Considered the greatest women’s tennis player of all time, and perhaps the greatest athlete of all time, Serena Williams has revolutionized women’s tennis since the 1990s. With 23 Grand Slam titles, Williams rose from the public courts of Compton, California to shatter records and dominate the field.
Serena Jameka Williams was born to parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan. Williams is the youngest of Price's five daughters, who include fellow tennis superstar Venus Williams. Richard Williams, a former sharecropper from Louisiana, was determined that daughters Serena and Venus would succeed in life. Seeing opportunity in tennis, he and Oracene taught themselves the game from books and videos so that they could coach their children. Richard moved the family to Compton, California, where Williams began intensive tennis training with her father and older sister around the age of three. The Williams sisters practiced for hours every day on rundown public tennis courts.
Williams joined the junior United States Tennis Association tour and by 1991 she ranked first in the 10-and-under division. Richard then moved the family to Palm Beach, Florida, where the sisters trained with coach Rick Macci. Richard kept Williams and her sister from competing in the junior tournaments, hoping to ensure that they would not burn out before turning professional.
In 1995, at the age of 14, Williams made her professional debut at a qualifying event in Quebec City. Fellow American Annie Miller defeated her soundly. Williams did not play another professional match until 1997, but by the end of that year she rose to number 99 in the world rankings. In 1998, Williams’s ranking rose to number 20 and she surpassed Monica Seles to become the fastest player to record five victories against Top 10 players.
Williams graduated from Driftwood Academy in 1999 and soon after signed a $12 million endorsement deal with Puma. She won her first Grand Slam title that year, when she defeated Martina Hingis 6-3, 7–6 to win the U.S. Open, and rose to number four in the world rankings. Two years later, Williams lost to her sister in the U.S. Open final – it was the first time that sisters played against each other in a Grand Slam final since 1884.
The African-American Williams and her sister made an immediate impact in the predominately white tennis world: their strength and athleticism on the court overmatched many opponents and their colorful, fashionable styles garnered media attention. The Williams sisters are credited with ushering in the power era of women’s tennis, characterized by blindingly-fast serves and commanding groundstrokes. They competed together as doubles partners, eventually winning 14 Grand Slam doubles titles. They took gold at the 2000, 2008, and 2012 Olympics and are the winningest doubles tennis team in Olympic history. Continue reading from National Women's History Museum
