Williams reached the top ten on the WTA world rankings for the first time in 1999 when she won several tournaments, including her first Grand Slam victory at the US Open at the age of 17. Between 2002 and 2003, Williams won five of the six Grand Slam events she entered, becoming the fifth woman in history to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously. She became the World Number 1 for the first time in July 2002.
Williams' domination of the sport came to an abrupt end in mid-2003 when she had surgery to repair a partial tear in a knee tendon. Upon her return to the sport in 2004, her results were noticeably less consistent than previously. In early 2005, she won her first Grand Slam title in 18 months at the Australian Open, but a string of injuries then limited her to competing in just 13 events in the two years that followed, winning none of them. Her standing in the world rankings suffered as a result, the nadir being World Number 140 in July 2006, leading to widespread speculation that she had passed her peak.Williams, however, eventually won another Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in 2007, despite being ranked World Number 81 at the time. Williams returned to the top ten later that year and has since competed in every Grand Slam event. She became the World Number 1 for the first time in five years in September 2008. She was named female athlete of 2009 by the Associated Press.
Williams is the younger sister of fellow former World Number 1 professional female tennis player Venus Williams. They have played each other in 23 professional matches dating back to 1998, with Serena winning 13 of these matches as of October 2009. Their meeting in the final of the 2001 US Open was the first Grand Slam final contested by two sisters in the open era. As of July 2009, they have met in eight Grand Slam finals, with Serena winning six of those. Between the 2002 French Open and the 2003 Australian Open, they met in all four Grand Slam finals, the first time in the Open era that the same two players had contested four consecutive Grand Slam finals. The pair regularly team to play doubles and have won 11 Grand Slam titles together.
Williams won her fifth Australian Open title at the 2010 Australian Open, an Open era record, and in doing so won her 12th career Grand Slam singles title, tying her with Billie Jean King for sixth on the all-time list.
Early life
Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan to Richard Williams and Oracene Price. She is of African American heritage and is one of five sisters: Lyndrea, Yetunde (died September 14, 2003), Isha, and Venus. Her mother raised Williams and her other daughters as members of the Jehovah's Witnesses religious group. When the children were young, the family moved to the Los Angeles suburb of Compton, where Williams started playing tennis at the age of four.Her father home-schooled Williams and her sister Venus.To this end, Williams was and remains coached by both her parents.
Williams' 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 Florida.In 1995, 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."
Playing style
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 and has been hit as hard as 129 mph (206.5 km/h), the second-fastest (after her sister Venus) all-time among female players.
Williams' solid volleys—especially her drive volleys and powerful overheads—give her advantages at the net. She produces good drop volleys, a shot that not many players use.
Although 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. Williams 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 forehand.
Williams' 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 consistency.
Although many think of Williams as only an offensive player, she also plays a strong defensive game.
Professional career
1995–98: Professional debut
Williams started playing professional tennis in September 1995. Her first professional event was the Bell Challenge in Quebec City, where she was defeated in less than an hour of play and earned US$240 in prize money.
Williams did not play any tournaments in 1996. In 1997, she played at several tournaments but failed to win a main-draw match until October at the Ameritech Cup Chicago. Ranked World No. 304, she upset both former World No. 1 Monica Seles and Mary Pierce, recording her first career wins over Top 10 players and becoming the lowest-ranked player in the open era to defeat two Top 10 opponents in one tournament.She ultimately lost in the semifinals to Lindsay Davenport. She finished 1997 ranked World No. 99.
Williams began 1998 at the Medibank International Sydney. As a qualifier, ranked World No. 96, she defeated World No. 3 Davenport in the quarterfinals, before losing to Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the semifinals. Williams made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open, where she defeated sixth seed Irina Spirlea in the first round before losing to sister Venus in the second round, in the sisters' first professional match.
Williams reached six other quarterfinals during the year but lost all of them, including her first match against World No. 1 Martina Hingis at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami and her second match against Venus at the Italian Open in Rome. She failed to make a major impact at any of the season's Grand Slam tournaments, losing in the fourth round of the French Open to Sanchez-Vicario and the third round of both Wimbledon and the US Open, to Virginia Ruano Pascual and Spirlea. She did, however, win the mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open with Max Mirnyi, completing the Williams family's sweep of the 1998 mixed doubles Grand Slams. Williams won her first professional title in doubles in Oklahoma City with Venus, becoming the third pair of sisters to win such a WTA title. The Williams sisters went on to win two further doubles titles together during the season. Serena finished the season ranked World No. 20 in singles.
1999–2001: Early success
Williams lost in the third round of the 1999 Australian Open to Sandrine Testud. However, she rebounded in February when she defeated Australian Open runner-up Amélie Mauresmo in the final of the Open Gaz de France in Paris to win her first professional singles title. With Venus also winning a tournament on that day, the pair became the first sisters to win professional tournaments in the same week.A month later, Serena won the prestigious Evert Cup in Indian Wells, California, her first Tier I title, having defeated World No. 2 Lindsay Davenport and World No. 8 Mary Pierce in early rounds, before defeating 22-times Grand Slam champion Steffi Graf in the final, after coming back from a break down in the deciding set. At the following tournament, the Lipton Championships in Miami, Williams defeated World No. 1 Martina Hingis for the first time in the semifinals, before losing to Venus in the first all-sister singles final in WTA history.In April, Serena entered the top ten on the rankings for the first time.
Williams lost in the third round of the French Open to Mary Joe Fernandez, although she did team up with Venus to win the doubles title at the event, their first Grand Slam doubles title with each other. Serena missed Wimbledon because of injury, but she started the summer hard court season strongly by winning her third title of the year at the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles. There, she defeated World No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals before defeating Julie Halard-Decugis in the final.
Williams was the seventh-seeded player at the 1999 US Open, where she made the first Grand Slam quarterfinal of her career, having been a game away from defeat in the third round against future champion Kim Clijsters before defeating former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, Williams defeated fourth seed and former champion Monica Seles before defeating second seed and defending champion Davenport in the semifinals. In the final, Williams defeated top seed Hingis 6–3, 7–6(4) to win the first Grand Slam title of her career. Williams was the second African-American woman (after Althea Gibson in 1958) to win a Grand Slam singles tournament. Williams also teamed up with Venus to win the women's doubles title at the event, their second Grand Slam title with each other.
Williams' fifth tournament victory of the season was at the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, where she defeated Davenport in the semifinals, before defeating Venus for the first time in the final. Serena ended the year ranked at No. 4 in just her second full year on the main tour. She also contributed to the United States' victory over Russia in the final of the 1999 Fed Cup, winning her singles rubber before teaming with Venus to win the doubles rubber.
Williams started 2000 by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to 16th seed Elena Likhovtseva. She failed to defend either of her titles in Paris or in Indian Wells, losing to Nathalie Tauziat in the final of the former and to Pierce in the quarterfinals of the latter, although she did win the Faber Grand Prix in Hanover, defeating Denisa Chladkova in the final.
Williams missed the French Open due to injury. She returned at Wimbledon, where she lost just 13 games in advancing to the second Grand Slam semifinal of her career. However, there, she was beaten by eventual champion Venus. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the doubles title at the event. Williams went on to defend her title in Los Angeles in August, defeating World No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 2 Davenport in the final. She reached the final of the Du Maurier Open in Montreal, Canada the following week, but was forced to retire due to injury against Hingis. Her defense of the US Open title came to a disappointing end when she lost in the quarterfinals to second seed Davenport.
Williams teamed up with Venus to win the gold medal for doubles at the Sydney Olympics in September. She went on to win her third singles title of the year the following week at the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo, defeating Halard-Decugis in the final. She finished the season as World No. 6.
Williams started 2001 by reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, but lost there to top seed Hingis 6–2, 3–6, 8–6. However, Williams teamed up with Venus Williams to win the women's doubles title at the event, completing a Career Grand Slam in women's doubles for the pair. She then did not play again until March. She returned in Indian Wells, where she defeated World No. 2 Davenport 6–2, 6–1 in the quarterfinals. She was due to play Venus in the semifinals; however, Venus withdrew an hour before the anticipated start of the match, citing an injury. This fuelled speculation that matches between the Williams sisters were fixed. Williams defeated Kim Clijsters in the final to win the title for a second time, but was booed throughout the final, allegedly due to racial hostilities. Both Williams sisters have boycotted the tournament since.
In May, Williams reached the quarterfinals of the French Open for the first time, but lost there in three sets to eventual champion Jennifer Capriati. At Wimbledon, Williams again lost in the quarterfinals to Capriati, marking the fourth consecutive Grand Slam at which Williams had exited in the quarterfinals. Williams rebounded in the summer hardcourt season, winning the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, defeating Seles in the semifinals and Capriati in the final. As the tenth seed at the US Open, Williams defeated Wimbledon runner-up Justine Henin, third seed Davenport and top seed Hingis 6–3, 6–2 in order to reach the final for the second time in her career. There, she played Venus in the first Grand Slam final contested by two sisters in the open era. Venus won the match 6–2, 6–4.
Williams did not play again until the year-ending Sanex Championships in Munich in November. Playing at the tournament for the first time, she reached the final, winning the title by default when Davenport withdrew due to a knee injury. Williams finished the season as World No. 6 having won three titles.
2002–03: "Serena Slam"
Williams was forced to withdraw from the 2002 Australian Open due to injury, but won her first title of the year at the State Farm Women's Tennis Classic in Scottsdale, USA, defeating Martina Hingis in the semifinals and Jennifer Capriati in the final. She then won the Tier I Ericsson Open in Miami for the first time, becoming the second player in the open era to defeat the world's top three at one tournament, after beating World No. 3 Hingis in the quarterfinals, World No. 2 and sister Venus in the semifinals and World No. 1 Capriati in the final. Her 6–2, 6–2 win over Venus was only the second win over her sister in her career.
Williams reached the final at a clay court event for the first time in May, at the Eurocard German Open in Berlin, losing to Justine Henin. The following week, Williams won her first clay title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeating Capriati in the semifinals and Henin in the final.[20] This increased her ranking to a new high of World No. 3. Williams, as the third seed at the 2002 French Open, dropped just two sets en route to the final (including a victory over top seed and defending champion Capriati in the semifinals), where she defeated sister Venus 7–5, 6–3. This gave Serena the second Grand Slam title of her career and increased her ranking to World No. 2, behind only Venus.
At the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, Williams defeated Amelie Mauresmo 6–2, 6–1 in the semifinals to make the final for the first time. There, she again defeated defending champion Venus 7–6(4), 6–3 to win a Grand Slam title without dropping a set for the first time. This victory earned Williams the World No. 1 ranking, dethroning her sister and succeeding her as the second African-American woman to hold the top ranking on the WTA).The Williams sisters also won the doubles title at the tournament, the fifth Grand Slam title for the pair in women's doubles.
Williams played just one tournament between Wimbledon and the US Open, losing in the quarterfinals of the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles to Chanda Rubin, ending a 21-match winning streak. Despite that, she went into the US Open as a strong favorite for the title. She defeated former champion Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals of the tournament to make the final for the third time. Playing Venus for the third consecutive Grand Slam final, Williams won once again, 6–4, 6–3, to win her second US Open title and fourth Grand Slam singles title.
Williams won back-to-back titles in the fall, defeating Kim Clijsters to win the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo and defeating Anastasia Myskina in the Sparkassen Cup in Leipzig, Germany. She reached the final at the year-ending Home Depot Championships, but lost surprisingly to 19-year-old Clijsters in straight sets, ending a 18-match winning streak. Williams finished 2002 with a 56–5 record, eight singles titles, and the World No. 1 ranking, becoming the first African-American (male or female) to end a year ranked Number 1 in the world. She was the first woman to win three Grand Slam titles in one season since Hingis in 1997.
At the 2003 Australian Open, Williams was just three points away from losing to Emilie Loit in the first round, before eventually winning. Williams went on to make the semifinals for the first time, where she saved two match points in defeating Clijsters. She faced her sister Venus for the fourth consecutive Grand Slam final and won 7–6(4), 3–6, 6–4 to become the first African-American to win the title and the fifth woman to hold all Grand Slam titles simultaneously, joining Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova. As the titles were not held within a single calendar year, they are not considered as a "Grand Slam", with Williams instead dubbing the achievement the "Serena Slam". The Williams sisters won the doubles title, their sixth Grand Slam doubles title together.
Williams captured titles at the Open Gaz de France in Paris, defeating Mauresmo in the final, as well as her second consecutive victory in Miami, defeating Clijsters in the semifinals and Capriati in the final. Williams went on to make the final at the clay-court Family Circle Cup in Charleston, USA, but lost there to Henin, her first loss of the year after 21 wins. Despite that, Williams went into the French Open strongly tipped to win her fifth consecutive Grand Slam title. However, after defeating fifth seed Mauresmo 6–1, 6–2 in the quarterfinals, Williams lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Henin 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, marking Williams' first loss in a Grand Slam since 2001. The match was controversial as Williams questioned Henin's sportsmanship and spectators applauded Williams' errors.
Williams rebounded from the loss at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, defeating Henin 6–3, 6–2 in the semifinals and Venus 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 in the final. This was Williams's second consecutive Wimbledon title and her sixth Grand Slam singles title overall. This would prove to be her last tournament of the year, as knee surgery prevented her from competing in any other events that year, including the US Open. As a result of her absence, she lost the World No. 1 ranking to Clijsters in August, having held it for 57 consecutive weeks. Williams finished the season ranked World No. 3 and with four titles.
On September 14, while Williams was still recovering from surgery, her sister Yetunde Price was murdered. Yetunde was said to be very close to both Williams and Venus and her death is often cited as a reason for the Williams sisters' erratic form in the years that followed.[citation needed]
2004–06: Injuries and inconsistent results
Williams hitting a return at the US Open in 2006
Williams did not play at the 2004 Australian Open as she continued to recover from her knee injury. She then withdrew from further tournaments, which generated speculation that she was losing interest in the sport.Williams finally returned at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami in late March, where she defeated the rising Maria Sharapova en route to the final, where she defeated Elena Dementieva to win the title for the third consecutive year.
However, suggestions that Williams was about to resume her dominance of the sport were premature; she failed to win any of her first three clay-court events of the year. She then lost in the French Open quarterfinals to Jennifer Capriati, Williams' earliest loss at a Grand Slam since 2001. She rebounded at Wimbledon, where she defeated Capriati 6–1, 6–1 in the quarterfinals and then came back from a set and a break down to win in the semifinals against Amelie Mauresmo to make the final for the third consecutive year. However, there, she was upset by the 17-year old Sharapova 6–1, 6–4. Williams' failure to defend her Wimbledon title resulted in her losing her place in the world's top 10 for the first time since early 1999.
Williams reached her third final of the year at the beginning of the summer hardcourt season at the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, but then she lost to Lindsay Davenport 6–1, 6–3, her first loss to Davenport since 2000. Williams was then forced to withdraw from the Athens Olympics due to a knee injury. She returned for the US Open, but lost a quarterfinal match with Capriati in which there were several missed calls, including an egregious call which led to the suspension of the chair umpire for the remainder of the tournament; this match is commonly referred to as the impetus for the current challenge system.
Williams won her second title of the year at the China Open in Beijing, in which she defeated US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. Williams qualified for the 2004 WTA Tour Championships, where she defeated Mauresmo in the semifinals but again lost to Sharapova in the final 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, having led 4–0 in the third set before suffering an abdominal injury which resulted in her serving balls below 90 mph.Williams finished 2004 ranked No. 7, and had not won a Grand Slam for the first year since 2001.
At the 2005 Australian Open, Williams rejected suggestions that she and sister Venus were a declining force in tennis following Venus's early exit at the tournament. In the quarterfinals of the tournament, Williams defeated second seed Mauresmo 6–2, 6–2. In the semifinals, she saved three match points in defeating fourth seed Sharapova 2–6, 7–5, 8–6. In the final, Williams defeated top seed Davenport 2–6, 6–3, 6–0 to win her second Australian Open title and seventh Grand Slam singles title. The win moved Williams back to World No. 2, and she stated she was now targeting the number one spot.
However, Williams failed to reach the final at any of the other tournaments during the spring hardcourt season, a period that included a loss to sister Venus in the quarterfinals of Miami in March – the first time since 2001 that she had either lost to Venus or lost in Miami. She withdrew from the French Open due to an ankle injury. She returned for Wimbledon, but, after struggling through her first two matches in three sets, she was defeated in the third round by Jill Craybas (ranked World No. 85).
As the eighth seed at the 2005 US Open, Williams appeared to be showing improved form by winning her first three matches without dropping a set; however, she then lost to Venus in the fourth round. Serena played just one more match the remainder of the year, a loss to World No. 127 Sun Tiantian in Beijing, and failed to qualify for the year-end championship for the first time since 1998. She finished the season as World No. 11, her first time finishing outside of the world top 10 since 1998.
The following year, as defending champion at the 2006 Australian Open, Williams lost to 17th seed Daniela Hantuchová in the third round. Williams did not play any other tournaments for six months, causing her to fall outside of the top 100 on the rankings for the first time since 1997. Her string of withdrawals led to speculation that she was on the verge of retirement, which she denied.The official reason given for this lengthy absence was to nurse a chronic knee injury, although Williams later admitted she was in need of a mental break.
Williams returned in July at the W&S Financial Group Women's Open, where she defeated World No. 11 Anastasia Myskina 6–2, 6–2 in the first round before ultimately losing in the semifinals to Vera Zvonareva. She also reached the semifinals in Los Angeles, losing to Jelena Jankovic. At the 2006 US Open, Williams was unseeded in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 1998, having needed to accept a wildcard to enter due to her ranking being so low. She defeated US Open Series champion Ana Ivanovic in the third round, but then lost to top seed Mauresmo in the fourth round in three sets. She did not play again in 2006, ending the year ranked World No. 95, her lowest year-end ranking since 1997. Williams had played just four tournaments during the season.
2007–08: Return to form
Williams began 2007 with renewed confidence, stating her intention to return to the top of the rankings, a comment former player and commentator Pat Cash branded "deluded".[6] She was not considered a favorite at the Australian Open, unseeded because of her World No. 81 ranking and widely regarded as "out of shape".In spite of this, in the third round of the tournament, Williams defeated fifth seed Nadia Petrova 1–6, 7–5, 6–3, having been down 5–3 in the second set. This marked Williams' first victory over a player ranked in the top 10 in two years. Williams went on to make the quarterfinals, where was again nearly defeated but eventually prevailed over 16th seed Shahar Peer 3–6, 6–2, 8–6. Williams then defeated Nicole Vaidisova in straight sets to make her first final at any tier on the WTA Tour in two years. There, she crushed top-seeded Maria Sharapova 6–1, 6–2, winning her third Australian Open singles title and her eighth Grand Slam singles title overall. Her performance in the final was described as "one of the best performances of her career" and as "arguably the most powerful display ever seen in women's tennis".Williams dedicated the victory to her deceased sister, Yetunde, whom she credited as inspiration for her win.Her ranking rose to World No. 14 as a result of the victory.
Williams next played at the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Miami in late March, where she posted another convincing victory over World No. 2 Sharapova (6–1, 6–1) in the fourth round. In the final, Williams defeated World No. 1 Justine Henin 0–6, 7–5, 6–3, having saved a match point in the second set. This was Williams' fourth Miami title. She returned to the top 10 for the first time in more than a year in May and went into the French Open confident of success,[39] but lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Henin in straight sets. Williams was one of the favorites for the Wimbledon title,[40] but again lost in the quarterfinals to Henin, this time in three sets.
Due to a thumb injury, Williams did not play again until the US Open, where she defeated Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli in the fourth round but then lost her third consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal to Henin. In the fall, Williams reached her third final of the year, at the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow, after she defeated World No. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals. However, she lost in the final to Elena Dementieva. Williams' ranking rose to World No. 5, and qualified her for the 2007 WTA Tour Championships. Her participation there was short: citing an injury, she retired from her first round robin match with Anna Chakvetadze and withdrew from the tournament.Serena finished 2007 as World No. 7 and the top-ranked American for the first time since 2003.
Williams at the 2008 World TeamTennis
As the defending champion at the 2008 Australian Open, Williams lost in the quarterfinals to third seed Jelena Jankovic, her fourth consecutive defeat in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. After taking February off due to dental surgery,[42] Williams returned to the tour clinching three consecutive titles. At the Bangalore Open, Williams saved a match point in defeating Venus in the semifinals, in her first win over her sister since 2003. She then defeated Patty Schnyder in the final.Williams then won her fifth title in Miami, tying Steffi Graf's record, having defeated World No. 1 Henin 6–2, 6–0 in the quarterfinals, World No. 3 Kuznetsova in the semifinals and World No. 4 Jankovic in the final. Williams followed up with a win at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, USA, posting her fourth consecutive win over Sharapova in the quarterfinals before going on to defeat Vera Zvonareva in the final to win her tenth career Tier I title and first clay court title since the 2002 French Open.
Williams' 17-match winning streak was ended by Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin. As the only former champion in the draw of the French Open following the sudden retirement of four-times champion Henin, Williams lost surprisingly in the third round to Katarina Srebotnik. On grass, Williams reached the final of Wimbledon for the first time in four years, having defeated 2006 champion Amelie Mauresmo in the third round and Chinese wild-card Zheng Jie in the semifinals. In the final, she lost to Venus 7–5, 6–4. This was the first Grand Slam final in which the Williams sisters had played each other since 2003. The sisters teamed up to win the women's doubles title at the event, their first Grand Slam doubles title since 2003.
Playing in the singles draw at the Olympics for the first time in Beijing, Williams lost in the quarterfinals to eventual gold-medalist Dementieva, although she and Venus won the gold medal in doubles, to add to their victory at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.As the fourth seed at the US Open, Williams defeated Venus in the quarterfinals 7–6(6), 7–6(7) after saving a total of 10 set points; sixth seed and US Open Series champion Safina in the semifinals 6–3, 6–2; and second seed Janković in the final 6–4, 7–5. The victory, her third US Open title and ninth Grand Slam title overall, also returned her to the top of the WTA rankings for the first time since 2003.
However, Williams' tenure at number one lasted just four weeks, as she lost the position after losing her first match after the US Open, a match against Li Na at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany. At the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, Qatar, after defeating World No. 2 Safina and losing to Venus in her first two round-robin matches, Serena withdrew from her third round-robin match against Dementieva due to injury. She ended the year ranked World No. 2 and with four titles, her strongest performance in both respects since 2003.
2009: Back at World No. 1
Williams at the 2009 Australian Open
Williams' first tournament of 2009 was the Medibank International Sydney, where she suffered her third consecutive loss to Dementieva in the semifinals 6–3, 6–1. Despite this, she was the bookmakers' favorite for the Australian Open title. In the quarterfinals of the tournament, Williams was two points from losing to Kuznetsova before eventually winning 5–7, 7–5, 6–1. She then defeated fourth seed Dementieva in straight sets in the semifinals. In the final, Williams defeated Safina 6–0, 6–3 in 59 minutes. As her fourth Australian Open title, she tied the record for most victories at the event (tied with Graf, Monica Seles, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong Cawley, while she also became the seventh woman to win ten Grand Slam singles titles. The win also made her the highest earner in the history of women's sports, overtaking golfer Annika Sörenstam. Williams also reclaimed the World No. 1 WTA ranking with the win. Meanwhile, partnering with Venus, Serena captured the doubles title for the third time.
Williams lost in the semifinals of the 2009 Dubai Tennis Championships to Venus, which marked Venus' 10th win in 19 career meetings between the pair, the first time Venus had led the sisters' head-to-head since 2002. Serena drew level in the head-to-head again by defeating Venus in the semifinals of Miami several weeks later, a result that ensured Serena retained the World No. 1 ranking. In the final, bidding to become the first person to win the tournament six times, Williams lost to Victoria Azarenka having been hampered by a left thigh strain.
The loss to Azarenka proved to be the first of four consecutive losses Williams suffered, losing her opening match at her first three clay-court events of the year and providing Williams with the longest losing streak of her career.[45] The run also meant Williams lost the World No. 1 ranking to Safina on April 20 and it ensured she went into the French Open without having won a match on clay during the year. Despite that lack of preparation, Williams reached the quarterfinals of the tournament before losing to the eventual champion Kuznetsova 7–6 (4), 5–7, 7–5, which ended her 18-match Grand Slam winning streak. She rebounded at Wimbledon, saving a match point in defeating fourth seed Dementieva in the semifinals 6–7(4), 7–5, 8–6. Playing Venus in the final, Serena won 7–6(3), 6–2, to win her third Wimbledon title and her 11th Grand Slam singles title. Williams was now holding three of the four Grand Slam titles, but nevertheless continued to trail Safina in the WTA rankings, a fact Williams publicly mocked. Williams and her sister Venus teamed up to win the women's doubles title at the event for the second consecutive year, their ninth Grand Slam title in women's doubles.
Following Wimbledon, Williams' modest results in tournaments other than Grand Slams continued as she failed to win any of her three warm-up tournaments for the US Open. Despite this, she was the bookmakers' favorite for the US Open title. However, she lost in the semifinals of that tournament to eventual champion Kim Clijsters in extremely controversial circumstances. When trailing 6–4, 6–5 (15–30), Williams' second serve was called a foot fault, resulting in two match points for Clijsters. Williams gestured to the lineswoman who had made the call with her racket and yelled what was deemed to be abusive and physically-threatening language at her As a result of the outburst, Williams was penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct — necessitated by a warning she had received earlier in the match for racket abuse — meaning Clijsters won the match 6–4, 7–5. The following day, Williams was issued the maximum permissible on-site fine of $10,000 (plus $500 for racket abuse), pending a further official investigation and possible additional penalties. After further investigation, in late November in 2009, the Grand Slam committee fined her $175,000 instead of deciding to suspend her from next year's US Open or other Grand Slam events. They also placed her on a two year probation, so if Williams commits another offense in the next two seasons at one of the four Grand Slam tournaments, she will be suspended from participating in the next US Open. However, if she commits no offenses in the next two years, her fine will be reduced to $82,500.Williams initially refused to apologize for her outburst, both in her post-match press conference and in an official statement released the following day,but she eventually did explicitly apologize to the lineswoman in a further statement two days following the incident. In spite of some commentators' calls, Williams was not suspended from the doubles competition at the tournament and teamed with Venus to win their third Grand Slam doubles title of the year and tenth of their career two days following her outburst. Both sisters rose to a career-high of world number three on the doubles world rankings as a result of the win.
Williams briefly reclaimed the world number one ranking from Safina in October, before ceding it again to the Russian two weeks later. She finished the year by competing at the season-ending WTA Tour Championships in Doha, Qatar, winning all three of her round-robin matches against Kuznetsova, Demnetieva and Venus Williams, saving a match point in her match against Venus Williams before eventually winning on a third set tiebreak. She then advanced to the final of the tournament when US Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki retired from their semifinal match when trailing 6–4, 0–1. In the final, Williams played Venus Williams for the second time in four days, winning once again, 6–2, 7–6(4), against her tired and error stricken sister. This secured Serena's second WTA Season Ending Championship.
Williams finished the season as world number one for the second time in her career, having played in 16 tournaments, more than any of her previous seasons. Along with the number one ranking, she broke the record set by Justine Henin for the most prize money earned by a female tennis player in one season. Williams earned $6,545,586 during the year. In doubles, Williams finished as world number two with Venus Williams despite them only playing six tournaments as a pair. In singles Williams finished with a 50–12 record (her most losses in a season) and a 24–2 record in doubles with her sister. She won five Grand Slam championships in 2009, putting her total Grand Slam titles at 23.
On December 21, Williams was named as Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press by a landslide vote (66 of 158 votes – no other candidate received more than 18 votes). One day later, on December 22, she was announced as the ITF World Champion in Singles and Doubles.
[edit]2010
Williams' first scheduled tournament of 2010 was the Medibank International in Sydney, a warm up for the Australian Open. After refieving a first round bye, she defeated Spanish player Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6–1 6–2 in the second round. In the quarterfinals she defeated Russian Vera Dushevina 6–2 6–2, then, in the semifinals, defeated Frenchwoman Aravane Rezaï 3–6 7–5 6–4 after trailing 6–3 5–2 and being two points from defeat. She lost to World No. 5 and defending champion Elena Dementieva 6–3 6–2 in the final after being hampered by a leg complaint.
At the Australian Open, Williams was the defending champion in both Singles and Doubles (with sister Venus).
Williams moved through to the quaterfinals relatively untroubled, defeating Urszula Radwańska 6–2 6–1 in the first, Petra Kvitova 6–2 6–1 in the second, 32nd seed Carla Suárez Navarro 6–0 6–3 in the third and Australian 13th seed Samantha Stosur 6–4 6–2 in a 65-minute match in the fourth round. She eliminated Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals, defeating the Belarusian for the third Australian Open in a row, 4–6 7–6(4) 6–2 after being a set and 4-0 down in the second. In the semifinals Williams defeated sixteenth seeded Li Na 7–6(4) 7–6(1) on her fifth match point to reach her fifth final in Melbourne and her fifteenth Grand Slam singles final. She then defeated 2004 Champion Justine Henin 6–4 3–6 6–2 for her 12th singles grand slam title. This was Henin and Williams' first grand slam final meeting and Serena's victory pushed their career head to head to 8–6 in her favour. The victory gave her at least one grand slam singles title in three different decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s), a record matched only by Martina Navratilova among female players and Ken Rosewall among male players. Williams is the most decorated Australian Open champion with five titles (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010) following the previous record of four championships held by her together with Margaret Court, Evonne Goolagong, Steffi Graf, and Monica Seles.The win also equaled the overall grand slam singles titles of Billie Jean King with 12 slams overall, which is tied for sixth overall in the combined era. Williams is now fourth in the open era for Grand Slam singles victories, behind Graf with 22 titles and Evert and Navratilova with 18 titles each. Williams became the first female player to win back-to-back Australian Open titles since Jennifer Capriati in 2001–02.
In doubles, she teamed up with her sister Venus. They beat Sophie Ferguson and Jessica Moore, 6–1 6–1 in the first round. In the second round, they defeated Loana Raluca Olaru and Olga Savchuk 6–1 6–2 and Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka 6–3 6–2 in the third. In the quarterfinals, they defeated American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and China's Zi Yan 6–4 4–6 6–4. In the semi-finals the sisters defeated Lisa Raymond and Australian Rennae Stubbs in straight sets, 6–3 7–6, to advance to their second consecutive Australian Open doubles final and fourth overall. There they defended their title by defeating world Number 1's Cara Black and Liezel Huber in straight sets, 6–4 6–3.
Williams then withdrew from the Open GDF Suez in Paris, the Dubai Tennis Championships in Dubai, the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami, the Andalucia Tennis Experience in Marbella and the Family Circle Cup in Charleston due to a leg injury. Williams also withdrew from the 2010 Billie Jean King Cup exhibition event.
She was then back on court at the Internatzioinali BNL d'Italia in Rome where played as a Wild Card. She defeated Timea Bacsinszky in the second round 7-6(2), 6-1 and will face Andrea Petkovic in the third round.
Her next tournaments will be the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open in Madrid, and the French Open.
[edit]Rivalry with Venus Williams
Main article: Williams Sisters rivalry
Williams has played her sister Venus 12 times in Grand Slam singles tournaments and 11 times in other tournaments (including 11 finals). She has a three match lead in the head-to-head series, 13–10 (including the last 4 in a row). They are the only women during the open era to have played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals. Currently Venus has 43 career tennis titles,while Serena has 36.
Off-court activities
Fashion
Williams was once known for her unusual and colorful outfits on court. In 2002, there was much talk when she wore a black lycra catsuit at the US Open.At the 2004 US Open, Williams wore denim skirts and knee-high boots—tournament officials, however, did not allow her to wear the boots during matches. At Wimbledon in 2008, the white trench coat she wore during warm-up for her opening match was the subject of much discussion since it was worn despite the sunny weather. Off-court, Williams has also presented new designs. In November 2004, at the London premiere of After the Sunset she wore a red gown that had a near-topless effect.
Williams formerly had a special line with Puma and currently has a line with Nike. The deal with Nike is worth US$40 million and was signed in April 2004. Since 2004, she has also been running her own line of designer apparel called "Aneres"—her first name spelled backward. In 2009 she launched a signature collection of handbags and jewelry.
[edit]Entertainment
Williams has appeared on television and also provided voice work on animated shows: in a 2001 episode of The Simpsons Serena joined the animation along with sister Venus, Conner Holmes, her husband, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.She has also provided guest voice work in a 2005 episode of Playhouse Disney's animated kids show Higglytown Heroes and a 2007 episode of the Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender,which she has described as her "favorite show".
Williams has posed for the 2003 and 2004 editions of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In April 2005, MTV announced plans to broadcast a reality show around the lives of Serena and Venus, which was eventually aired on ABC Family. Williams has appeared twice on MTV's Punk'd and in 2007, appeared in the ABC reality television series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race. In 2002, she played Miss Wiggins in the season 3 episode "Crouching Mother, Hidden Father" of My Wife and Kids; she has also guest-starred during episodes of ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2007 Williams appeared in the music video of "I Want You" by the American rapper Common, alongside performers Alicia Keys and Kanye West.
In late 2009, Williams became the first active female professional athlete to appear in a feminine hygiene product advertising campaign. A series of online videos and print advertisements for Tampax Pearl tampons showed her hitting balls at Mother Nature, played by Catherine Lloyd Burns, to prevent Mother Nature giving her a red-wrapped gift, representing her menstrual period. In the online videos, the two have dueling press conferences over the "bad blood" between them. "A lot of celebrities are not open to working with our brand, and we’re thrilled that Serena is", said a brand manager for Tampax at Procter & Gamble.
Serena and sister Venus were mentioned in a couple of songs namely in Super Furry Animals studio album Phantom Power in a track entitle "Venus and Serena", in a single by Snoop Dogg Signs and Ludacris' single My Chick Bad.
Miami Dolphins venture
In August 2009, Serena and Venus Williams became part-owners of the Miami Dolphins. The formal announcement was made during a press conference overlooking the practice field. The Williams are the first African-American females to obtain ownership in an NFL franchise. Other prominent owners include: Jimmy Buffett, Gloria and Emilio Estefan (the first Cuban-American owners), and Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez . Stephan Ross, the majority owner of the Dolphins, said "We are thrilled to have Venus and Serena join the Dolphins as limited partners. They are among the most admired athletes in the world and have become global ambassadors for the game of tennis. Their addition to our ownership group further reflects our commitment to connect with aggressively and embrace the great diversity that makes South Florida a multicultural gem."
Charity work
In 2008 Williams helped to fund the construction of the Serena Williams Secondary School in Matooni, Kenya.She received a Celebrity Role Model Award from Avon Foundation in 2003 for work in breast cancer.Williams has also been involved in a number of clinics at schools and community centers, particularly those which have programs focusing on at-risk youth.She has also won the "Young Heroes Award" from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater L.A. and Inland (2003) and the "Family Circle and Prudential Financial Player Who Makes a Difference Award" (2004).In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Williams, along with other ATP and WTA stars decided to forgo their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a charity event in which all proceeds will go to the Haiti earthquake victims.
Writing
During the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, Williams said that she is in the process of writing a TV show storyline, which will be converted into script form by her agency. She stated that the show will represent subject matter from a mix of popular American television shows such as Desperate Housewives, Sex and the City, and Family Guy.[80] Serena released her first published work, an autobiography entitled On the Line, following the 2009 U.S. Open.
Records and achievements
Main article: Serena Williams career statistics
These records were attained in Open era of tennis.
Tournament Name Years Record accomplished Player tied
Australian Open 2003–2010 5 wins overall Stands Alone
1999 U.S. Open – 2010 Australian Open 1999–2010 Winner of Grand Slam singles title in three different decades Martina Navratilova
Australian Open 2007 Unseeded winner Chris O'Neil
1999 French Open – 2010 Australian Open 1999–2010 Highest streak of consecutive initial Grand Slam finals won (Doubles) (11) Venus Williams
Sony Ericsson Open 2002–2008 5 wins overall Steffi Graf
2009 WTA Tour 2009 Highest Single Year Earning at $6,545,586 Stands alone
1995–present Highest prize money career earnings by a female athlete at US$30,506,993 Stands alone
At 1997 Ameritech Cup in Chicago, became the lowest ranked player in tennis history (No.304) to defeat two Top 10 players Monica Seles and Mary Pierce in one tournament
At the 1998 Lipton Championships in Miami became the fastest woman in tennis history to record 5 Top 10 wins by defeating Irina Spîrlea in 2nd Round (16 career matches)
At 1999 Open Gaz de France in Paris marking the first time in tennis history that sisters won titles in the same week (Venus Williams won Oklahoma City)
At 1999 Evert Cup in Indian Wells became the second non-seeded player to win a Tier I event
At the 1999 Lipton Championships in Miami became the first pair of sisters in the Open era to meet in a tournament final (with Venus Williams)
At the 1999 US Open, became the second African-American woman to win a Grand Slam title
By winning the 2001 Australian Open Doubles championship with Venus Williams, became the fifth pair to complete a Career Doubles Grand Slam and the only pair to win a Career Doubles Golden Slam
At the 2001 US Open, marked the first time in the Open era, and second time in 117 years that sisters met in a Grand Slam final (with Venus Williams)
In 2001 became the first player in tennis history to win the Season-Ending Championships on her debut
During the 2002 Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami, became the second player in the Open era to defeat the first (Jennifer Capriati), second (Venus Williams), and third (Martina Hingis) ranked players at the same tournament
At the 2002 French Open, became the first younger sister to defeat her older sister in a Grand Slam in tennis history
In 2002 became the first ever siblings to rank Top 2 at same time with sister Venus
By winning the 2003 Australian Open, became the fifth woman to hold all four Grand Slams at once
By winning the 2003 Australian Open, became the first African-American to win the championship
By winning the 2004 Nasdaq-100 Open in Miami, won first comeback tournament with second longest gap (8 months)
By winning the Australian Open by defeating Mauresmo and Davenport, became the only player in tennis history to win three Slams (1999 US Open, 2002 French Open) by beating Top 2
By saving match points against Maria Sharapova in Semifinals at 2005 Australian Open, became the only player in Open era to win two Slams by saving match points
At 2007 Sony Ericsson Open in Miami became lowest ranked player (Number 18) to defeat the Top 2 players in the world in the same tournament by defeating Number 1 Henin & 2 Sharapova
In 2008 winning her fifth Miami tournament title, tying Steffi Graf for the most singles titles at this tournament
By winning 2008 US Open she makes the longest-ever gap between stints at No.1 (five years, one month)
By winning Wimbledon 2009 she has won the tournament 3 times
Her six year gap between Wimbledon titles is second only to Evonne Goolagong's nine years
Only player to have won three Slams after saving match points (2003 Australian Open versus Kim Clijsters, 2005 Australian Open versus Maria Sharapova, and 2009 Wimbledon versus Elena Dementieva)
Against Elena Dementieva recorded the longest Wimbledon Semi final in the Open era 2hrs 45 mins
The narrowest margin between No.1 and No.2 with points total difference of five points (Williams has 7945 and Safina has 7940) since the Tour switched to its current ranking system in 1996
First woman to win $6 million in prize money in a single year (2009)
By winning the 2010 Australian Open, became the first woman in the Open era to win the championship 5 times.
By winning the 2010 Australian Open, became only the second female player (and third player overall) to win at least one grand slam singles title in three different decades (1990s, 2000s, 2010s), tied with Martina Navratilova (1970s, 1980s, 1990s) in the women's game, and in the men's game Ken Rosewall (1950s, 1960s, 1970s).
Awards
See also: WTA Awards
1998
WTA Newcomer of the Year
Tennis Magazine/Rolex Rookie of the Year
1999
WTA Most Improved Player of the Year
Tennis Magazine Player of the Year
2000
WTA Doubles Team of the Year Award (with Venus Williams)
2002
WTA Player of the Year
ITF Women's Singles World Champion
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year
2003
34th NAACP Image Awards President's Award
ESPY Award Best Female Athlete
ESPY Award Best Female Tennis Player
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
Avon Foundation Celebrity Role Model Award
BET's Best Female Athlete of the Year
2004
WTA Comeback Player of the Year
Family Circle/Prudential Financial Player Who Makes a Difference Award
ESPY Award Best Female Tennis Player
BET's Female Athlete of the Year
2005
BET's Female Athlete of the Year
2007
BET's Best Female Athlete of the Year
Laureus World Comeback of the Year
Harris Poll Most Favorite Female Sports Star
2008
WTA Player of the Year
2009
BET's Best Female Athlete of the Year
Harris Poll Most Favorite Female Sports Star
ESPY Award Best Female Tennis Player
Glamour Magazine Women Of The Year Award
SI.com Best Female Athlete of the Decade
AP Female Athlete of The Year Award
ITF Women's Singles World Champion
ITF Women's Doubles World Champion (with Venus Williams)
Named Second Best Tennis Player of the Decade by ESPN (with Roger Federer at Number 1)
WTA Player of the Year
WTA Doubles Team of the Year Award (with Venus Williams)
WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year Award (with Venus Williams)
Doha 21st Century Leaders Awards - Outstanding Leadership
2010
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year
TIME Magazine The World's 100 Most Influential People
Recognition
In 2005, Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 17th-best player in 40 years.
List of Grand Slam Women's Singles champions
List of Grand Slam Women's Doubles champions
List of Grand Slam Mixed Doubles champions
Williams Sisters rivalry
Henin-S. Williams rivalry
Source:wikipedia
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