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15 Amazing Facts About Serena Williams

Serena is a professional tennis player from the United States, she was born on September 26, 1981. She is known as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Over the course of her career, she has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, four Olympic gold medals, and 14 Grand Slam doubles titles. Serena began playing at the age of four, at the time she was coached by her father, Richard Williams.  

However, throughout the course of her career, Serena has faced numerous injuries and setbacks that have made her a powerful player. Even though she is known for being involved in tennis all of her life, Serena is involved in a number of philanthropic and business ventures. She is also the founder of the Serena Williams Fund which empowers communities through health, safety, and education. 

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1.  Serena’s Off-The-Charts Rise To Fame

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When Williams was young, her father trained her and her sister in hopes that either or both of them would become tennis stars. Serena and her sister were home-schooled in order to avoid racial discrimination and criticism. The Williams family had to depend on Serena and Venus’ tennis skills for financial gain. The girls participated in youth tournaments to earn prize money.

Through these tournaments and her father coaching her, she was able to go pro and when she was 14, she participated in her first professional tournament. In 1999 when Serena was 17 and Venus was 16, they competed and won the doubles French Open. Although they made a good team, Serena made her singles breakthrough, in the same year as their doubles tournament, when she won her first Grand Slam at the US Open.

2. Her Seat Among the Top 10 Players

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On September 1999, Serena was labeled as a top 10 player after she won her first Grand Slam title at the US Open. After her big win, she was known as the first African-American woman, since Althea Gibson, to win the tournament. It was a shock to most considering she started the year being ranked outside the top 20 but had finished the year winning four titles. Her win in the tournament also meant that she had secured a permanent position in the big leagues and that she was launched into the upper echelon of women’s tennis.

3. The Famous Serena Slam of 2002 and 2014

The Serena Slam refers to her achievement of winning all four, in a row, Grand Slam tennis tournaments. In the entirety of her career, she achieved the Serena Slam twice. Her first achievement was in 2002-2003 when she won consecutively the French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open, and the Australian Open/ Her second achievement was in 2014-2015 when she won the same tournaments consecutively. In 2015, Serena won all four Grand Glams in a year which is referred to as a Calendar-year Grand Slam.

4. Her Horrendeous Setbacks Throughout The Years

Even though Serena is a remarkable player, she has faced setbacks that would have tampered with the future of her career. Some of her notable injuries include the 2003 knee injury which forced her to withdraw from several tournaments, the 2006 hamstring injury which resulted in her having to retire from the quarterfinals, her 2010 foot injury which required surgery and had to set out of the competition seen for almost a year. In 2011, Serena developed a blood clot in her lungs after the foot surgery which required her to be hospitalized for several months. 

In 2019, Serena had to withdraw from the Miami Open due to a knee injury. Recently in 2020, she suffered an Achilles injury during the US Open, the injury led to her withdrawal from the tournament. However, after each setback, she always came back stronger and much more powerful than before which is why she remains one of the greatest tennis players.

5. Her Epic Comeback After Maternity Leave

In 2018, she reappeared after she took a break to have her first child, Alexis Olympia, in September 2017. Her return to the tennis scene was anticipated by her fans around the world. Even though she had a setback due to pregnancy-induced health problems, she was able to overcome it and made it to the final of Wimbledon. Later in the same year, Serena reached the final of the US Open. 

Since 2018, she has reached multiple semifinals and finals in Grand Slam tournaments. She is still labeled as one of the most respected players in the sport. 

6. Her Memorable Roles and Collaborations

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Over the course of Serena’s career, she has made multiple notable appearances in advertisements, films, and TV shows. These collaborations and roles include her role in Sabrina: the Teenage Witch where she played herself in an episode, and Avatar: The Last Airbender where she lent her voice to the character Meng. Serena has also been in the 2009 comedy film Pink Panther 2 where she appeared as herself. 

In 2016, she was featured in Beyonce’s visual album Lemonade. She appears alongside several other prominent women in the music video “Sorry” 

She later starred in the 2018 documentary series “Being Serena” The series followed her life during pregnancy, her famous comeback, and going back to competitive tennis after giving birth. Serena also appeared in the MasterClass as an instructor. In the online learning platform, she teaches a course on tennis fundamentals.

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7. She has a Unique Personal Life

In 2017, Serena married Alexis Ohanian who is the co-founder of Reddit. Their daughter, Alexis Ohanian Jr., was born on September 1, 2017. Williams has been open about the challenges of motherhood and how it has had a huge impact on her career. Aside from tennis, Serena has her own fashion line called Serena. However, Serena uses her platform to advocate for social causes like racial and gender equality. She has been actively involved in advocating for equal opportunities for all people.

8.  Her Achievements Before Retirement

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In June 2022, she partnered up with Ons Jabeur at Eastbourne International. During the Wimbledon United States Open, she had challenges winning in 2018, and 2019, and later in ASB Classic in Auckland New Zealand in 2020. In addition, she won the singles event for three years consecutively.

9. Serena has a Great Net Worth

Her net worth is approximately US$250 million according to www.celebritynetworth.com. Her career brought in her net worth with a contribution from her sponsorship from Nike and Kraft Foods increased her cheer-leadership, viewership, and success. 

10.  She has a Sister who is also a Tennis Player

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She has one sister known as Venus Williams. Venus is the older sister. Both have a great career in tennis playing which was installed on them by their own father, Richard Williams. He was a very strict coach, in particular for his two daughters. He took them to public courts for training. Additionally, her mother also played a part in coaching the daughters. In addition, Rick Macci also come in handy during their childhood training and ensured that they both succeeded in tennis playing. Venus won in both singles and doubles and became the World’s No. 1. She is also an international tennis player. Both sisters won gold medals in the 2000 Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia.  In 2002, Serena defeated her sister Venus to become the winner during the French Open, Wimbledon, and also in the United States Open match.

11. Serena’s Networth is Greater than Her Sister Venus Williams

Both Serena and Venus have very high net worth. According to www.celebritynetworth.com, Serena has approximately US$165 million higher in terms of net worth. In addition, her net worth is greater than her husband Alexis, and her elder sister Venus

12. She Revolutionized the World of Women’s Tennis in Open Era

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Her many wins and focus on her Tennis career began a revolution in the tennis game for both men and women in the open era. Her great force and energy in the game brought interest to many players around the world. In addition, her net worth encouraged many players to focus on the game in a more serious way.

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13. The Events that Followed Her Retirement

 During the Australian Open 2021, Serena lost the tennis match to Naomi Osaka. She also lost during the first round at the Wimbledon competition. She withdrew from the United States Open and Wimbledon due to an injury. In 2022, she stated that she would do other important businesses in her life.

14. Her Life Away from Playing Tennis

She engaged in business and introduced fashion-related items. Daniel Paisner indicated in his On the Line (2009) that she is involved in beauty and accessories

15. Serena’s Marriage and Children

She met a tech entrepreneur, Alexis Ohanian in a hotel in Rome as she had gone for her Italian Open match in 2015. He proposed to her in the same hotel later in December 2016. Their wedding was in New Orleans. Their guests included various personalities like Kim Kardashian and Beyoncé on November 17, 2017. Together they have one daughter called Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. They both love each other, in particular, Serena who sees her husband as a person who let her star shine without any fear or shame.

Therefore, Serena Williams is a very proud achiever in tennis due to the many medals she has won over the years. She is also a very happily married lady with a daughter. In addition, she has ventured into fashion, beauty, and accessories as an alternative income away from tennis playing.

Read other articles about other tennis players’ personalities here.