennis player in the world, has always maintained a level of interest. She earned her first grand slam singles title at the U.S. Open back in 1999, and currently rode a string of four straight grand slam singles title wins - the 2002 French, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open titles, and the 2003 Australian Open title, all achieved by defeating her older sister, Venus. A knee injury in 2003 forced her to sit out 8 months of tennis competition. She reached the Wimbledon final in 2004, but has not won a major title since the summer of 2003. As of late, Serena has taken a stab at acting, appearing in guest roles on both "The Simpsons" (1989) and "My Wife and Kids" (2001). More roles are likely to follow. Serena was born in Saginaw, Michigan, to Richard and Oracene Williams (now divorced). The youngest of five girls, Serena grew up with Venus and older sisters Lyndrea, Isha & Yetunde. She was born in 1981. Eldest sister Yetunde Price was murdered in Los Angeles, California in the fall of 2003.
Trivia
Beat her older sister Venus to win the 2002 French Open, 2002 Wimbledon, 2002 US Open & the 2003 Australian Open. By doing so, she joined Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, Margaret Court, and Maureen Connolly as the only women to have won four Grand Slam titles in a row.
Was the 1999 US Open champion
Is the youngest of 5 girls
Her other sisters are Lyndrea, Isha & Yetunde
Parents are Richard & Oracene (divorced)
Dad Richard is her coach
Won the 2000 Olympics doubles competition with her sister Venus
Her scenes of her first movie "Black Knight" were cut.
Among her pets was a Yorkshire by the name of Petey (Named after one of her tennis heros Pete Sampras), Jackie the Jack Russell Terrier; and Bambi the pitbull.
Sister of Venus Williams.
Elder sister Yetunde Price was murdered in Compton, California in Fall of 2003
Born on the same day as actress Christina Milian.
On 25 January 2003, she won the Australian Open tennis championship, completing the 'grand slam' of women's tennis. "The Serena Slam Completed" was ranked #10 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Most Awesome Sports Moments (of the last 15 years)". [17 July 2005 issue]
She is a certified Fashion Designer and has her own clothing line called "Aneres" which is her name spelled backwards.
In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated her earnings for the year at $14 million.
Personal Quotes
"I'm afraid I'm already a shopaholic. Fortunately, I'm no longer in denial, and the first step to recovering is getting out of denial."
"I've always said that I'm insatiable."
"I could lose 20 pounds and I'm still going to have these knockers and I'm going to have this ass, and that's just the way it is." addressing her fitness level after winning the 2007 Australian Open
Where Are They Now
(February 2004) Has dropped to #6 in the rankings. Has not played in a tennis tournament since July, 2003. She dropped off the tour due to knee injuries, but despite her recent announcement that she is healthy and fit she decided to withdraw from the Australian Open grand slam competition (where she is defending champion) as she continues to pursue TV and film appearances.
(March 2007) Recently won the Sony Ericsson Open for the 4th time in her career. Crushed the tournament's top seed Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-1 in the 4th round after Sharapova had defeated older sister Venus Williams. Made a dramatic comeback in the final against newly crowned world number one Justin Henin. Defeated Henin 0-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the final. Continues her remarkable comeback to the top of the tennis rankings. Ascended from 95 in the world last year to number 11 by winning the two biggest titles of the year so far.
(January 2007) Reestablished herself as the dominant force in women's tennis by winning the Australian Open for the 3rd time. Dominated the world's top ranked player Maria Sharapova in the final 6-1, 6-2 to win her 8th major championship title.
(September 2006) Unable to defend Australian Open title (lost in the third round). Missed the French Open and Wimbledon due to injuries and attempted a comeback at the US Open but lost in the 4th round. Only competed in 4 tournaments in 2006. Ranking has dropped to 95 in the world.
(January 2005) Recently won her 7th major title at the Australian Open Came back from match points down to defeat reigning Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova in the semifinals then went on to defeat top seed Lindsay Davenport in the final.
