Venus Williams
Encyclopedia
Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 101 as of 10 October 2011 in singles and World No. 20 in doubles as of 2011. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association
on three separate occasions. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on February 25, 2002, becoming the first black woman to achieve this feat during the open era
.
Her 21 Grand Slam
titles ties her for twelfth on the all time list and is more than any other active female player except for her younger sister Serena Williams
. Venus Williams' titles consist of: seven in singles, twelve in women's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. Those seven Grand Slam singles titles ties her with four other women for twelfth place on the all-time list. Her five Wimbledon singles titles ties her with two other women for eighth place on the all-time list. Venus Williams is one of only three women in the open era to have won five or more Wimbledon singles titles. From the 2000 Wimbledon Championships
through the 2001 US Open, Williams won four of the six Grand Slam singles tournaments held. She is one of only five women in the open era to win 200 or more main draw Grand Slam singles matches.
Williams has won three Olympic gold medals, one in singles and two in women's doubles.
She has won more Olympic gold medals than any other female tennis player. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Williams became only the second player to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games, after Helen Wills Moody
in 1924.
With 43 career singles titles, Williams leads active players on the WTA Tour. Her 35-match winning streak from the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2000 Generali Ladies Linz
tournament final is the longest winning streak since January 1, 2000. She is also one of only two active WTA players to have made the finals of all four Grand Slams, the other player being her sister Serena Williams
.
Venus Williams has played against her sister Serena Williams in 23 professional matches since 1998, with Serena winning 13 of the 23 matches. They have played against each other in eight Grand Slam singles finals, with Serena winning six times. Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they opposed each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, the first time ever in the open era that the same two players played against each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, let alone sisters. On the doubles side, the pair have won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles playing alongside each other.
, to Richard Williams
and Oracene Price
. She is the second youngest of Oracene's five daughters: half-sisters Yetunde
(died September 14, 2003), Lyndrea and Isha Price, and younger sister Serena.
Williams's family moved from Compton, California, to West Palm Beach
, when she was ten, so that Venus and Serena 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's 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 eleven, 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 negatively about the black Williams sisters during tournaments. At that time, Venus Williams held a 63–0 record on the United States Tennis Association
junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among the under-12 players in Southern California. In 1995, Richard pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy, and from then on took over all coaching at their home.
Venus Williams holds the record for the fastest serve struck by a woman in a main draw event. At the Zurich Open
, she recorded 130 mi/h. She also holds the record for fastest serve in all four Grand Slam tournaments: 2003 Australian Open
quarterfinal – 125 mi/h, 2007 French Open
second round, 2008 Wimbledon final, 2007 US Open first round – 129 mi/h. At Wimbledon in 2008, her average first serve speed was 115 mi/h in the quarterfinal, 116 mi/h in the semifinal, and 111 mi/h in the final.
Williams has always been a explosive hitter of the ball off the ground, but her backhand is the more consistently reliable of her groundstrokes. Her backhand is equally effective down-the-line or crosscourt (frequently for a set-up approach shot). Her forehand occasionally breaks down under pressure. However, it is still the more powerful of her groundstrokes and yields many winners, from a variety of court positions. Additionally, it is one of the most powerful forehands in the women's game, frequently struck in the 85 – 90 mi/h range. In the 2008 Wimbledon women's final, Venus struck a forehand winner measured at 94 mph (IBM/Wimbledon). Only a few women (notably Ivanović, Serena Williams, and Justine Henin) hit to these speeds off the ground.
Williams's best surface is grass. She has won Wimbledon five times and has reached the final there in eight of the last ten years. The low bounces that grass produces tend to make her first serve an even more powerful weapon. Her movement on grass is also among the best on the WTA tour. Clay is Williams's weakest surface although she has suffered numerous injuries prior to the French Open. Her movement is suspect and her powerful serve and groundstrokes are less effective. Still, she has won numerous titles on clay.
in Oakland, Williams was up a set and a service break against World No. 2 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
before losing the match. That was the only tournament Williams played in 1994.
In 1995, Williams played three more events as a wild card, falling in the first round of the tournament in Los Angeles and the tournament in Toronto but reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament in Oakland, defeating World No. 18 Amy Frazier
in the second round for her first win over a top 20 ranked player before losing to Magdalena Maleeva
.
Williams played five events in 1996, falling in the first round four times but reaching the third round in Los Angeles, before losing to World No. 1 Steffi Graf
.
, the European Indoor Championships
in Zürich, and the Kremlin Cup
in Moscow. In Indian Wells in March, Williams defeated World No. 9 Iva Majoli
in the third round for her first win over a player ranked in the top 10. She then lost in the quarterfinals to World No. 8 Lindsay Davenport
in a third set tiebreak. Her ranking broke into the top 100 on April 14, 1997. She made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open, reaching the second round before losing to Nathalie Tauziat
. She then lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Magdalena Grzybowska
. During her debut at the US Open, she lost the final to Martina Hingis
after defeating Irina Spîrlea
in a semifinal famous for "the bump" in which Spîrlea intentionally collided with Williams during a changeover, commenting later that it happened ". . . because she thinks she's the freaking Venus Williams." Richard Williams
, her father, later claimed that this incident was racially motivated. She was the first woman since Pam Shriver
in 1978 to reach a US Open singles final on her first attemp and was the first unseeded US Open women's singles finalist since 1958. On September 8, 1997, her ranking broke into the top 50 for the first time. She ended the year ranked World No. 22.
Williams started 1998 at the Medibank International Sydney, where she defeated World No. 1 Hingis for the first time in the second round before losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
in the final. These results caused her ranking to break into the top 20 for the first time, at World No. 16. During her debut at the Australian Open
, Williams defeated younger sister Serena in the second round, which was the sisters' first professional meeting. Venus eventually lost in the quarterfinals to World No. 3 Davenport.
Three weeks later, Williams defeated World No. 2 Davenport for the first time in the semifinals of the IGA Tennis Classic in Oklahoma City
. Williams then defeated Joannette Kruger
in the final to win the first singles title of her career. In her first Tier I event of the year, Williams lost in the semifinals of the State Farm Evert Cup in Indian Wells to World No. 1 Hingis. The following week, Williams won the Tier I Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida
, defeating World No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals. On March 30, 1998, her ranking broke into the top 10 for the first time, at World No. 10.
Williams played only one tournament on clay before the 1998 French Open
. At the Italian Open
in Rome, she defeated sister Serena in the quarterfinals and World No. 5 Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals before losing to World No. 1 Hingis in the final. Williams lost again to Hingis in the quarterfinals of the French Open. Williams lost her first match at the Direct Line International Championships in Eastbourne on grass
before losing to eventual champion and World No. 3 Jana Novotná
in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. On July 27, 1998, her ranking rose to World No. 5.
Williams played three tournaments during the North American 1998 summer hard court season. She reached her fifth final of the year at the Bank of the West Classic
in Stanford, California
, defeating World No. 6 Monica Seles
in the semifinals before losing to World No. 1 Davenport. Patella tendinitis in her left knee caused her to retire from her quarterfinal match at the tournament in San Diego while trailing Mary Pierce
4–0 in the third set. At the US Open, Williams defeated fourth seeded Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals before losing to second seeded and eventual champion Davenport in the semifinals.
Williams played four tournaments the remainder of 1998. She won her third title of the year at the Grand Slam Cup
in Munich in September, defeating World No. 9 Patty Schnyder
in the final. She lost in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Filderstadt
before losing in the final of the Tier I Swisscom Challenge in Zürich to World No. 1 Davenport and the semifinals of the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow to Pierce. She had earned enough points during the year to participate in the year-ending Chase Championship
but withdrew from the tournament because of tendinitis in her knee. She finished the year ranked World No. 5.
In 1998, Williams teamed with Justin Gimelstob
to win the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and the French Open. Her sister Serena won the other two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles that year, completing a "Williams Family Mixed Doubles Grand Slam". Williams won the first two women's doubles titles of her career, in Oklahoma City and Zürich. Both titles came with sister Serena, becoming only the third pair of sisters to win a WTA tour doubles title.
Williams started the 1999 tour in Australia, where she lost to World No. 10 Steffi Graf
in the quarterfinals of the Medibank International in Sydney and World No. 1 Davenport in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open
. However, she rebounded at the Faber Grand Prix
in Hanover
, defeating Graf for the first time in the semifinals before losing the final to World No. 3 Novotná. Williams then successfully defended her titles in both Oklahoma City and Key Biscayne. She defeated Novotná and Graf to reach the final in Key Biscayne, where she defeated Serena in three sets in the first final on the WTA Tour to be contested by two sisters.
Williams played four clay court events during the spring. She lost her first match at the Bausch & Lomb Championships
in Amelia Island, Florida. Three weeks later, however, she won her first title on clay at the Betty Barclay Cup
in Hamburg, defeating Mary Pierce
in the final. Williams then won the Tier I Italian Open in Rome, defeating World No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 8 Pierce in the final. At the French Open
, she extended her winning streak to 22 matches before losing in the fourth round to World No. 125 Barbara Schwartz
. Williams teamed with Serena to win the women's doubles title at this event, the first Grand Slam title the pair won together.
At the 1999 Wimbledon Championships
, Williams defeated World No. 17 Anna Kournikova
in the fourth round to reach the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, where she lost to eventual runner-up Graf.
Williams rebounded in the summer when she won two Fed Cup
matches against Italy and lost in the final of the Bank of the West Classic
in Stanford to World No. 1 Davenport. One week later, Williams defeated Davenport in the semifinals of the TIG Tennis Classic in San Diego before losing to World No. 2 Hingis in the final. In her last tournament before the US Open, Williams won the Pilot Pen Tennis
in New Haven, Connecticut
, defeating World No. 5 Seles in the semifinals and Davenport in the final. On August 30, 1999, her world ranking reached third for the first time. Seeded third at the US Open, Williams lost in the semifinals to World No. 1 Hingis in three sets. However, she teamed with singles champion Serena at this event to win their second Grand Slam women's doubles title.
During the remainder of the year, Williams contributed to the USA's victory over Russia
in the Fed Cup
final, winning one singles rubber before joining Serena to win the doubles rubber. At the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Venus defeated Hingis in the semifinals before losing to Serena for the first time in the final. Venus won her sixth title of the year at the Tier I event in Zurich, defeating World No. 1 Hingis in the final. Four weeks later, she lost to Davenport in the semifinals of the tournament in Philadelphia. Making her debut at the year-ending Chase Championships, Williams lost to Hingis in the semifinals. She finished the year ranked World No. 3.
and in the third round of the Tier I Italian Open in Rome to Jelena Dokić
. Although she had won only two of her four matches before the French Open, she was seeded fourth there. She won her first four matches in Paris without losing a set before losing in the quarterfinals to eighth-seeded and former champion Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
in three sets.
Williams then won 35 consecutive singles matches and six tournaments. She won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, defeating World No. 1 Martina Hingis
in the quarterfinals, sister Serena
in the semifinals, and defending champion Lindsay Davenport
in the final. She also teamed with Serena to win the women's doubles title at this event.
She won three Tier II events during the North American summer hard court season, defeating Davenport in the final of the tournament in Stanford, California
and Monica Seles
in the finals of both the tournament in San Diego and the tournament in New Haven, Connecticut
.
At the US Open, Williams defeated still-World No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 2 Davenport in the final. At the Olympic Games
in Sydney, Williams defeated Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals, Seles in the semifinals, and Elena Dementieva
in the final to win the gold medal. She also won the gold medal in women's doubles with her sister Serena. Davenport eventually snapped her winning streak in October in the final of the tournament in Linz
. Williams did not play a tournament the rest of the year because of anemia. She finished the year ranked World No. 3 and with six singles titles.
In 2001, Williams reached the semifinals of the Australian Open
for the first time, where she lost to World No. 1 Hingis. However, Venus teamed with Serena to win the doubles title at the event, completing a Career Grand Slam in women's doubles for the pair.
Williams also reached the semifinals of the Tier I Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, California
, where she controversially
defaulted her match with sister Serena just before the match started. Venus had been suffereing from knee tendinitis throughout the tournament and eventually this prevented her from playing. The following day, Venus and her father Richard
were booed as they made their way to their seats to watch the final. Serena was subsequently booed during the final with Kim Clijsters
and during the trophy presentation. Due to this, neither Williams sister has entered the tournament since
. Venus rebounded from the Indian Wells controversy
to win the next tournament on the tour calendar, the Tier I Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida
. She defeated Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 4 Jennifer Capriati
in the final, after saving eight championship points. Because of this victory, her ranking rose to a career high of World No. 2.
During the European clay court season, Williams won the Tier II tournament in Hamburg but lost in the third round of the Tier I EUROCARD Ladies German Open to World No. 18 Justine Henin and the first round of the French Open to Barbara Schett
. This was only the second time that she had lost in the first round of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Williams then successfully defended her Wimbledon title, defeating third-seeded Davenport in the semifinals and eighth-seeded Henin in three sets in Henin's first Wimbledon final.
During the North American summer hard court season, Williams won for the second consecutive year the tournaments in San Diego, defeating Seles in the final, and in New Haven, defeating Davenport in the final. Williams also won the US Open singles title for the second consecutive year, without dropping a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat fifth-seeded Clijsters, followed by a semifinal victory over World No. 2 Capriati. She played Serena in the final, which was the first Grand Slam singles final contested by two sisters during the open era. Venus won the match and her fourth Grand Slam singles title. Venus also became only the sixth woman in history to win the singles titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open in consecutive years, the others being Martina Navaratilova (twice), Steffi Graf
(twice), Althea Gibson
, Maureen Connolly Brinker, and Helen Wills Moody
(twice).
Williams began 2002 by winning the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts in Gold Coast, Australia
, defeating Henin in the final. However, she then lost for the first time in her career to Seles in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Williams then went on to win the Open Gaz de France
in Paris when Jelena Dokić
withdrew from the final, and the Proximus Diamond Games
in Antwerp, Belgium, defeating Henin in the final. As a result of her strong start to the season, Williams assumed the World No. 1 position for the first time on February 25, dislodging Capriati. Williams was the first African-American woman ever to hold the ranking. She held it for just three weeks before surrendering it back to Capriati.
Williams failed to defend her title in Miami after losing in the semifinals to Serena. However, she made a strong start to the clay-court season, winning the Bausch & Lomb Championships
in Amelia Island, Florida, defeating Henin in the final. A week after winning that tournament, she once again replaced Capriati as the World No. 1, before losing it again to Capriati after three weeks. During those three weeks, Williams had made the final in Hamburg, defeating Hingis in the semifinals before losing to Clijsters in the final. Seeded second at the French Open, Williams defeated former champion Seles to reach the semifinals for the first time. There, she defeated Clarisa Fernández
. In the final, Williams met Serena for a second time in a Grand Slam final, with Serena winning. Venus once again replaced Capriati as the World No. 1 as a result of reaching the final.
As the top seed at Wimbledon, Williams defeated Henin in the semifinals to make the final for the third consecutive year. However, there, she lost to Serena. This result meant Serena replaced Venus as the World No. 1. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the women's doubles title at the event, their fifth Grand Slam women's doubles title together.
Williams won the titles in San Diego and New Haven for the third consecutive year, defeating Davenport and Dokic to win the former and defeating Davenport in the final of the latter. At the US Open, Williams defeated Seles in the quarterfinals and Amélie Mauresmo
in three sets to make the final. Playing Serena for their third consecutive Grand Slam final, Serena won once again. After that, Venus played just four more matches during the season. She reached the semifinals at the year-ending Sanex Championships after defeating Seles in the quarterfinals, but she then was forced to retire against Clijsters due to injury. Williams finished the year ranked World No. 2 having won seven titles, her best showing in both respects of her career.
In February, Williams won the Proximus Diamond Games
in Antwerp, Belgium for the second consecutive year, defeating Kim Clijsters
in the final. However, shortly afterwards, she began to struggle with injury. She reached the final of the clay court J&S Cup in Warsaw before being forced to retire against Amélie Mauresmo
. She then suffered her earliest exit at a Grand Slam tourmament in two years when she lost in the fourth round of the French Open to Vera Zvonareva
.
At Wimbledon, Williams was seeded fourth. Williams defeated former champion Lindsay Davenport
in the quarterfinals and Kim Clijsters
in the semifinals to advance to her fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, where she lost again to sister Serena.
Wimbledon was Williams' last event of the year as an abdominal injury that occurred during the Clijsters match prevented her from playing again. While she was recovering from the injury, her sister Yetunde Price
was murdered. Williams finished the year ranked World No. 11. It was the first time in nearly six years that she had dropped out of the top ten.
In 2004, Williams came back to the tour suffering inconsistent results. As the third seeded player because of a protected ranking, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to Lisa Raymond
. She then lost in the quarterfinals of her next three tournaments.
Williams began to find her form at the beginning of the clay court season. At the Tier I Family Circle Cup
in Charleston, South Carolina
, Williams defeated Conchita Martínez
in the final to win her first title in over a year and the second Tier I title on clay of her career. She then won in Warsaw, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova
in the final, before reaching the final of the Tier I German Open
in Berlin, before withdrawing from that match against Mauresmo due to injury. Going into the French Open, Williams had the best clay court record among the women and was among the favorites to win the title; however, after making the quarterfinals to extend her winning streak on the surface to 19 matches, she lost to eventual champion Anastasia Myskina
. Despite her defeat, she re-entered the top ten.
At Wimbledon, Williams lost a controversial second round match to Croatian Karolina Šprem
. The umpire of the match, Ted Watts, awarded Šprem an unearned point in the second set tiebreak. Upon the conclusion of the match, he was relieved of his duties. This defeat marked the first time since 1997 that Williams had exited Wimbledon prior to the quarterfinals. After Wimbledon, Williams reached her fourth final of the year at the Bank of the West Classic
in Stanford, California
, where she suffered her first defeat to Lindsay Davenport
since 2000.
As the defending champion at the Athens Olympics
, Williams lost in the third round to Mary Pierce
. She then won three very close matches against Petra Mandula
, Shikha Uberoi
and Chanda Rubin
to make the Fourth Round of the US Open where she lost to Davenport, the first time she had ever lost at the US Open prior to the semifinals. Williams completed the year by losing in the quarterfinals of three indoor tournaments in the fall, a period that included defeat in her first meeting with 17-year-old Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova
at the Zurich Open
. Williams finished the year as World No. 9 and did not qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships
.
In 2005, Williams started the year by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Alicia Molik
. She then reached the final in Antwerp, defeating Clijsters and Myskina en route. In the final, Williams was a set and a service break up against Mauresmo before eventually losing.
In March, at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, Williams defeated sister and Australian Open champion Serena in the quarterfinals, the first time she had defeated Serena since 2001. Venus went on to lose in the semifinals to World No. 3 Sharapova. In May, Williams won her first title in over a year at the clay-court Istanbul Cup
, defeating Nicole Vaidišová
in the final. However, at the French Open, she lost in the third round to 15-year old Sesil Karatantcheva
, who subsequently tested positive for steroids and was suspended.
Williams was seeded 14th at Wimbledon. In the quarterfinals of the tournament, she defeated French Open runner-up Pierce in an epic second set tiebreak, winning it 12–10 to make the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in two years. There, she defeated defending champion and second-seeded Maria Sharapova
to make the Wimbledon final for the fifth time in six years. Playing top-seeded Davenport in the final, Williams saved a match point with a backhand winner en route to winning. This was Williams's third Wimbledon singles title, her fifth Grand Slam singles title overall and her first since 2001. It was the first time in 70 years that a player had won after being down match point during the women's final at Wimbledon. In addition, Williams was the lowest-ranked (World No. 16) and lowest-seeded (14th) champion in tournament history. Williams returned to the top ten following the victory.
Following Wimbledon, Williams reached her fourth final of the year in Stanford, where she lost to Clijsters. At the US Open, Williams achieved her second consecutive win over Serena in the fourth round, but then lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters
. Williams did not qualify for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships because of an injury sustained during the tournament in Beijing
. She finished the year ranked World No. 10. It was the first year since 2001 that she had finished a year ranked higher than Serena.
In 2006, Williams was upset in the first round of the Australian Open
by Tszvetana Pironkova which was her earliest loss ever at that tournament. After that loss, she did not play again for three months due to a wrist injury. She returned in late April on clay in Warsaw, where she defeated former World No. 1 Martina Hingis
in the second round before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. Wiliams completed the clay-court season by reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open, where she lost to Nicole Vaidišová
.
Williams was the defending champion and one of the favorites to win the singles title at Wimbledon. However, she lost lost in the third round to 26th-seeded Jelena Janković
. After the loss, Williams said that she was having pain in her left wrist, although she admitted that the injury was not the cause of her loss. Williams did not play in the US Open series or the US Open itself due to the wrist injury. During her first tournament in almost three months in October, she reinjured her wrist at the tournament in Luxembourg
and lost in the second round to qualifier Agnieszka Radwańska
. Williams finished the season as World No. 46, her lowest finish since she began to play on the WTA Tour full-time in 1997. It was the second consecutive year she finished higher than Serena, who finished the year at World No. 95
, the second consecutive Grand Slam that she had missed due to her recurring wrist injury. She returned in February at the Cellular South Cup
in Memphis, USA
, defeating top-seeded Shahar Pe'er
in the final, her first singles title since her victory at Wimbledon in 2005.
At the beginning of the clay-court season, Williams reached the semifinals of the Tier I Family Circle Cup
in Charleston, South Carolina
, where she lost to Jelena Janković
on a third set tiebreak. She also lost to fourth seed Janković in the third round of the French Open, her third consecutive loss to Janković. During her second round win over Ashley Harkleroad
, Williams hit a 206 kilometre per hour serve, which is the second fastest woman's serve ever recorded and the fastest ever recorded during a main draw match.
Williams was ranked World No. 31 going into Wimbledon and was seeded 23rd at the tournament due to her previous results at Wimbledon. Williams was a game away from defeat in her first round match against Alla Kudryavtseva
and in her third round match against Akiko Morigami
she was two points away from defeat, but she eventually won both 7–5 in the third set. She then advanced to reach her sixth Wimbledon final, after beating Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivnovic en route to the final where she defeated 18th seed Marion Bartoli
. Williams thus became only the fourth woman in the open era to win Wimbledon at least four times, along with Billie Jean King
, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf
. She also became the lowest-seeded Wimbledon champion in history, breaking the record she herself set in 2005. Williams returned to the top 20 as a result of the win.
At the US Open, after setting a Grand-Slam record 129 mi/h serve in the opening round, Williams advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal outside of Wimbledon since 2003. However she then lost to eventual champion Justine Henin. The tournament resulted in Williams's ranking moving up to World No. 9. Williams then won her third title of the year at the Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships
in Seoul, South Korea
, defeating Maria Kirilenko
in the final, before then losing in the final of the Japan Open Tennis Championships
in Tokyo to Virginie Razzano
. Williams had earned enough points during the year to qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships
in Madrid; however, she withdrew because of continuing problems with anemia. Williams finished the year as World No. 8 with three titles, her best performance in both respects since 2002, and a winning percentage of 83 percent.
In 2008, as the eighth seed at the Australian Open, Williams reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. However, she then lost to eventual runner-up Ana Ivanović
. Williams made her first semifinal of the year at the Bangalore Open
in Bangalore
, India, where she met sister Serena for the first time since 2005 with Serena winning despite Venus holding a match point in the third set tie break.
Williams missed two tournaments at the beginning of the clay-court season due to undisclosed medical problems. At the French Open, Williams was seeded eighth but was eliminated by 26th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta
in the third round.
Williams was the defending champion and seventh-seeded player at Wimbledon. Without dropping a set, she reached her seventh Wimbledon singles final. She then won her fifth Wimbledon singles title, and seventh Grand Slam singles title overall, by beating sister Serena in straight sets. This was the first time since 2003 that Venus and Serena had played each other in a Grand Slam final and was the first time since 2001 that Venus had defeated her in a Grand Slam final. Venus and Serena then teamed to win the women's doubles title, their first Grand Slam doubles title together since 2003.
Williams lost in the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics
to Li Na
. She did, however, earn a gold medal along with Serena in women's doubles, their second gold medal as a team, having won together at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. At the US Open, Williams was playing some of her best tennis since dominating the circuit in 2003, However, she was defeated by Serena
in an epic quarter final match 6 – 7(6), 6 – 7(7) after Venus led 5 – 3 in both sets. Serena went on to win the title beating World No. 6 Dinara Safina
in the semi-finals and World No. 2 Jelena Janković
in the finals.
At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Stuttgart, Germany
in October, Williams defeated a player ranked in the top three for the first time that season by defeating World No. 3 Dinara Safina
to reach her third semifinal of the year. There, she lost to Janković. A fortnight later, Williams won the Zurich Open
, defeating Ivanović in the semifinals before defeating Pennetta in the final to claim her second title of the year and secure a position in the year-ending 2008 WTA Tour Championships
in Doha, Qatar
. There, Williams defeated World No. 2 Safina, World No. 3 Serena and World No. 5 Dementieva in the preliminary round-robin stage. In the semifinals, Williams defeated World No. 1 Janković before winning the year-ending tournament for the first time by defeating Vera Zvonareva
in the final. She ended the year ranked sixth in the world with three titles and a winning percentage of 78 percent.
As the sixth seed at the 2009 Australian Open
, Williams lost in the second round to Carla Suárez Navarro
after holding a match point in the third set. However, she teamed up with Serena to win the women's doubles title at the event, their eighth Grand Slam doubles title together. Venus rebounded in singles play in February at the Premier 5 (formerly Tier I) Dubai Tennis Championships
, defeating defending champion and World No. 4 Dementieva in the quarterfinals and World No. 1 Serena in the semifinals on a third set tiebreak. The latter win meant that Venus led the head-to-head in career matches with her sister for the first time since 2002. Venus went on to defeat Virginie Razzano
in the final. This win meant Williams was ranked in the top five for the first time since 2003, while it also marked her 40th professional singles title, only the twelfth player in the open era to achieve the feat. Williams won another title the following week at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel
in Acapulco, Mexico, defeating Pennetta in the final. This was her first title on clay since 2005.
On European clay, Williams reached the semifinals in Rome before losing to World No. 1 Safina. This run meant Williams was ranked in the top three for the first time since 2003. Seeded third at the French Open
, Williams lost to Ágnes Szávay
in the third round, the third consecutive year she had exited at that stage.
Williams was seeded third at Wimbledon. She advanced to her eighth Wimbledon final where she had won 36 straight sets (held since Wimbledon 2007). In the final however she lost the first set tie break and from then on lost 7–6 6–2 to sister Serena. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the doubles title at the tournament for the fourth time.
In Stanford
, Williams defeated Maria Sharapova
and Elena Dementieva
to advance to the finals, where she would lose to Marion Bartoli
. Teaming with her sister, she played doubles and won the title, defeating Monica Niculescu
and Yung-Jan Chan.
At the 2009 US Open
, as the third seed, Williams made it to the fourth round before losing to Kim Clijsters
in three sets. Venus then teamed up with Serena to play doubles at the open, where they won the title over defending champions and world No. 1s in doubles, Cara Black
and Liezel Huber
, claiming their third grand slam doubles title in 2009.
Williams' last tournament in 2009 was the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships
, where she was the defending champion in singles. She was in the maroon group which includes her sister Serena, along with Elena Dementieva
and Svetlana Kuznetsova
. She lost her first match against Dementieva, and her second match against Serena- both in straight sets, after taking the first set. In her third and final RR match, Williams defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova
. Because of Dementieva's loss to Kuznetsova in their round robin match, Venus advanced to the semifinal of the championships. In her semifinal match, she defeated Jelena Janković
of Serbia to advance to her second consecutive final in the tournament. In the final, she lost to her sister Serena. In doubles, Venus teamed with Serena as the second seed. However, they lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives
and María José Martínez Sánchez
in the semifinal. Their doubles record at the end of the year stood at 24–2.
Venus finished 2009 ranked world number 6 in singles (with a winning percentage of 70 percent) and world number 3 in doubles with Serena, in spite of playing only 6 events together in 2009.
as the sixth seed. She defeated 17th-seeded Francesca Schiavone
in the fourth round. She was two points from defeating 16th-seeded Li Na
in the quarterfinals before losing in three sets. In doubles, she teamed with her sister Serena to successfully defend their title, defeating the top ranked team of Cara Black
and Liezel Huber
in the final. The Williams sisters are undefeated in Grand Slam women's doubles finals and are 4–0 in Australian Open doubles finals.
Williams then played the Dubai Tennis Championships
, where she was the defending champion. Seeded third, she successfully defended her title by defeating fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka
in the final.
Williams next played on clay at the Abierto Mexico Telcel
in Acapulco where she was the defending champion. She reached the semifinals after recovering from a 1–5 third set deficit to Laura Pous Tió
in the quarterfinals. In the final, she defeated first-time finalist Polona Hercog
from Slovenia. This was her 43rd career title, the most among active female players.
Her next tournament was the Premier Mandatory Sony Ericsson Open
in Key Biscayne, where she was seeded third. She defeated World No. 9 Agnieszka Radwańska
in the quarterfinals and World No. 13 Marion Bartoli
in the semifinals to reach her third straight WTA tour final and fourth Sony Ericsson Open final. She was defeated by Kim Clijsters
in the final in just 58 minutes, ending her 15-match winning streak. By reaching the final, her ranking improved to World No. 4 and she crossed the $26 million mark in career prize money, the only player besides Serena to do so.
The knee injury that hampered her during the final of the Sony Ericsson Open forced her to skip the Fed Cup
tie against Russia and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
in Stuttgart. Williams returned to the tour at the Premier 5 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
in Rome. She suffered the worst defeat of her career in the quarterfinals, losing to World No. 4 Jelena Janković
6–0, 6–1. Despite this loss, Williams' ranking improved to World No. 3 on May 10.
Her next tournament was the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open
, a Premier Mandatory tournament. She lost to Aravane Rezaï
in the final. In doubles, she teamed with Serena to win the title.
On May 17, her ranking improved to World No. 2, behind only Serena. This was the fourth time that the William sisters' have occupied the top two spots, and the first time since May 2003.
Her next tournament was the French Open
, where she played both singles and doubles despite her knee injury. Seeded second in singles, she advanced past the third round at this tournament for the first time since 2006 before losing to Nadia Petrova
in the round of 16. She also played doubles with Serena as the top seeds. Their defeat of Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues
in the semifinals increased their doubles ranking to World No. 1. They then defeated 12th seeded Květa Peschke
and Katarina Srebotnik
in the final to win their fourth consecutive Grand Slam women's doubles title.
Her next tournament was the Wimbledon Championships
, where she had reached the final the previous three years. Despite her knee injury, she made it to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Tsvetana Pironkova
. Pironkova was ranked 82nd in the world and had never gone past the second round of a Grand Slam event. As a result, Williams dropped to #4 in the world. She was the defending champion in doubles with her sister Serena, having won the tournament in the previous two years. However, they lost this time in the quarterfinals to Elena Vesnina
and Vera Zvonareva
.
Williams then missed all tournaments in the US Open Series
because of a left knee injury but still participated at the US Open
as the third seed. She won three matches to move into the fourth round. Williams became one of only two women in 2010 (along with Caroline Wozniacki
) to reach at least the fourth round at all four Grand Slam singles tournaments. Williams then defeated Pe'er and French Open champion Schiavone en route to her seventh US Open semifinal, against defending champion Clijsters. Williams dominated the first set of their match and recovered from 5–2 down in the second set but ultimately double-faulted on a key point near the end of the match and lost 4–6, 7–6, 6–4. Because of Serena's withdrawal from the US Open, Venus did not participate at the doubles event where she was the defending champion.
The recovery of her left knee took longer than expected and it forced her to miss the rest of 2010, including the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships
and Fed Cup final
. Williams ended the year ranked fifth in singles, the first time she ended a year in the top five since 2002, while playing only nine tournaments. She finished the year ranked eleventh in doubles.
. She lost both her singles matches against Vera Zvonareva
and Li Na
, but she managed to help Team America to win the silver group. Her next tournament was the 2011 Australian Open
where she was the fourth seed. She retired in the second game of her third round match against the 30th seed Andrea Petkovic
due to a hip muscle injury. This was Williams' first retirement during a match in a Grand Slam tournament since 1994 and thus ended her record of most Grand Slam matches without ever retiring, with 250 consecutive matches. This was also her first retirement from a match since LA Women's Tennis Championships in Los Angeles in 2004, ending her 294 consecutive matches without retiring.
The injury forced Williams to pull out of the Fed Cup quarterfinal against Belgium, the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, where she was the two-time defending champion in both tournaments. She also pulled out of the Sony Ericsson Open
in Miami causing her ranking to drop to world no. 15. Further, she missed Madrid
and Rome
. This caused her rankings to drop to world no. 29. Originally scheduled to come back in Brussels, she eventually withdrew from the Premier tournament. Further, she also missed Roland Garros
, marking the first Grand Slam tournament since 2003 US Open where neither of the Williams sisters are competing.
Williams then made her first appearance since the Australian Open in Eastbourne
. Unseeded, she lost for the first time in eleven meetings to Daniela Hantuchová
in the quarterfinals by 2–6, 7–5, 2–6. She was seeded 23rd at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships
. She played for nearly three hours in her second round match against Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, winning 6–7(6), 6–3, 8–6. She then defeated Spaniard María José Martínez Sánchez
in the third round, 6–0, 6–2, but was defeated by Bulgarian 32nd seed Tsvetana Pironkova
in the fourth round 2–6, 3–6.
Originally scheduled to participate in Toronto
and Cincinnati
, Williams withdrew due to viral illness. Her next scheduled tournament was the US Open
. As an unseeded player, Williams defeated Vesna Dolonts 6–4 6–3 in the first round. She was scheduled to meet 22nd seed Sabine Lisicki
in the second round, but withdrew before the match began due to Sjögren's syndrome
, an autoimmune disease
with which she was recently diagnosed. This marked the first time in her career that she did not reach the quarterfinals or better in any of the grandslam tournaments in a season. As a result, her ranking dropped to world no. 105.
Williams did not play for the rest of the year. She will end the year ranked outside of the world top 100 for the first time since 1997.
. She is scheduled to play in Auckland
as her preparation before the Australian Open
.
and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
and by Helen Wills Moody
and Helen Jacobs
but behind the record of fourteen finals set by Chris Evert
and Martina Navrátilová. Currently Venus has 43 career tennis titles, Serena has 39. Serena has 13 slams and Venus has 7.
and others, in 2005 the French Open and Wimbledon still refused to pay women's and men's players equally through all rounds. In 2005, Williams met with officials from both tournaments, arguing that female tennis players should be paid as much as males. Although WTA tour President Larry Scott
commented that she left "a very meaningful impression", Williams's demands were rejected.
The turning point was an essay published in The Times
on the eve of Wimbledon in 2006. In it, Williams accused Wimbledon of being on the "wrong side of history", writing:
In response, British Prime Minister Tony Blair
and members of Parliament publicly endorsed Williams's arguments. Later that year, the Women's Tennis Association and UNESCO
teamed for a campaign to promote gender equality in sports, asking Williams to lead the campaign. Under enormous pressure, Wimbledon announced in February 2007 that it would award equal prize money to all competitors in all rounds, and the French Open followed suit a day later. In the aftermath, the Chicago Sun-Times cited Williams as "the single factor" that "changed the minds of the boys" and a leader whose "willingness to take a public stand separates her not only from most of her female peers, but also from our most celebrated male athletes." Williams herself commented, "Somewhere in the world a little girl is dreaming of holding a giant trophy in her hands and being viewed as an equal to boys who have similar dreams."
Venus herself became the first woman to benefit from the equalization of prize money at Wimbledon, as she won the 2007 tournament and was awarded the same amount as the male winner Roger Federer
.
with Cum Laude honors and a 3.5 GPA.
Beginning the fall 2011 semester, William's began pursuing a bachelor's degree in the school of business through an online degree program at Indiana University East in Richmond, Indiana. Her ultimate goal is to get an MBA in the near future.
Williams's longtime boyfriend, pro golfer Hank Kuehne
, has been a visible presence since Wimbledon 2007
, holding her hand during long rain delays and clapping support from the players' box along with her parents and younger sister Serena. "He's a great guy", Williams said. "He understands competition. He's very supportive. I love having him here and everyone else in the box, too." After rumors of engagement, the couple broke up.
In 2003, Venus and Serena Williams's older sister Yetunde Price
, 31, was shot dead in Compton, California
near the courts on which the sisters once practiced. Price was the Williams sisters' personal assistant. The Williams family issued this statement shortly after the death: "We are extremely shocked, saddened and devastated by the shooting death of our beloved Yetunde. She was our nucleus and our rock. She was a personal assistant, confidante, and adviser to her sisters, and her death leaves a void that can never be filled. Our grief is overwhelming, and this is the saddest day of our lives."
Williams said her family's faith as Jehovah's Witnesses
has helped her tremendously.
In 2011, Williams was forced to withdraw from the US Open before her second-round match, following a Sjögren's syndrome
diagnosis.
. Williams's company designed the set of the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS
, the Olympic athletes' apartments as part of New York City's failed bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games, and residences and businesses in the Palm Beach, Florida
area.
In 2001, Williams was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by the Ladies Home Journal.
In 2007, Williams teamed with retailer Steve & Barry's
to launch her own fashion line EleVen
. "I love fashion and the idea that I am using my design education to actually create clothing and footwear that I will wear on and off the tennis court is a dream come true for me. The vision has been to create a collection that will allow women to enjoy an active lifestyle while remaining fashionable at the same time. I'm thrilled with everything we've created to launch EleVen."
In June 2009, Venus was named 77th in the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities
compiled by Forbes
magazine.
In August 2009, Venus Williams became part-owners of the Miami Dolphins
with sister Serena Williams. The announcement was made during a press conference overlooking the practice field. This made Venus and indeed her sister Serena the first African-American females to obtain ownership in an NFL franchise. 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."
In late June 2010, Venus Williams released her first book, entitled "Come to Win; on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession" which she co-wrote with Kelly E. Carter. In promotion of the book she embarked on a tour around America in support of the release, whilst also appearing on several talk shows including The Early Show
and Good Morning America
. This gave her a place on the top 5 The New York Times Best Seller List.
In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time
.
1997
1998
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Women's Tennis Association
The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...
on three separate occasions. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on February 25, 2002, becoming the first black woman to achieve this feat during the open era
Open era
Open era or Open Era may refer to:* Open Era , the period since 1968 where professionals can compete in Grand Slams* Glasnost era, the increased openness in the Soviet Union from the mid-1980s...
.
Her 21 Grand Slam
Grand Slam (tennis)
The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
titles ties her for twelfth on the all time list and is more than any other active female player except for her younger sister Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
. Venus Williams' titles consist of: seven in singles, twelve in women's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. Those seven Grand Slam singles titles ties her with four other women for twelfth place on the all-time list. Her five Wimbledon singles titles ties her with two other women for eighth place on the all-time list. Venus Williams is one of only three women in the open era to have won five or more Wimbledon singles titles. From the 2000 Wimbledon Championships
2000 Wimbledon Championships
List of the 2000 Wimbledon Champions:-Men's Singles:* Men's Singles-Men's singles: Pete Sampras def. Patrick Rafter, 6–7, 7–6, 6–4, 6–2...
through the 2001 US Open, Williams won four of the six Grand Slam singles tournaments held. She is one of only five women in the open era to win 200 or more main draw Grand Slam singles matches.
Williams has won three Olympic gold medals, one in singles and two in women's doubles.
She has won more Olympic gold medals than any other female tennis player. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Williams became only the second player to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games, after Helen Wills Moody
Helen Wills Moody
Helen Newington Wills Roark , also known as Helen Wills Moody, was an American tennis player. She has been described as "the first American born woman to achieve international celebrity as an athlete."-Biography:...
in 1924.
With 43 career singles titles, Williams leads active players on the WTA Tour. Her 35-match winning streak from the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2000 Generali Ladies Linz
Generali Ladies Linz
The Generali Ladies Linz is a tennis tournament held in Linz, Austria. Held since 1987, this WTA Tour event is a Tier II-tournament and is played on indoor hardcourts...
tournament final is the longest winning streak since January 1, 2000. She is also one of only two active WTA players to have made the finals of all four Grand Slams, the other player being her sister Serena Williams
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
.
Venus Williams has played against her sister Serena Williams in 23 professional matches since 1998, with Serena winning 13 of the 23 matches. They have played against each other in eight Grand Slam singles finals, with Serena winning six times. Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they opposed each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, the first time ever in the open era that the same two players played against each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, let alone sisters. On the doubles side, the pair have won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles playing alongside each other.
Early life
Venus Williams was born in Lynwood, CaliforniaLynwood, California
Lynwood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States of America. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 69,772, down from 69,845 at the 2000 census. Lynwood is located near South Gate and Compton in the southern portion of the Los Angeles Basin. Incorporated in...
, to Richard Williams
Richard Williams (tennis)
Richard Williams is an American tennis coach, and the father of Venus and Serena Williams.-Biography:Williams is one of six children and only son of single mother Julia Mae Williams. He has been known to exaggerate aspects of his upbringing. A childhood friend told Sports Illustrated writer L...
and Oracene Price
Oracene Price
Oracene Price is an American tennis coach. She is best known for being the mother of Venus and Serena Williams, top professional tennis players. She is the former wife of Richard Williams, whom she divorced in 2002. As a coach and parent, she has regularly been called unflappable and...
. She is the second youngest of Oracene's five daughters: half-sisters Yetunde
Yetunde Price
Yetunde Hawanya Tara Price was the elder half-sister and personal assistant to leading tennis players Venus Williams and Serena Williams. At the time of her death, she was 31 years old, the eldest of their mother Oracene Price's five daughters and mother of three children, a registered nurse and...
(died September 14, 2003), Lyndrea and Isha Price, and younger sister Serena.
Williams's family moved from Compton, California, to West Palm Beach
West Palm Beach, Florida
West Palm Beach, is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and is the most populous city in and county seat of Palm Beach County, the third most populous county in Florida with a 2010 population of 1,320,134. The city is also the oldest incorporated municipality in South Florida...
, when she was ten, so that Venus and Serena 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's 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 eleven, 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 negatively about the black Williams sisters during tournaments. At that time, Venus Williams held a 63–0 record on the United States Tennis Association
United States Tennis Association
The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, from the grass-roots to the professional levels...
junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among the under-12 players in Southern California. In 1995, Richard pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy, and from then on took over all coaching at their home.
Playing style
Williams is a powerful baseliner, equipped with an attacking all-court game. Her game is very well adapted to grass where she feels most comfortable, which is reflected in her five Wimbledon singles titles. Across her career, she has developed into a skillful volleyer and effectively utilizes her long "wingspan" (1.85m) and agility around the net. Williams also has great court coverage using her long reach to play balls that most players would not be able to reach and is capable of hitting outright winners from a defensive position.Venus Williams holds the record for the fastest serve struck by a woman in a main draw event. At the Zurich Open
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
, she recorded 130 mi/h. She also holds the record for fastest serve in all four Grand Slam tournaments: 2003 Australian Open
2003 Australian Open
The 2003 Australian Open was a tennis tournament held in 2003. It was the first Grand Slam event of the 2003 ATP Tour and the 2003 WTA Tour. It was the 91st edition of the event.-Men's Singles: Andre Agassi def...
quarterfinal – 125 mi/h, 2007 French Open
2007 French Open
The 2007 French Open was held in Paris, France from 27 May through to 10 June 2007. Followed two weeks later, as usual, by Wimbledon in London, United Kingdom. Rafael Nadal became the first man to win the tournament 3 times consecutively since Björn Borg, 1978–81; and maintained his unbeaten run...
second round, 2008 Wimbledon final, 2007 US Open first round – 129 mi/h. At Wimbledon in 2008, her average first serve speed was 115 mi/h in the quarterfinal, 116 mi/h in the semifinal, and 111 mi/h in the final.
Williams has always been a explosive hitter of the ball off the ground, but her backhand is the more consistently reliable of her groundstrokes. Her backhand is equally effective down-the-line or crosscourt (frequently for a set-up approach shot). Her forehand occasionally breaks down under pressure. However, it is still the more powerful of her groundstrokes and yields many winners, from a variety of court positions. Additionally, it is one of the most powerful forehands in the women's game, frequently struck in the 85 – 90 mi/h range. In the 2008 Wimbledon women's final, Venus struck a forehand winner measured at 94 mph (IBM/Wimbledon). Only a few women (notably Ivanović, Serena Williams, and Justine Henin) hit to these speeds off the ground.
Williams's best surface is grass. She has won Wimbledon five times and has reached the final there in eight of the last ten years. The low bounces that grass produces tend to make her first serve an even more powerful weapon. Her movement on grass is also among the best on the WTA tour. Clay is Williams's weakest surface although she has suffered numerous injuries prior to the French Open. Her movement is suspect and her powerful serve and groundstrokes are less effective. Still, she has won numerous titles on clay.
1994–96: Professional debut
Venus Williams turned professional on October 31, 1994, at the age of fourteen. In the second round of her first professional tournament, the Bank of the West ClassicBank of the West Classic
The Bank of the West Classic is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, United States. The 2011 event will be held on July 25th to July 31st. Started in 1971, the tournament is the oldest women's-only tournament in the world...
in Oakland, Williams was up a set and a service break against World No. 2 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Aránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...
before losing the match. That was the only tournament Williams played in 1994.
In 1995, Williams played three more events as a wild card, falling in the first round of the tournament in Los Angeles and the tournament in Toronto but reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament in Oakland, defeating World No. 18 Amy Frazier
Amy Frazier
Amy Frazier is a now inactive professional female tennis player from the United States.She debuted in 1987 and was active player until the 2006 US Open in which she made her 20th consecutive appearance...
in the second round for her first win over a top 20 ranked player before losing to Magdalena Maleeva
Magdalena Maleeva
Magdalena Maleeva is a Bulgarian former tennis player. She played on the WTA tour competing in singles and doubles, from April 1989 to June 2007. Her best position in the WTA Tour was no. 4 between January 29 to February 4, 1996....
.
Williams played five events in 1996, falling in the first round four times but reaching the third round in Los Angeles, before losing to World No. 1 Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
.
1997–99: Early success
Williams played 15 tour events in 1997, including five Tier I tournaments. She reached the quarterfinals in three of the Tier I events – the State Farm Evert Cup in Indian Wells, CaliforniaIndian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, the European Indoor Championships
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
in Zürich, and the Kremlin Cup
Kremlin Cup
The Kremlin Cup is a professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the ATP Tour and is a Premier Tournament on the WTA Tour...
in Moscow. In Indian Wells in March, Williams defeated World No. 9 Iva Majoli
Iva Majoli
Iva Majoli Marić is a former professional tennis player from Croatia. She upset Martina Hingis to win the women's singles title at the French Open in 1997. Majoli also won eight singles titles and one women's doubles title during her career.-Career:Majoli turned professional in 1991 at the age...
in the third round for her first win over a player ranked in the top 10. She then lost in the quarterfinals to World No. 8 Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
in a third set tiebreak. Her ranking broke into the top 100 on April 14, 1997. She made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open, reaching the second round before losing to Nathalie Tauziat
Nathalie Tauziat
Nathalie Tauziat is a former professional tennis player from France. She was the runner-up in women's singles at the 1998 Wimbledon Championships. Her career-high singles ranking was third in 2000....
. She then lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Magdalena Grzybowska
Magdalena Grzybowska
Magdalena Grzybowska is a former Polish tennis player.Grzybowska was born in Poznań, Poland. She won the Juniors singles competition at the Grand Slam tournament 1996 Australian Open...
. During her debut at the US Open, she lost the final to Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
after defeating Irina Spîrlea
Irina Spîrlea
Irina Spîrlea is a former tennis player from Romania, who turned professional in 1990. She won four singles and six doubles titles during her career. The right-hander reached her highest individual ranking on the WTA Tour on October 13, 1997, when she became number 7 in the world...
in a semifinal famous for "the bump" in which Spîrlea intentionally collided with Williams during a changeover, commenting later that it happened ". . . because she thinks she's the freaking Venus Williams." Richard Williams
Richard Williams (tennis)
Richard Williams is an American tennis coach, and the father of Venus and Serena Williams.-Biography:Williams is one of six children and only son of single mother Julia Mae Williams. He has been known to exaggerate aspects of his upbringing. A childhood friend told Sports Illustrated writer L...
, her father, later claimed that this incident was racially motivated. She was the first woman since Pam Shriver
Pam Shriver
Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...
in 1978 to reach a US Open singles final on her first attemp and was the first unseeded US Open women's singles finalist since 1958. On September 8, 1997, her ranking broke into the top 50 for the first time. She ended the year ranked World No. 22.
Williams started 1998 at the Medibank International Sydney, where she defeated World No. 1 Hingis for the first time in the second round before losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Aránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...
in the final. These results caused her ranking to break into the top 20 for the first time, at World No. 16. During her debut at the Australian Open
1998 Australian Open
The 1998 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 86th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 19 January through 1 February 1998.-Men's Singles:...
, Williams defeated younger sister Serena in the second round, which was the sisters' first professional meeting. Venus eventually lost in the quarterfinals to World No. 3 Davenport.
Three weeks later, Williams defeated World No. 2 Davenport for the first time in the semifinals of the IGA Tennis Classic in Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
. Williams then defeated Joannette Kruger
Joannette Kruger
Joannette Kruger is a former professional tennis player from Johannesburg, South Africa. Her career high ranking is No. 21 in the world, a ranking she achieved on May 4, 1998....
in the final to win the first singles title of her career. In her first Tier I event of the year, Williams lost in the semifinals of the State Farm Evert Cup in Indian Wells to World No. 1 Hingis. The following week, Williams won the Tier I Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States on the island of Key Biscayne. The population was 10,507 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,324....
, defeating World No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals. On March 30, 1998, her ranking broke into the top 10 for the first time, at World No. 10.
Williams played only one tournament on clay before the 1998 French Open
1998 French Open
List of the 1998 French Open champions:-Men's singles: Carlos Moyá def. Àlex Corretja, 6–3, 7–5, 6–3*It was Moyá's 2nd title of the year, and his 5th overall. It was his 1st career Grand Slam title.-Women's singles:...
. At the Italian Open
Rome Masters
The Italian Open is an annual tennis tournament held in Rome, Italy. It is the most prestigious red clay tennis tournament in the world after the French Open, with the men's competition being an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the Association of Tennis Professionals tour, and the women's...
in Rome, she defeated sister Serena in the quarterfinals and World No. 5 Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals before losing to World No. 1 Hingis in the final. Williams lost again to Hingis in the quarterfinals of the French Open. Williams lost her first match at the Direct Line International Championships in Eastbourne on grass
Grass court
A grass court is one of the four different types of tennis court. Grass courts are made of rye grass in different compositions depending on the tournament...
before losing to eventual champion and World No. 3 Jana Novotná
Jana Novotná
Jana Novotná is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic. She played a serve and volley game, an increasingly rare style of play among women during her career. She won the women's singles title at Wimbledon in 1998 and was runner-up in three previous Grand Slam tournaments...
in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. On July 27, 1998, her ranking rose to World No. 5.
Williams played three tournaments during the North American 1998 summer hard court season. She reached her fifth final of the year at the Bank of the West Classic
Bank of the West Classic
The Bank of the West Classic is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, United States. The 2011 event will be held on July 25th to July 31st. Started in 1971, the tournament is the oldest women's-only tournament in the world...
in Stanford, California
Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census....
, defeating World No. 6 Monica Seles
Monica Seles
Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
in the semifinals before losing to World No. 1 Davenport. Patella tendinitis in her left knee caused her to retire from her quarterfinal match at the tournament in San Diego while trailing Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce is a French-American tennis professional playing on the Women's Tennis Association tour. She is a citizen of France, Canada, and the United States but plays for France in team competitions and the Olympics.Pierce has won four Grand Slam titles, two in singles and two in doubles...
4–0 in the third set. At the US Open, Williams defeated fourth seeded Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals before losing to second seeded and eventual champion Davenport in the semifinals.
Williams played four tournaments the remainder of 1998. She won her third title of the year at the Grand Slam Cup
Grand Slam Cup
The Grand Slam Cup was a tennis tournament held annually at the Olympiahalle in Munich in Germany from 1990 through 1999. The event was organized by the International Tennis Federation , which invited the best-performing players in the year's Grand Slam events to compete in the Grand Slam Cup.The...
in Munich in September, defeating World No. 9 Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder
Patty Schnyder is a retired Swiss professional tennis player. She played on the WTA tour from 1993 to 2011 and is a former World No. 7. She defeated several World No...
in the final. She lost in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a tennis tournament held in Stuttgart, Germany . Held since 1978, the tournament is the oldest women's indoor tournament in Europe. Currently it is a Tier II tournament on the WTA Tour. The singles champion also receives a Porsche 911 Carrera sports car in addition...
in Filderstadt
Filderstadt
Filderstadt is a town in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located approximately 13 km south of Stuttgart.Filderstadt is located next to the Stuttgart Airport and the new Trade Fair...
before losing in the final of the Tier I Swisscom Challenge in Zürich to World No. 1 Davenport and the semifinals of the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow to Pierce. She had earned enough points during the year to participate in the year-ending Chase Championship
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
but withdrew from the tournament because of tendinitis in her knee. She finished the year ranked World No. 5.
In 1998, Williams teamed with Justin Gimelstob
Justin Gimelstob
Justin Jeremy Gimelstob is a retired American tennis player. Gimelstob has been a resident of Morristown, New Jersey and as of 2009 resided in Santa Monica, California....
to win the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and the French Open. Her sister Serena won the other two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles that year, completing a "Williams Family Mixed Doubles Grand Slam". Williams won the first two women's doubles titles of her career, in Oklahoma City and Zürich. Both titles came with sister Serena, becoming only the third pair of sisters to win a WTA tour doubles title.
Williams started the 1999 tour in Australia, where she lost to World No. 10 Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
in the quarterfinals of the Medibank International in Sydney and World No. 1 Davenport in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open
1998 Australian Open
The 1998 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 86th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 19 January through 1 February 1998.-Men's Singles:...
. However, she rebounded at the Faber Grand Prix
Faber Grand Prix
The Faber Grand Prix is a defunct WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1992 to 2000. It was held in Essen in Germany from 1992 to 1994 and in Hanover in Germany from 1996 to 2000. The tournament was played on indoor carpet courts.-Singles:...
in Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
, defeating Graf for the first time in the semifinals before losing the final to World No. 3 Novotná. Williams then successfully defended her titles in both Oklahoma City and Key Biscayne. She defeated Novotná and Graf to reach the final in Key Biscayne, where she defeated Serena in three sets in the first final on the WTA Tour to be contested by two sisters.
Williams played four clay court events during the spring. She lost her first match at the Bausch & Lomb Championships
Bausch & Lomb Championships
The MPS Group Championships was a women's tennis tournament held in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, United States. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event was an International series tournament played on outdoor green clay courts from 1980 to 2010.-History:...
in Amelia Island, Florida. Three weeks later, however, she won her first title on clay at the Betty Barclay Cup
WTA Hamburg
The Betty Barclay Cup was a WTA Tour tennis event that was held from 1982 to 1983 and again from 1987 through to 2002. It existed under several different names but was most commonly known as the Citizen Cup or the Betty Barclay Cup...
in Hamburg, defeating Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce is a French-American tennis professional playing on the Women's Tennis Association tour. She is a citizen of France, Canada, and the United States but plays for France in team competitions and the Olympics.Pierce has won four Grand Slam titles, two in singles and two in doubles...
in the final. Williams then won the Tier I Italian Open in Rome, defeating World No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 8 Pierce in the final. At the French Open
1999 French Open
-Men's Singles:* Men's SinglesList of the 1999 French Open champions:-Men's singles: Andre Agassi def. Andrei Medvedev, 1–6, 2–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4...
, she extended her winning streak to 22 matches before losing in the fourth round to World No. 125 Barbara Schwartz
Barbara Schwartz (tennis)
Barbara Schwartz is an Austrian former professional tennis player.Schwartz turned professional in 1995 at the age of 16, and reached a career-high WTA world ranking of World No...
. Williams teamed with Serena to win the women's doubles title at this event, the first Grand Slam title the pair won together.
At the 1999 Wimbledon Championships
1999 Wimbledon Championships
The 1999 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon in London in England...
, Williams defeated World No. 17 Anna Kournikova
Anna Kournikova
Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova is a Russian retired professional tennis player. Her beauty and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis stars worldwide, despite the fact that she never won a WTA singles title. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name...
in the fourth round to reach the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, where she lost to eventual runner-up Graf.
Williams rebounded in the summer when she won two Fed Cup
Fed Cup
Fed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
matches against Italy and lost in the final of the Bank of the West Classic
Bank of the West Classic
The Bank of the West Classic is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, United States. The 2011 event will be held on July 25th to July 31st. Started in 1971, the tournament is the oldest women's-only tournament in the world...
in Stanford to World No. 1 Davenport. One week later, Williams defeated Davenport in the semifinals of the TIG Tennis Classic in San Diego before losing to World No. 2 Hingis in the final. In her last tournament before the US Open, Williams won the Pilot Pen Tennis
Pilot Pen Tennis
This article is about the former New Haven joint tennis event. It is now a women's-only event. For the New Haven men's tennis event known as Volvo International , click here....
in New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, defeating World No. 5 Seles in the semifinals and Davenport in the final. On August 30, 1999, her world ranking reached third for the first time. Seeded third at the US Open, Williams lost in the semifinals to World No. 1 Hingis in three sets. However, she teamed with singles champion Serena at this event to win their second Grand Slam women's doubles title.
During the remainder of the year, Williams contributed to the USA's victory over Russia
Russia Fed Cup team
The Russia Fed Cup team represents Russia in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Russian Tennis Federation. They currently compete in the World Group.- Current Team :* Maria Sharapova * Elena Vesnina...
in the Fed Cup
Fed Cup
Fed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
final, winning one singles rubber before joining Serena to win the doubles rubber. At the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Venus defeated Hingis in the semifinals before losing to Serena for the first time in the final. Venus won her sixth title of the year at the Tier I event in Zurich, defeating World No. 1 Hingis in the final. Four weeks later, she lost to Davenport in the semifinals of the tournament in Philadelphia. Making her debut at the year-ending Chase Championships, Williams lost to Hingis in the semifinals. She finished the year ranked World No. 3.
2000–02: Williams sisters domination
In 2000, Williams missed the first four months of the year with tendinitis in both wrists. She returned to the tour during the European clay court season. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg to Amanda CoetzerAmanda Coetzer
Amanda Coetzer is a former professional tennis player from South Africa.Coetzer turned professional in 1988 and retired in 2004...
and in the third round of the Tier I Italian Open in Rome to Jelena Dokić
Jelena Dokic
Jelena Dokić is an Australian female professional tennis player.During the height of her career, she played for Serbia and Montenegro and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 on 19 August 2002. After several family-related difficulties , she slowly slipped down the rankings in 2006...
. Although she had won only two of her four matches before the French Open, she was seeded fourth there. She won her first four matches in Paris without losing a set before losing in the quarterfinals to eighth-seeded and former champion Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Aránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...
in three sets.
Williams then won 35 consecutive singles matches and six tournaments. She won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, defeating World No. 1 Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
in the quarterfinals, sister Serena
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in the semifinals, and defending champion Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
in the final. She also teamed with Serena to win the women's doubles title at this event.
She won three Tier II events during the North American summer hard court season, defeating Davenport in the final of the tournament in Stanford, California
Bank of the West Classic
The Bank of the West Classic is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, United States. The 2011 event will be held on July 25th to July 31st. Started in 1971, the tournament is the oldest women's-only tournament in the world...
and Monica Seles
Monica Seles
Monica Seles is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player and a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She was born in Novi Sad, Serbia, former Yugoslavia to Hungarian parents. She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1994 and also received Hungarian citizenship in June 2007...
in the finals of both the tournament in San Diego and the tournament in New Haven, Connecticut
Pilot Pen Tennis
This article is about the former New Haven joint tennis event. It is now a women's-only event. For the New Haven men's tennis event known as Volvo International , click here....
.
At the US Open, Williams defeated still-World No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 2 Davenport in the final. At the Olympic Games
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney, Williams defeated Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals, Seles in the semifinals, and Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
in the final to win the gold medal. She also won the gold medal in women's doubles with her sister Serena. Davenport eventually snapped her winning streak in October in the final of the tournament in Linz
Generali Ladies Linz
The Generali Ladies Linz is a tennis tournament held in Linz, Austria. Held since 1987, this WTA Tour event is a Tier II-tournament and is played on indoor hardcourts...
. Williams did not play a tournament the rest of the year because of anemia. She finished the year ranked World No. 3 and with six singles titles.
In 2001, Williams reached the semifinals of the Australian Open
2001 Australian Open
The 2001 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts from 15 to 28 January.-Men's Singles: Andre Agassi def. Arnaud Clément, 6–4, 6–2, 6–2...
for the first time, where she lost to World No. 1 Hingis. However, Venus teamed with Serena to win the doubles title at the event, completing a Career Grand Slam in women's doubles for the pair.
Williams also reached the semifinals of the Tier I Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells, California
Indian Wells is a city in Riverside County, California, in the Coachella Valley , in between Palm Desert and La Quinta. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 4,958....
, where she controversially
Boycott of BNP Paribas Open by Venus and Serena Williams
During the 2001 Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, California, controversy erupted when Venus Williams withdrew four minutes prior to her semifinal match with her sister Serena. Serena was subsequently booed during the championship match against Kim Clijsters and during the trophy...
defaulted her match with sister Serena just before the match started. Venus had been suffereing from knee tendinitis throughout the tournament and eventually this prevented her from playing. The following day, Venus and her father Richard
Richard Williams (tennis)
Richard Williams is an American tennis coach, and the father of Venus and Serena Williams.-Biography:Williams is one of six children and only son of single mother Julia Mae Williams. He has been known to exaggerate aspects of his upbringing. A childhood friend told Sports Illustrated writer L...
were booed as they made their way to their seats to watch the final. Serena was subsequently booed during the final with Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
and during the trophy presentation. Due to this, neither Williams sister has entered the tournament since
Boycott of BNP Paribas Open by Venus and Serena Williams
During the 2001 Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, California, controversy erupted when Venus Williams withdrew four minutes prior to her semifinal match with her sister Serena. Serena was subsequently booed during the championship match against Kim Clijsters and during the trophy...
. Venus rebounded from the Indian Wells controversy
Boycott of BNP Paribas Open by Venus and Serena Williams
During the 2001 Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, California, controversy erupted when Venus Williams withdrew four minutes prior to her semifinal match with her sister Serena. Serena was subsequently booed during the championship match against Kim Clijsters and during the trophy...
to win the next tournament on the tour calendar, the Tier I Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne, Florida
Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States on the island of Key Biscayne. The population was 10,507 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,324....
. She defeated Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 4 Jennifer Capriati
Jennifer Capriati
Jennifer Marie Capriati is a former world number one ranked professional tennis player, and the winner of three women's singles championships in Grand Slam tournaments. Capriati made her professional debut in 1990 at the age of 14 when she reached the finals of the hard court tournament in Boca...
in the final, after saving eight championship points. Because of this victory, her ranking rose to a career high of World No. 2.
During the European clay court season, Williams won the Tier II tournament in Hamburg but lost in the third round of the Tier I EUROCARD Ladies German Open to World No. 18 Justine Henin and the first round of the French Open to Barbara Schett
Barbara Schett
Barbara Schett Eagle is a former Austrian tennis player, who reached her highest singles ranking, World No. 7, on 13 September 1999. She ended her career at the 2005 Australian Open. Between 1993 to 2004 she played in 48 games for the Austria Fed Cup team, winning 30...
. This was only the second time that she had lost in the first round of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Williams then successfully defended her Wimbledon title, defeating third-seeded Davenport in the semifinals and eighth-seeded Henin in three sets in Henin's first Wimbledon final.
During the North American summer hard court season, Williams won for the second consecutive year the tournaments in San Diego, defeating Seles in the final, and in New Haven, defeating Davenport in the final. Williams also won the US Open singles title for the second consecutive year, without dropping a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat fifth-seeded Clijsters, followed by a semifinal victory over World No. 2 Capriati. She played Serena in the final, which was the first Grand Slam singles final contested by two sisters during the open era. Venus won the match and her fourth Grand Slam singles title. Venus also became only the sixth woman in history to win the singles titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open in consecutive years, the others being Martina Navaratilova (twice), Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
(twice), Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson
Althea Gibson was a World No. 1 American sportswoman who became the first African-American woman to be a competitor on the world tennis tour and the first to win a Grand Slam title in 1956. She is sometimes referred to as "the Jackie Robinson of tennis" for breaking the color barrier...
, Maureen Connolly Brinker, and Helen Wills Moody
Helen Wills Moody
Helen Newington Wills Roark , also known as Helen Wills Moody, was an American tennis player. She has been described as "the first American born woman to achieve international celebrity as an athlete."-Biography:...
(twice).
Williams began 2002 by winning the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts in Gold Coast, Australia
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
, defeating Henin in the final. However, she then lost for the first time in her career to Seles in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Williams then went on to win the Open Gaz de France
Open Gaz de France
Open GDF Suez, formerly Open Gaz de France, is a Premier level tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held in Paris, France. Held since 1993, the tournament is played on indoor hardcourts....
in Paris when Jelena Dokić
Jelena Dokic
Jelena Dokić is an Australian female professional tennis player.During the height of her career, she played for Serbia and Montenegro and reached a career-high ranking of World No. 4 on 19 August 2002. After several family-related difficulties , she slowly slipped down the rankings in 2006...
withdrew from the final, and the Proximus Diamond Games
Proximus Diamond Games
The Proximus Diamond Games was a professional tennis tournament held in Antwerp, Belgium. Held since 2002, the tournament takes place in the Sportpaleis, and was played at the beginning of February...
in Antwerp, Belgium, defeating Henin in the final. As a result of her strong start to the season, Williams assumed the World No. 1 position for the first time on February 25, dislodging Capriati. Williams was the first African-American woman ever to hold the ranking. She held it for just three weeks before surrendering it back to Capriati.
Williams failed to defend her title in Miami after losing in the semifinals to Serena. However, she made a strong start to the clay-court season, winning the Bausch & Lomb Championships
Bausch & Lomb Championships
The MPS Group Championships was a women's tennis tournament held in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, United States. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour event was an International series tournament played on outdoor green clay courts from 1980 to 2010.-History:...
in Amelia Island, Florida, defeating Henin in the final. A week after winning that tournament, she once again replaced Capriati as the World No. 1, before losing it again to Capriati after three weeks. During those three weeks, Williams had made the final in Hamburg, defeating Hingis in the semifinals before losing to Clijsters in the final. Seeded second at the French Open, Williams defeated former champion Seles to reach the semifinals for the first time. There, she defeated Clarisa Fernández
Clarisa Fernandez
Clarisa Fernández is a retired Argentine tennis player who is best known for her semi-final appearance at the 2002 French Open, the first Argentine since Sabatini in 1992 to reach that stage. Fernández was ranked 87th in the world at the time of her shocking result...
. In the final, Williams met Serena for a second time in a Grand Slam final, with Serena winning. Venus once again replaced Capriati as the World No. 1 as a result of reaching the final.
As the top seed at Wimbledon, Williams defeated Henin in the semifinals to make the final for the third consecutive year. However, there, she lost to Serena. This result meant Serena replaced Venus as the World No. 1. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the women's doubles title at the event, their fifth Grand Slam women's doubles title together.
Williams won the titles in San Diego and New Haven for the third consecutive year, defeating Davenport and Dokic to win the former and defeating Davenport in the final of the latter. At the US Open, Williams defeated Seles in the quarterfinals and Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
in three sets to make the final. Playing Serena for their third consecutive Grand Slam final, Serena won once again. After that, Venus played just four more matches during the season. She reached the semifinals at the year-ending Sanex Championships after defeating Seles in the quarterfinals, but she then was forced to retire against Clijsters due to injury. Williams finished the year ranked World No. 2 having won seven titles, her best showing in both respects of her career.
2003–06: Injuries and losses
Williams started 2003 by defeating fifth seed Justine Henin to make the final of the Australian Open for the first time. In the final, however, she lost to sister Serena. This marked the first time in the open era that the same two players had met in four consecutive Grand Slam finals. Venus and Serena teamed to win the women's doubles title at the event, their sixth Grand Slam title in women's doubles.In February, Williams won the Proximus Diamond Games
Proximus Diamond Games
The Proximus Diamond Games was a professional tennis tournament held in Antwerp, Belgium. Held since 2002, the tournament takes place in the Sportpaleis, and was played at the beginning of February...
in Antwerp, Belgium for the second consecutive year, defeating Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
in the final. However, shortly afterwards, she began to struggle with injury. She reached the final of the clay court J&S Cup in Warsaw before being forced to retire against Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Mauresmo
Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....
. She then suffered her earliest exit at a Grand Slam tourmament in two years when she lost in the fourth round of the French Open to Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
.
At Wimbledon, Williams was seeded fourth. Williams defeated former champion Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
in the quarterfinals and Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
in the semifinals to advance to her fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, where she lost again to sister Serena.
Wimbledon was Williams' last event of the year as an abdominal injury that occurred during the Clijsters match prevented her from playing again. While she was recovering from the injury, her sister Yetunde Price
Yetunde Price
Yetunde Hawanya Tara Price was the elder half-sister and personal assistant to leading tennis players Venus Williams and Serena Williams. At the time of her death, she was 31 years old, the eldest of their mother Oracene Price's five daughters and mother of three children, a registered nurse and...
was murdered. Williams finished the year ranked World No. 11. It was the first time in nearly six years that she had dropped out of the top ten.
In 2004, Williams came back to the tour suffering inconsistent results. As the third seeded player because of a protected ranking, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond
Lisa Raymond is an American professional tennis player who has achieved notable success in doubles tennis. On June 12, 2000, she reached the world number one ranking in doubles...
. She then lost in the quarterfinals of her next three tournaments.
Williams began to find her form at the beginning of the clay court season. At the Tier I Family Circle Cup
Family Circle Cup
The Family Circle Cup is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. The tournament is currently played on the green clay courts at the Daniel Island Tennis Center in Charleston, South Carolina, USA...
in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, Williams defeated Conchita Martínez
Conchita Martínez
Inmaculada Concepción Martínez Bernat is a former professional tennis player from Monzón, Aragón, Spain. She is the only Spanish woman to have won the singles title at Wimbledon, when she beat Martina Navrátilová in the 1994 Women's Singles. She also was the singles runner-up at the 1998...
in the final to win her first title in over a year and the second Tier I title on clay of her career. She then won in Warsaw, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
in the final, before reaching the final of the Tier I German Open
Qatar Telecom German Open
The German Open, sponsored from 2006 through 2008 as the Qatar Telecom German Open, was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women played in Berlin, Germany. Held since 1896, it was one of the oldest tournaments for women...
in Berlin, before withdrawing from that match against Mauresmo due to injury. Going into the French Open, Williams had the best clay court record among the women and was among the favorites to win the title; however, after making the quarterfinals to extend her winning streak on the surface to 19 matches, she lost to eventual champion Anastasia Myskina
Anastasia Myskina
Anastasiya Andreyevna Myskina is a professional tennis player from Russia. She won the 2004 French Open singles title, becoming the first Russian female tennis player to win a Grand Slam main draw singles title. Subsequent to this victory she rose to number 3 on the WTA ranking, becoming the first...
. Despite her defeat, she re-entered the top ten.
At Wimbledon, Williams lost a controversial second round match to Croatian Karolina Šprem
Karolina Šprem
Karolina Šprem was a Croatian tennis player.She has won eight titles all at the ITF level. She has not won any titles on the WTA Tour. Career highlight is a quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon in 2004 where she defeated two-time champion, four-time finalist and then-world No...
. The umpire of the match, Ted Watts, awarded Šprem an unearned point in the second set tiebreak. Upon the conclusion of the match, he was relieved of his duties. This defeat marked the first time since 1997 that Williams had exited Wimbledon prior to the quarterfinals. After Wimbledon, Williams reached her fourth final of the year at the Bank of the West Classic
Bank of the West Classic
The Bank of the West Classic is a week-long tennis tournament on the WTA Tour held on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, United States. The 2011 event will be held on July 25th to July 31st. Started in 1971, the tournament is the oldest women's-only tournament in the world...
in Stanford, California
Stanford, California
Stanford is a census-designated place in Santa Clara County, California, United States and is the home of Stanford University. The population was 13,809 at the 2010 census....
, where she suffered her first defeat to Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Davenport
Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years...
since 2000.
As the defending champion at the Athens Olympics
Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Tennis at the 2004 Summer Olympics took place on ten separate courts at the Olympic Tennis Centre. The surface was hardcourt, specifically DecoTurf....
, Williams lost in the third round to Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce
Mary Pierce is a French-American tennis professional playing on the Women's Tennis Association tour. She is a citizen of France, Canada, and the United States but plays for France in team competitions and the Olympics.Pierce has won four Grand Slam titles, two in singles and two in doubles...
. She then won three very close matches against Petra Mandula
Petra Mandula
Petra Mandula is a Hungarian tennis player, who represented her native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. There she was eliminated in the first round by Amanda Coetzer of South Africa...
, Shikha Uberoi
Shikha Uberoi
Shikha Uberoi is a professional tennis player from India, though an American citizen . She has been ranked as high as 122nd in the world in singles ....
and Chanda Rubin
Chanda Rubin
Chanda Rubin is an American tennis player. Winning seven WTA Tour singles titles, she reached her highest ranking World No. 6 on April 8, 1996, after reaching semifinals at the 1996 Australian Open. Rubin is also former World No...
to make the Fourth Round of the US Open where she lost to Davenport, the first time she had ever lost at the US Open prior to the semifinals. Williams completed the year by losing in the quarterfinals of three indoor tournaments in the fall, a period that included defeat in her first meeting with 17-year-old Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
at the Zurich Open
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
. Williams finished the year as World No. 9 and did not qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
.
In 2005, Williams started the year by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik
Alicia Molik is a Australian professional female tennis player. She reached a career high singles rank of number 8 and also won a bronze medal for Australia at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Molik also reached a career high doubles ranking of number 6, and won two grand slam doubles titles, at the...
. She then reached the final in Antwerp, defeating Clijsters and Myskina en route. In the final, Williams was a set and a service break up against Mauresmo before eventually losing.
In March, at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, Williams defeated sister and Australian Open champion Serena in the quarterfinals, the first time she had defeated Serena since 2001. Venus went on to lose in the semifinals to World No. 3 Sharapova. In May, Williams won her first title in over a year at the clay-court Istanbul Cup
Istanbul Cup
The İstanbul Cup is a tennis tournament held in İstanbul, Turkey. Held since 2005, this WTA Tour event is a WTA International Tournaments and is played on outdoor clay courts. From 2009, it switched to outdoor hard courts...
, defeating Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
in the final. However, at the French Open, she lost in the third round to 15-year old Sesil Karatantcheva
Sesil Karatantcheva
Sesil Karatantcheva is a Bulgarian-born Kazakhstani tennis player. Karatantcheva played for Bulgaria until February 2, 2009, when she changed nationality. She will play for Kazakhstan until at least 2012....
, who subsequently tested positive for steroids and was suspended.
Williams was seeded 14th at Wimbledon. In the quarterfinals of the tournament, she defeated French Open runner-up Pierce in an epic second set tiebreak, winning it 12–10 to make the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in two years. There, she defeated defending champion and second-seeded Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
to make the Wimbledon final for the fifth time in six years. Playing top-seeded Davenport in the final, Williams saved a match point with a backhand winner en route to winning. This was Williams's third Wimbledon singles title, her fifth Grand Slam singles title overall and her first since 2001. It was the first time in 70 years that a player had won after being down match point during the women's final at Wimbledon. In addition, Williams was the lowest-ranked (World No. 16) and lowest-seeded (14th) champion in tournament history. Williams returned to the top ten following the victory.
Following Wimbledon, Williams reached her fourth final of the year in Stanford, where she lost to Clijsters. At the US Open, Williams achieved her second consecutive win over Serena in the fourth round, but then lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
. Williams did not qualify for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships because of an injury sustained during the tournament in Beijing
China Open (tennis)
The China Open is an annual professional tennis tournament held in Beijing, China. The men's singles and doubles events were first held in 1993, the year in which the Qatar Open and Dubai Tennis Championships were also introduced to the men's tour, as the ATP opened a series of new tournaments in...
. She finished the year ranked World No. 10. It was the first year since 2001 that she had finished a year ranked higher than Serena.
In 2006, Williams was upset in the first round of the Australian Open
2006 Australian Open
The 2006 Australian Open was played between 16 and 29 January 2006.- Leadup :Several leading men's players declined to attend the Open due to injury, including Andre Agassi, Rafael Nadal and defending champion Marat Safin....
by Tszvetana Pironkova which was her earliest loss ever at that tournament. After that loss, she did not play again for three months due to a wrist injury. She returned in late April on clay in Warsaw, where she defeated former World No. 1 Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis
Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
in the second round before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. Wiliams completed the clay-court season by reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open, where she lost to Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová
Nicole Vaidišová is a retired Czech tennis player.Vaidišová was an Australian Open and French Open semifinalist and also reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. Vaidišová started playing tennis when she was six years old, enrolling to train at Nick Bollettieri's tennis academy in Bradenton,...
.
Williams was the defending champion and one of the favorites to win the singles title at Wimbledon. However, she lost lost in the third round to 26th-seeded Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
. After the loss, Williams said that she was having pain in her left wrist, although she admitted that the injury was not the cause of her loss. Williams did not play in the US Open series or the US Open itself due to the wrist injury. During her first tournament in almost three months in October, she reinjured her wrist at the tournament in Luxembourg
Fortis Championships Luxembourg
The BGL Luxembourg Open is a tennis tournament held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Held since 1991, the tournament was an exhibition event until 1995. After that, it became a WTA Tier III tournament, which it remained until 2004. In 2005, it was promoted to Tier II, marking the first such...
and lost in the second round to qualifier Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
. Williams finished the season as World No. 46, her lowest finish since she began to play on the WTA Tour full-time in 1997. It was the second consecutive year she finished higher than Serena, who finished the year at World No. 95
2007–09: Return to form
Williams withdrew from the 2007 Australian Open2007 Australian Open
The 2007 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 15 January until 28 January 2007.The total prize pool was set at exactly A$20 million, with the winners of both the men's and women's singles competition each receiving A$1,281,000. Over 500 players...
, the second consecutive Grand Slam that she had missed due to her recurring wrist injury. She returned in February at the Cellular South Cup
Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup
The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships and the Cellular South Cup are tennis tournaments held in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. The Regions Morgan Keegan Championships is a men's ATP Tour event that has been held since 1976. In previous years it has been known as the U.S. Indoor Championships, the...
in Memphis, USA
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, defeating top-seeded Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er
Shahar Pe'er is an Israeli professional tennis player. Her career-high singles ranking is World No. 11, which she achieved on January 31, 2011 ....
in the final, her first singles title since her victory at Wimbledon in 2005.
At the beginning of the clay-court season, Williams reached the semifinals of the Tier I Family Circle Cup
Family Circle Cup
The Family Circle Cup is a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, held every year since 1973. The tournament is currently played on the green clay courts at the Daniel Island Tennis Center in Charleston, South Carolina, USA...
in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, where she lost to Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
on a third set tiebreak. She also lost to fourth seed Janković in the third round of the French Open, her third consecutive loss to Janković. During her second round win over Ashley Harkleroad
Ashley Harkleroad
Ashley Harkleroad , is an American tennis player. Born in Rossville, Georgia, Harkleroad reached a career-high ranking of No. 39 on June 9, 2003. Her career prize money to date is $1,022,094...
, Williams hit a 206 kilometre per hour serve, which is the second fastest woman's serve ever recorded and the fastest ever recorded during a main draw match.
Williams was ranked World No. 31 going into Wimbledon and was seeded 23rd at the tournament due to her previous results at Wimbledon. Williams was a game away from defeat in her first round match against Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Kudryavtseva
Alla Alexandrovna Kudryavtseva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She currently lives in Moscow, where she is coached by Nick Rybakov...
and in her third round match against Akiko Morigami
Akiko Morigami
Akiko Morigami is a Japanese female tennis player. She turned professional in 1998. On August 15, 2005, Morigami reached her career-high singles ranking: World No. 41....
she was two points away from defeat, but she eventually won both 7–5 in the third set. She then advanced to reach her sixth Wimbledon final, after beating Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivnovic en route to the final where she defeated 18th seed Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
. Williams thus became only the fourth woman in the open era to win Wimbledon at least four times, along with Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
. She also became the lowest-seeded Wimbledon champion in history, breaking the record she herself set in 2005. Williams returned to the top 20 as a result of the win.
At the US Open, after setting a Grand-Slam record 129 mi/h serve in the opening round, Williams advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal outside of Wimbledon since 2003. However she then lost to eventual champion Justine Henin. The tournament resulted in Williams's ranking moving up to World No. 9. Williams then won her third title of the year at the Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships
Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships
The Hansol Korea Open is a tennis tournament held in Seoul, South Korea. Held since 2004, this WTA Tour event is an International tournament and is played at the Seoul Olympic Park Tennis Center on, outdoor hardcourts....
in Seoul, South Korea
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
, defeating Maria Kirilenko
Maria Kirilenko
Maria Yuryevna Kirilenko is a Russian professional tennis player. Kirilenko won her first WTA Tour title in 2005, defeating Anna-Lena Grönefeld in the China Open. Kirilenko reached no. 18, her career-high singles ranking, on the WTA tour in July 2008. She won the junior event at the 2002 Canadian...
in the final, before then losing in the final of the Japan Open Tennis Championships
Japan Open Tennis Championships
The Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships is a tennis tournament held in Ariake Tennis Forest Park with its center court Ariake Coliseum, located in Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. The championship includes both men's and women's, as well as singles and doubles competitions...
in Tokyo to Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano , is a French professional tennis player and the current French No. 4. Razzano, who was born in Dijon, has won two WTA singles titles, both in 2007 in Guangzhou and Tokyo. Razzano reached her career high ranking of World No. 16 on September 14, 2009. As of May 2011, she is ranked...
. Williams had earned enough points during the year to qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships
WTA Tour Championships
The WTA Tour Championships is a tennis tournament played annually at the end of the season for the top-ranked players on the Women's Tennis Association tour. The month, city and number of players has changed since the first edition in 1972...
in Madrid; however, she withdrew because of continuing problems with anemia. Williams finished the year as World No. 8 with three titles, her best performance in both respects since 2002, and a winning percentage of 83 percent.
Ana Ivanovic
Ana Ivanović is a former world no. 1 Serbian tennis player. As of November 7, 2011, she is ranked 22th on the WTA rankings. She beat Dinara Safina to win the 2008 French Open and was the runner-up in singles at the 2007 French Open and the 2008 Australian Open...
. Williams made her first semifinal of the year at the Bangalore Open
Bangalore Open
The Bangalore Open was a tennis tournament held in Bangalore, India. The tournament began in Hyderabad in 2003, and moved to Bangalore in 2006. This WTA Tour event was played on outdoor hardcourts. It as a Premier Mandatory event with a prize Money of US$175,000...
in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India, where she met sister Serena for the first time since 2005 with Serena winning despite Venus holding a match point in the third set tie break.
Williams missed two tournaments at the beginning of the clay-court season due to undisclosed medical problems. At the French Open, Williams was seeded eighth but was eliminated by 26th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta
Flavia Pennetta is an Italian professional tennis player. She became Italy's first top 10 female singles player on 17 August 2009 and also the first ever Italian Tennis player to be ranked No.1 in Doubles on 28 February 2011. As of 10 October 2011, Pennetta is ranked World No. 18 in singles and...
in the third round.
Williams was the defending champion and seventh-seeded player at Wimbledon. Without dropping a set, she reached her seventh Wimbledon singles final. She then won her fifth Wimbledon singles title, and seventh Grand Slam singles title overall, by beating sister Serena in straight sets. This was the first time since 2003 that Venus and Serena had played each other in a Grand Slam final and was the first time since 2001 that Venus had defeated her in a Grand Slam final. Venus and Serena then teamed to win the women's doubles title, their first Grand Slam doubles title together since 2003.
Williams lost in the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics
Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Tennis competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing were held from August 10 to August 17 at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre. The DecoTurf surface rendered the event a hardcourt tournament....
to Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
. She did, however, earn a gold medal along with Serena in women's doubles, their second gold medal as a team, having won together at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. At the US Open, Williams was playing some of her best tennis since dominating the circuit in 2003, However, she was defeated by Serena
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
in an epic quarter final match 6 – 7(6), 6 – 7(7) after Venus led 5 – 3 in both sets. Serena went on to win the title beating World No. 6 Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
in the semi-finals and World No. 2 Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
in the finals.
At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is a tennis tournament held in Stuttgart, Germany . Held since 1978, the tournament is the oldest women's indoor tournament in Europe. Currently it is a Tier II tournament on the WTA Tour. The singles champion also receives a Porsche 911 Carrera sports car in addition...
in Stuttgart, Germany
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
in October, Williams defeated a player ranked in the top three for the first time that season by defeating World No. 3 Dinara Safina
Dinara Safina
Dinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
to reach her third semifinal of the year. There, she lost to Janković. A fortnight later, Williams won the Zurich Open
Zurich Open
The Zurich Open was a WTA Tour affiliated professional tennis tournament for women, formerly held every winter in Zurich, Switzerland. It was classified on the WTA Tour as a Tier I tournament from 1993 until 2007. In its final year, 2008, it was downgraded to a Tier II event.The Open was held at...
, defeating Ivanović in the semifinals before defeating Pennetta in the final to claim her second title of the year and secure a position in the year-ending 2008 WTA Tour Championships
2008 WTA Tour Championships
The 2008 WTA Tour Championships was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the year-end singles championships, the 33rd edition of the year-end doubles championships, and is part of the 2008 WTA Tour...
in Doha, Qatar
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
. There, Williams defeated World No. 2 Safina, World No. 3 Serena and World No. 5 Dementieva in the preliminary round-robin stage. In the semifinals, Williams defeated World No. 1 Janković before winning the year-ending tournament for the first time by defeating Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
in the final. She ended the year ranked sixth in the world with three titles and a winning percentage of 78 percent.
As the sixth seed at the 2009 Australian Open
2009 Australian Open
The 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 January through 1 February 2009. The 2009 men's...
, Williams lost in the second round to Carla Suárez Navarro
Carla Suarez Navarro
Carla Suárez Navarro is a Spanish tennis player. She began playing for Spain in the 2008 Fed Cup. On May 18, 2009, she reached her career high ranking at World No. 22.-2008:...
after holding a match point in the third set. However, she teamed up with Serena to win the women's doubles title at the event, their eighth Grand Slam doubles title together. Venus rebounded in singles play in February at the Premier 5 (formerly Tier I) Dubai Tennis Championships
Dubai Tennis Championships
The Dubai Tennis Championships is a professional tennis tournament owned and organized by Dubai Duty Free and held annually in Dubai, United Arab...
, defeating defending champion and World No. 4 Dementieva in the quarterfinals and World No. 1 Serena in the semifinals on a third set tiebreak. The latter win meant that Venus led the head-to-head in career matches with her sister for the first time since 2002. Venus went on to defeat Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano
Virginie Razzano , is a French professional tennis player and the current French No. 4. Razzano, who was born in Dijon, has won two WTA singles titles, both in 2007 in Guangzhou and Tokyo. Razzano reached her career high ranking of World No. 16 on September 14, 2009. As of May 2011, she is ranked...
in the final. This win meant Williams was ranked in the top five for the first time since 2003, while it also marked her 40th professional singles title, only the twelfth player in the open era to achieve the feat. Williams won another title the following week at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel
Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The Abierto Mexicano Telcel is a tennis tournament held in Acapulco, Mexico. It is an event on both the ATP Tour and the WTA Tour...
in Acapulco, Mexico, defeating Pennetta in the final. This was her first title on clay since 2005.
On European clay, Williams reached the semifinals in Rome before losing to World No. 1 Safina. This run meant Williams was ranked in the top three for the first time since 2003. Seeded third at the French Open
2009 French Open – Women's Singles
Ana Ivanović was the defending champion, but lost in the fourth round to Victoria Azarenka.Svetlana Kuznetsova won in the final 6–4, 6–2, against Dinara Safina in 74 minutes. It was the third all-Russian final in Grand Slam history, and the first since 2004...
, Williams lost to Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay
Ágnes Szávay is a professional tennis player from Hungary. She is the country's highest ranked tennis player. She was the WTA Newcomer of the Year in 2007. She achieved her career high ranking of World No. 13 on April 14, 2008.- Background :...
in the third round, the third consecutive year she had exited at that stage.
Williams was seeded third at Wimbledon. She advanced to her eighth Wimbledon final where she had won 36 straight sets (held since Wimbledon 2007). In the final however she lost the first set tie break and from then on lost 7–6 6–2 to sister Serena. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the doubles title at the tournament for the fourth time.
In Stanford
2009 Bank of the West Classic
The 2009 Bank of the West Classic was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 38th edition of the Bank of the West Classic, and was part of the WTA Premier tournaments of the 2009 WTA Tour. It took place at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, California, United States, from...
, Williams defeated Maria Sharapova
Maria Sharapova
Maria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
and Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
to advance to the finals, where she would lose to Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
. Teaming with her sister, she played doubles and won the title, defeating Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu
Monica Niculescu is a Romanian tennis player. As of October 24, 2011 she is ranked No. 29 at the WTA Tour Singles Ranking. Her highest WTA ranking is currently her present ranking in singles, reached on 24 Oct 2011, and No. 24 in doubles, reached on June 7, 2010.Niculescu was born in Slatina,...
and Yung-Jan Chan.
At the 2009 US Open
2009 US Open (tennis)
The 2009 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 31 to September 14, 2009 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, New York City, United States. Originally, it was scheduled to end with the mens' singles final match on Sunday,...
, as the third seed, Williams made it to the fourth round before losing to Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
in three sets. Venus then teamed up with Serena to play doubles at the open, where they won the title over defending champions and world No. 1s in doubles, Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
, claiming their third grand slam doubles title in 2009.
Williams' last tournament in 2009 was the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships
2009 WTA Tour Championships
The 2009 WTA Tour Championships was held in Doha, Qatar from October 27 to November 1. It was the second time the Khalifa International Tennis Complex hosted the WTA Tour Year-End Singles and Doubles Championships.Women's Tennis Association rank No...
, where she was the defending champion in singles. She was in the maroon group which includes her sister Serena, along with Elena Dementieva
Elena Dementieva
Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva is a retired Russian professional tennis player. Dementieva is most notable for winning the singles gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She won 16 WTA singles titles and reached the finals of the 2004 French Open and 2004 US Open. Dementieva achieved a...
and Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
. She lost her first match against Dementieva, and her second match against Serena- both in straight sets, after taking the first set. In her third and final RR match, Williams defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Kuznetsova
Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kuznetsova ; born June 27, 1985) is a Russian professional tennis player and as of October 10, 2011 ranked No. 21 in the WTA singles and No. 90 in the doubles ranking. Kuznetsova has appeared in four singles Grand Slam finals, winning two, and has also appeared in six doubles...
. Because of Dementieva's loss to Kuznetsova in their round robin match, Venus advanced to the semifinal of the championships. In her semifinal match, she defeated Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
of Serbia to advance to her second consecutive final in the tournament. In the final, she lost to her sister Serena. In doubles, Venus teamed with Serena as the second seed. However, they lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives
Nuria Llagostera Vives is a Spanish female tennis player. On June 6, 2005, Llagostera Vives reached her career-high singles ranking, World No. 35.During her career she has won 2 singles titles and 11 in doubles...
and María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
in the semifinal. Their doubles record at the end of the year stood at 24–2.
Venus finished 2009 ranked world number 6 in singles (with a winning percentage of 70 percent) and world number 3 in doubles with Serena, in spite of playing only 6 events together in 2009.
2010: Return to top 2
Williams played at the Australian Open2010 Australian Open
The 2010 Australian Open was a tennis tournament that took place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 18 to 31 January. It was the 98th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year....
as the sixth seed. She defeated 17th-seeded Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone
Francesca Schiavone is an Italian tennis player who turned professional in 1998. She won the 2010 French Open singles title, becoming the first Italian woman to win a Grand Slam event in singles. She was also runner-up at the 2011 French Open. As of 24 October 2011, Schiavone's ranking is World...
in the fourth round. She was two points from defeating 16th-seeded Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
in the quarterfinals before losing in three sets. In doubles, she teamed with her sister Serena to successfully defend their title, defeating the top ranked team of Cara Black
Cara Black
Cara Black is a professional female tennis player from Zimbabwe. She has won 7 singles titles and 63 women's doubles titles. She has won all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles. She is currently ranked World No. 28 in women's doubles...
and Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber
Liezel Huber is a professional tennis player who competes for, resides in, and is a naturalized citizen of the United States. Huber has won four Grand Slam titles in women's doubles with partner Cara Black, one with Lisa Raymond, and two mixed doubles titles with Bob Bryan. On November 12, 2007,...
in the final. The Williams sisters are undefeated in Grand Slam women's doubles finals and are 4–0 in Australian Open doubles finals.
Williams then played the Dubai Tennis Championships
2010 Dubai Tennis Championships
The 2010 Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships was a 500 Series event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2010 WTA Tour. Both of the events took place at The Aviation Club Tennis Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates...
, where she was the defending champion. Seeded third, she successfully defended her title by defeating fourth-seeded Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka
Victoria Azarenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. Her career high and current ranking is world no. 3, which she first achieved on 12 September 2011. She became the highest-ranked Belarusian player ever, surpassing Natasha Zvereva by two spots....
in the final.
Williams next played on clay at the Abierto Mexico Telcel
2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel
The 2010 Abierto Mexicano Telcel was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 17th edition of the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, and was part of the 500 series of the 2010 ATP World Tour, and was in the International category of tournaments on the 2010 WTA Tour...
in Acapulco where she was the defending champion. She reached the semifinals after recovering from a 1–5 third set deficit to Laura Pous Tió
Laura Pous Tio
Laura Pous Tio is a professional female tennis player from Spain. She won the gold medal at the 2005 Mediterranean Games by defeating compatriot Nuria Llagostera Vives. Pous Tio reached her career high of No. 73 on the WTA tour in July 2011.-Grand Slam Singles performance timeline:-External links:...
in the quarterfinals. In the final, she defeated first-time finalist Polona Hercog
Polona Hercog
Polona Hercog is a Slovenian tennis player. Her highest ranking is No. 35 in singles and No. 56 in doubles. Hercog has won two WTA Tour doubles title and one singles title. She also enjoyed success on the ITF Circuit, winning nine singles and five doubles titles...
from Slovenia. This was her 43rd career title, the most among active female players.
Her next tournament was the Premier Mandatory Sony Ericsson Open
2010 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2010 Sony Ericsson Open , was a tennis tournament for men and women held from March 22 to April 4, 2010. It was the 26th edition of the Miami Masters event and is played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Florida, located near Miami...
in Key Biscayne, where she was seeded third. She defeated World No. 9 Agnieszka Radwańska
Agnieszka Radwanska
Agnieszka Radwańska is a WTA Tour Polish tennis player.Her career high singles ranking is World No. 8, which she achieved on 22 February 2010. As of 24 October 2011, she is ranked World No. 8. In 2007, Radwańska became the first Polish player in history to claim a WTA Tour singles title when she...
in the quarterfinals and World No. 13 Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli
Marion Bartoli is a French professional tennis player and the current French no. 1. She has won seven Women's Tennis Association singles titles and three doubles titles. She was also a runner-up at the 2007 Wimbledon Championships....
in the semifinals to reach her third straight WTA tour final and fourth Sony Ericsson Open final. She was defeated by Kim Clijsters
Kim Clijsters
Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian professional tennis player. As of 7 November 2011, Clijsters is ranked No. 13 in singles. Clijsters is a former World No. 1 in both singles and doubles....
in the final in just 58 minutes, ending her 15-match winning streak. By reaching the final, her ranking improved to World No. 4 and she crossed the $26 million mark in career prize money, the only player besides Serena to do so.
The knee injury that hampered her during the final of the Sony Ericsson Open forced her to skip the Fed Cup
Fed Cup
Fed Cup is the premier team competition in women's tennis, launched in 1963 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the International Tennis Federation...
tie against Russia and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix
The 2010 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix was a tennis tournament played on indoor clay courts. It was the 33rd edition of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, and was part of the Premier tournaments of the 2010 WTA Tour. It took place at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany, from April 24 through May 2, 2010...
in Stuttgart. Williams returned to the tour at the Premier 5 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 67th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2010 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2010 WTA Tour...
in Rome. She suffered the worst defeat of her career in the quarterfinals, losing to World No. 4 Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković
Jelena Janković is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player from Serbia. She reached the final of the 2008 US Open and won the 2007 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles title. Janković is ranked world no...
6–0, 6–1. Despite this loss, Williams' ranking improved to World No. 3 on May 10.
Her next tournament was the Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open
2010 Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open
The 2010 Madrid Masters was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from May 7 – May 16. It was the 9th edition of the event on the ATP and 2nd on the WTA...
, a Premier Mandatory tournament. She lost to Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï
Aravane Rezaï is an Iranian-French tennis player born in Saint-Étienne, France to Iranian parents. She is the current French No. 5 in women's tennis. Rezaï took up tennis after a childhood stint as her older brother's ball girl...
in the final. In doubles, she teamed with Serena to win the title.
On May 17, her ranking improved to World No. 2, behind only Serena. This was the fourth time that the William sisters' have occupied the top two spots, and the first time since May 2003.
Her next tournament was the French Open
2010 French Open
The 2010 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 109th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, where she played both singles and doubles despite her knee injury. Seeded second in singles, she advanced past the third round at this tournament for the first time since 2006 before losing to Nadia Petrova
Nadia Petrova
Nadezhda Viktorovna Petrova is a Russian professional tennis player.Overall, she has won 28 WTA Titles, ten in singles and eighteen in doubles. In singles, Petrova has reached a career high ranking of World No. 3 in May 2006 and has reached the semi-finals of the French Open in 2003 and 2005...
in the round of 16. She also played doubles with Serena as the top seeds. Their defeat of Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues
Anabel Medina Garrigues
Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues , better known as Anabel Medina, is a Spanish female tennis player. She reached a career high WTA Tour ranking of No. 16 on 4 May 2009, and has won 11 singles titles and 14 doubles titles, including the 2008 French Open and 2009 French Open with Virginia Ruano Pascual...
in the semifinals increased their doubles ranking to World No. 1. They then defeated 12th seeded Květa Peschke
Kveta Peschke
Květoslava Peschke, also known as Květa Peschkeová is a professional female tennis player from the Czech Republic. She plays mostly on the baseline, with her best shot being the forehand. Her favourite surfaces are hard court and carpet...
and Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik
Katarina Srebotnik is a Slovenian professional tennis player. Srebotnik is right-handed, 1.80 m, weighs 65 kg and lives in Dubai. She reached a career-high ranking of No. 20 on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour on August 7, 2006.Srebotnik won 4 singles titles on the WTA-tour and was a steady top 30...
in the final to win their fourth consecutive Grand Slam women's doubles title.
Her next tournament was the Wimbledon Championships
2010 Wimbledon Championships
The 2010 Wimbledon Championships took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament ran from Monday 21 June until Sunday 4 July 2010. It was the 124th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand...
, where she had reached the final the previous three years. Despite her knee injury, she made it to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova is a female Bulgarian tennis player. She was born and lives in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Pironkova is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand....
. Pironkova was ranked 82nd in the world and had never gone past the second round of a Grand Slam event. As a result, Williams dropped to #4 in the world. She was the defending champion in doubles with her sister Serena, having won the tournament in the previous two years. However, they lost this time in the quarterfinals to Elena Vesnina
Elena Vesnina
Elena Sergeevna Vesnina is a professional female tennis player from Russia. Her career high rank was #22, achieved on 12 October 2009...
and Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
.
Williams then missed all tournaments in the US Open Series
2010 US Open Series
The seventh edition of the US Open Series , includes ten hard court tournaments that started on July 19, 2010 in Atlanta and will end in New Haven, Connecticut on August 29, 2010...
because of a left knee injury but still participated at the US Open
2010 US Open (tennis)
The 2010 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts, held from August 30 to September 13, 2010 in the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City, United States....
as the third seed. She won three matches to move into the fourth round. Williams became one of only two women in 2010 (along with Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki
Caroline Wozniacki is a Danish professional tennis player. She is the current world no. 1 on the WTA Tour. As of 7 November 2011, she has held this position for 56 weeks...
) to reach at least the fourth round at all four Grand Slam singles tournaments. Williams then defeated Pe'er and French Open champion Schiavone en route to her seventh US Open semifinal, against defending champion Clijsters. Williams dominated the first set of their match and recovered from 5–2 down in the second set but ultimately double-faulted on a key point near the end of the match and lost 4–6, 7–6, 6–4. Because of Serena's withdrawal from the US Open, Venus did not participate at the doubles event where she was the defending champion.
The recovery of her left knee took longer than expected and it forced her to miss the rest of 2010, including the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships
2010 WTA Tour Championships
The 2010 WTA Tour Championships was held in Doha, Qatar from October 26 to October 31. It was the third and final time that the Khalifa International Tennis Complex hosted the WTA Tour Year-End Singles and Doubles Championships. In 2011 the competition will move to Istanbul, Turkey.Serena Williams...
and Fed Cup final
2010 Fed Cup
The 2010 Fed Cup was the 48th edition of the tournament between national teams in women's tennis. The final took place on 6–7 November in San Diego, United States. Italy successfully defended their title, in a rematch of the 2009 final against the United States...
. Williams ended the year ranked fifth in singles, the first time she ended a year in the top five since 2002, while playing only nine tournaments. She finished the year ranked eleventh in doubles.
2011 – Injuries and Illness
Williams started 2011 by participating at the Hong Kong Tennis ClassicHong Kong Tennis Classic
The Hong Kong Tennis Classic is a women's exhibition tennis tournament held in Victoria Park, Hong Kong, in the first week of January...
. She lost both her singles matches against Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva
Vera Zvonareva is a professional tennis player from Russia. She was introduced to tennis at the age of six and turned professional in 2000. Her career high is World No. 2 by the WTA, and she is currently ranked as the World No. 7. Zvonarёva has won twelve WTA Tour singles titles and reached the...
and Li Na
Li Na (tennis)
Li Na , goes first before the equivalent of a first name in some other nations. Her name off court in China is Li Na. When listed on the , she is known as Na Li. However, in the match, the commentators call her Li Na, and when her full name is listed in text on court, it is also written as Li Na.;...
, but she managed to help Team America to win the silver group. Her next tournament was the 2011 Australian Open
2011 Australian Open
The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players were held...
where she was the fourth seed. She retired in the second game of her third round match against the 30th seed Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic
Andrea Petkovic is a professional German tennis player of Serbian origin. She is the highest ranked German tennis player. She lives in Griesheim near Darmstadt, Germany....
due to a hip muscle injury. This was Williams' first retirement during a match in a Grand Slam tournament since 1994 and thus ended her record of most Grand Slam matches without ever retiring, with 250 consecutive matches. This was also her first retirement from a match since LA Women's Tennis Championships in Los Angeles in 2004, ending her 294 consecutive matches without retiring.
The injury forced Williams to pull out of the Fed Cup quarterfinal against Belgium, the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the Abierto Mexicano Telcel, where she was the two-time defending champion in both tournaments. She also pulled out of the Sony Ericsson Open
2011 Sony Ericsson Open
The 2011 Sony Ericsson Open , a men's and women's tennis tournament, was held from March 21 to April 3, 2011. It was the 27th edition of the Miami Masters event and played on outdoor hard courts at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami...
in Miami causing her ranking to drop to world no. 15. Further, she missed Madrid
2011 Mutua Madrid Open
The 2011 Madrid Masters was played on outdoor clay courts at the Park Manzanares in Madrid, Spain from April 30 – May 8. It was the 10th edition of the event on the ATP and 3rd on the WTA...
and Rome
2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia
The 2011 Internazionali BNL d'Italia was a tennis tournament, being played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 68th edition of the event and was classified as an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event on the 2011 ATP World Tour and a Premier 5 event on the 2011 WTA Tour...
. This caused her rankings to drop to world no. 29. Originally scheduled to come back in Brussels, she eventually withdrew from the Premier tournament. Further, she also missed Roland Garros
2011 French Open
The 2011 French Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 110th edition of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam event of the year...
, marking the first Grand Slam tournament since 2003 US Open where neither of the Williams sisters are competing.
Williams then made her first appearance since the Australian Open in Eastbourne
2011 AEGON International
The 2011 AEGON International was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts. It was the 36th edition of the event for the women and the 3rd edition for the men. It was classified as a WTA Premier tournament on the 2011 WTA Tour and as an ATP World Tour 250 series...
. Unseeded, she lost for the first time in eleven meetings to Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová
Daniela Hantuchová is a Slovak professional tennis player. She turned professional in 1999 and had her breakthrough year in 2002, when she won her first Tier I tournament and ended the year in the top 10.She is currently coached by Larri Passos...
in the quarterfinals by 2–6, 7–5, 2–6. She was seeded 23rd at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships
2011 Wimbledon Championships
The 2011 Wimbledon Championships took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, England, from 20 June to 3 July 2011. It was the 125th edition of the championships, and the third Grand Slam tournament of the year. It was played on grass courts and was part of the...
. She played for nearly three hours in her second round match against Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, winning 6–7(6), 6–3, 8–6. She then defeated Spaniard María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez
María José Martínez Sánchez is a Spanish professional tennis player. In singles, she has won five WTA singles titles, the 2009 Copa Sony Ericsson Colsanitas, the 2009 Swedish Open, the Premier 5 event, 2010 Internazionali BNL d'Italia, the 2011 Gastein Ladies and the 2011 Hansol Korea Open. She...
in the third round, 6–0, 6–2, but was defeated by Bulgarian 32nd seed Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Pironkova
Tsvetana Kirilova Pironkova is a female Bulgarian tennis player. She was born and lives in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Pironkova is right-handed and plays with a two-handed backhand....
in the fourth round 2–6, 3–6.
Originally scheduled to participate in Toronto
2011 Rogers Cup
The 2011 Canada Masters was a tennis tournament to be played on outdoor hard courts in Canada. It was the 122nd edition of the Canada Masters, and was part of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 of the 2011 ATP World Tour, and of the Premier Series of the 2011 WTA Tour...
and Cincinnati
2011 Western & Southern Open
The 2011 Cincinnati Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, near Cincinnati, United States. The tournament was a joint men's and women's event, with six new courts being built for the tournament...
, Williams withdrew due to viral illness. Her next scheduled tournament was the US Open
2011 US Open (tennis)
The 2011 US Open was a tennis tournament played on the outdoor hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Park, of Queens, New York City, United States...
. As an unseeded player, Williams defeated Vesna Dolonts 6–4 6–3 in the first round. She was scheduled to meet 22nd seed Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki
Sabine Lisicki is a German professional tennis player of Polish background.Lisicki has won three WTA singles tournaments in her career and one doubles tournament . She reached the semifinals of the 2011 Wimbledon Championships and also reached the quarterfinals of the 2009 Wimbledon Championships...
in the second round, but withdrew before the match began due to Sjögren's syndrome
Sjögren's syndrome
Sjögren's syndrome , also known as "Mikulicz disease" and "Sicca syndrome", is a systemic autoimmune disease in which immune cells attack and destroy the exocrine glands that produce tears and saliva....
, an autoimmune disease
Autoimmune disease
Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells. The immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it. This may be restricted to...
with which she was recently diagnosed. This marked the first time in her career that she did not reach the quarterfinals or better in any of the grandslam tournaments in a season. As a result, her ranking dropped to world no. 105.
Williams did not play for the rest of the year. She will end the year ranked outside of the world top 100 for the first time since 1997.
2012 : Comeback to WTA Tour
Williams is planning to come back to the WTA Tour in 20122012 WTA Tour
The WTA Tour is the elite tour for women's professional tennis organized by the Women's Tennis Association . The 2012 WTA Tour includes the Grand Slam tournaments , the WTA Premier tournaments, the WTA International tournaments, the Summer Olympics, the Fed Cup , the Commonwealth Bank Tournament of...
. She is scheduled to play in Auckland
2012 ASB Classic
The 2012 ASB Classic will be a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It is the 27th edition of the ASB Classic, and is part of the WTA International tournaments of the 2012 WTA Tour...
as her preparation before the Australian Open
2012 Australian Open
The 2012 Australian Open is a tennis tournament that will take place in Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia from January 16 to January 29, 2012...
.
Sister, Serena Williams
In professional women's tennis, Venus has played her sister Serena 23 times, accumulating a 10–13 record in the series. They are the only women during the open era to have played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals. They have met in a total of eight Grand Slam finals, ahead of the number of finals played by Steffi GrafSteffi Graf
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
and Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
Aránzazu 'Arantxa' Isabel Maria Sánchez Vicario is a Spanish former professional tennis player...
and by Helen Wills Moody
Helen Wills Moody
Helen Newington Wills Roark , also known as Helen Wills Moody, was an American tennis player. She has been described as "the first American born woman to achieve international celebrity as an athlete."-Biography:...
and Helen Jacobs
Helen Jacobs
Helen Hull Jacobs was a World No. 1 American female tennis player who won ten Grand Slam titles. She was born in Globe, Arizona, United States.- Tennis career :...
but behind the record of fourteen finals set by Chris Evert
Chris Evert
Christine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No...
and Martina Navrátilová. Currently Venus has 43 career tennis titles, Serena has 39. Serena has 13 slams and Venus has 7.
Fight for equal prize money
Despite years of protesting by tennis pioneer Billie Jean KingBillie Jean King
Billie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
and others, in 2005 the French Open and Wimbledon still refused to pay women's and men's players equally through all rounds. In 2005, Williams met with officials from both tournaments, arguing that female tennis players should be paid as much as males. Although WTA tour President Larry Scott
Larry Scott (sports administrator)
Larry Scott is an American sports administrator and former professional tennis player who is currently the Commissioner of the collegiate Pacific-12 Conference...
commented that she left "a very meaningful impression", Williams's demands were rejected.
The turning point was an essay published in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
on the eve of Wimbledon in 2006. In it, Williams accused Wimbledon of being on the "wrong side of history", writing:
In response, British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and members of Parliament publicly endorsed Williams's arguments. Later that year, the Women's Tennis Association and UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
teamed for a campaign to promote gender equality in sports, asking Williams to lead the campaign. Under enormous pressure, Wimbledon announced in February 2007 that it would award equal prize money to all competitors in all rounds, and the French Open followed suit a day later. In the aftermath, the Chicago Sun-Times cited Williams as "the single factor" that "changed the minds of the boys" and a leader whose "willingness to take a public stand separates her not only from most of her female peers, but also from our most celebrated male athletes." Williams herself commented, "Somewhere in the world a little girl is dreaming of holding a giant trophy in her hands and being viewed as an equal to boys who have similar dreams."
Venus herself became the first woman to benefit from the equalization of prize money at Wimbledon, as she won the 2007 tournament and was awarded the same amount as the male winner Roger Federer
Roger Federer
Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
.
Personal life
On December 13, 2007, Williams received her associate degree in Fashion Design from the Art Institute of Fort LauderdaleThe Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale is a private, coeducational applied-arts college located in southeast urban Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Founded in 1968 by the late Mark K. Wheeler, it is the second Art Institute of a current 50 to be established in North America...
with Cum Laude honors and a 3.5 GPA.
Beginning the fall 2011 semester, William's began pursuing a bachelor's degree in the school of business through an online degree program at Indiana University East in Richmond, Indiana. Her ultimate goal is to get an MBA in the near future.
Williams's longtime boyfriend, pro golfer Hank Kuehne
Hank Kuehne
Henry August "Hank" Kuehne II is an American former U.S. Amateur champion and professional golfer who enjoyed some success on the PGA Tour....
, has been a visible presence since Wimbledon 2007
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
, holding her hand during long rain delays and clapping support from the players' box along with her parents and younger sister Serena. "He's a great guy", Williams said. "He understands competition. He's very supportive. I love having him here and everyone else in the box, too." After rumors of engagement, the couple broke up.
In 2003, Venus and Serena Williams's older sister Yetunde Price
Yetunde Price
Yetunde Hawanya Tara Price was the elder half-sister and personal assistant to leading tennis players Venus Williams and Serena Williams. At the time of her death, she was 31 years old, the eldest of their mother Oracene Price's five daughters and mother of three children, a registered nurse and...
, 31, was shot dead in Compton, California
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. The city of Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city to incorporate. The city is considered part of the South side by residents of Los...
near the courts on which the sisters once practiced. Price was the Williams sisters' personal assistant. The Williams family issued this statement shortly after the death: "We are extremely shocked, saddened and devastated by the shooting death of our beloved Yetunde. She was our nucleus and our rock. She was a personal assistant, confidante, and adviser to her sisters, and her death leaves a void that can never be filled. Our grief is overwhelming, and this is the saddest day of our lives."
Williams said her family's faith as Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
has helped her tremendously.
In 2011, Williams was forced to withdraw from the US Open before her second-round match, following a Sjögren's syndrome
Sjögren's syndrome
Sjögren's syndrome , also known as "Mikulicz disease" and "Sicca syndrome", is a systemic autoimmune disease in which immune cells attack and destroy the exocrine glands that produce tears and saliva....
diagnosis.
Entrepreneur
Williams is the chief executive officer of her interior design firm "V Starr Interiors" located in Jupiter, FloridaJupiter, Florida
Jupiter is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,328. The estimate population for 2009 is 50,606. As of 2006, the population had grown to 50,028, according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research....
. Williams's company designed the set of the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, the Olympic athletes' apartments as part of New York City's failed bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games, and residences and businesses in the Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
area.
In 2001, Williams was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by the Ladies Home Journal.
In 2007, Williams teamed with retailer Steve & Barry's
Steve & Barry's
Steve & Barry's was an American retail clothing chain, featuring casual apparel. By mid-2008, the chain operated 276 stores in 39 states. The company was headquartered in Port Washington, New York. The company liquidated all of its stores throughout 2008....
to launch her own fashion line EleVen
Eleven
Eleven can refer to:*The year 11*The year 11 BC*11 *The month of November-Writing:*Eleven , a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn*Eleven, a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith...
. "I love fashion and the idea that I am using my design education to actually create clothing and footwear that I will wear on and off the tennis court is a dream come true for me. The vision has been to create a collection that will allow women to enjoy an active lifestyle while remaining fashionable at the same time. I'm thrilled with everything we've created to launch EleVen."
In June 2009, Venus was named 77th in the Top 100 Most Powerful Celebrities
Celebrity 100
The Celebrity 100 is an annual list compiled and published by Forbes magazine since 1999. The purpose is to list the 100 most powerful celebrities of the year...
compiled by Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine.
In August 2009, Venus Williams became part-owners of the Miami Dolphins
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
with sister Serena Williams. The announcement was made during a press conference overlooking the practice field. This made Venus and indeed her sister Serena the first African-American females to obtain ownership in an NFL franchise. 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."
In late June 2010, Venus Williams released her first book, entitled "Come to Win; on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession" which she co-wrote with Kelly E. Carter. In promotion of the book she embarked on a tour around America in support of the release, whilst also appearing on several talk shows including The Early Show
The Early Show
The Early Show is an American television morning news talk show broadcast by CBS from New York City. The program airs live from 7 to 9 a.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday; most affiliates in the Central, Mountain, and Pacific time zones air the show on tape-delay from 7 to 9 a.m. local time. ...
and Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
. This gave her a place on the top 5 The New York Times Best Seller List.
Recognition
In 2005 Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 25th-best player in 40 years in a controversial article. Since this ranking, however, she has won an additional three Grand Slam singles titles.In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
.
Equipment
- Coach: Richard Williams, Oracene Price
- Racquet: Wilson BLX Blade Team (104)
- Clothing: EleVen
- Shoes: Nike
Records and achievements
| Tournament Name | Years | Record accomplished | Player tied |
| Summer Olympics | 2000–08 | 3 tennis gold medals | Stands alone |
| Sony Ericsson Open | 1998–2002 | Most consecutive singles matches won at this tournament (22) | Steffi Graf Steffi Graf Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24... |
| Australian Open | 2003 | Fastest serve by a woman (125 mph) | Stands alone |
| Wimbledon | 2005 | Longest women's singles final | Lindsay Davenport Lindsay Davenport Lindsay Ann Davenport is a former World No. 1 American professional tennis player. She has won three Grand Slam singles tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in singles. In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her as the 29th-best player of the preceding forty years... |
| Wimbledon | 2007 | Lowest-ranked winner (31st) | Stands alone |
| Wimbledon | 2007 | Lowest-seeded winner (23rd) | Stands alone |
| US Open | 2007 | Fastest serve by a woman (129 mph) | Stands alone |
| Wimbledon | 2008 | Fastest serve by a woman (129 mph) | Stands alone |
| French Open | 2010 | Fastest serve by a woman (207 km/h/128.6 mph) | Stands alone |
| 1999 French Open – 2010 French Open | 1999–2010 | Longest streak of consecutive initial Grand Slam finals won (doubles) (12) | Serena Williams Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on... |
- In 1997, Williams became the first woman since Pam ShriverPam ShriverPamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...
in 1978 to reach the singles final of the US Open on her first attempt. - In 1997, Williams became the first unseeded singles finalist at the US Open.
- In 1997, the combined ages of Williams at age 17 and Martina HingisMartina HingisMartina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...
at age 16 in the US Open final were the lowest in the open era history of that tournament. - At 1999 IGA Classic in Oklahoma City marking the first time in tennis history that sisters won titles in the same week (Serena Williams won Paris).
- At the 1999 Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne became the first pair of sisters in the open era to meet in a tournament final (with Serena Williams).
- In 2000, Williams became the second African-American to win Wimbledon during the open era.
- At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Williams became only the second player to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games, after Helen Wills MoodyHelen Wills MoodyHelen Newington Wills Roark , also known as Helen Wills Moody, was an American tennis player. She has been described as "the first American born woman to achieve international celebrity as an athlete."-Biography:...
in 1924. - By winning the 2001 Australian Open doubles championship, Venus and Serena Williams became the fifth pair to complete a Career Doubles Grand Slam and the only pair to win a Career Doubles Golden Slam.
- The 2001 US Open marked the first time in the open era, and only the second time in 117 years, that sisters met in a Grand Slam singles final (with Serena Williams).
- In 2001, she became the third woman in the open era, after Navratilova and Graf, to win both Wimbledon and the US Open in consecutive years.
- In February 2002, she became the first African-American woman to become World No. 1 since the computer rankings began in 1975.
- In 2002 became the first ever siblings to rank Top 2 at same time with sister Serena.
- At Wimbledon in 2003, she reached her fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, which since the abolishment of the challenge round system is tied with Helen Wills MoodyHelen Wills MoodyHelen Newington Wills Roark , also known as Helen Wills Moody, was an American tennis player. She has been described as "the first American born woman to achieve international celebrity as an athlete."-Biography:...
for fourth behind Martina Navrátilová's nine, Billie Jean KingBillie Jean KingBillie Jean King is a former professional tennis player from the United States. She won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, 16 Grand Slam women's doubles titles, and 11 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles. King has been an advocate against sexism in sports and society...
's five, and Chris EvertChris EvertChristine Marie "Chris" Evert is a former world number 1 professional tennis player from the United States. She won 18 Grand Slam singles championships, including a record seven championships at the French Open and a record six championships at the U.S. Open. She was the year-ending World No...
's five. - Williams and Hingis hold the open era record for consecutive losses in Grand Slam singles finals (five).
- One of three women, the others being Navratilova and Steffi GrafSteffi GrafSteffi Graf is a former World No. 1 German tennis player.In total, Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, second among male and female players only to Margaret Court's 24...
, to win the Wimbledon singles title at least five times during the open era. - At Wimbledon in 2009, Williams defeated World No. 1 Dinara SafinaDinara SafinaDinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
in the semifinals 6–1, 6–0, which was the most one-sided women's semifinal at Wimbledon since 1969, when King defeated Rosemary CasalsRosemary CasalsRosemary "Rosie" Casals is a former American professional tennis player.Rosemary Casals earned her reputation as a rebel in the staid tennis world when she began competing in the early 1960s. During a tennis career that spanned more than two decades, she won more than 90 tournaments and worked for...
by the same score.
Awards
1995- Sports Image Foundation Award for conducting tennis clinics in low-income areas
1997
- WTA Newcomer of the Year
- September's Olympic Committee Female Athlete
1998
- Tennis Magazine's Most Improved Player
2000
- WTA Player of the Year
- WTA Doubles Team of the Year Award (with Serena Williams)
- Sports Illustrated for Women's Sportswoman of the Year
- Teen Choice Awards – Extraordinary Achievement Award
- Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.62)
- Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year for team sports (with Serena Williams)
2001
- Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award
- EMMA Best Sport Personality Award
- Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.57)
2002
- Best Female Athlete ESPY Award
- Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award
- Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.60)
2003
- 34th NAACP Image Awards' President's Award
- Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.65)
2004
- Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No.1)
- Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.77)
2005
- Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year Award
- Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.81)
- Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No.3)
2006
- Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award
- BET's Best Female Athlete of the Year
- Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No.1)
- Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.90)
2007
- Gitanjali Diamond Award
- Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No.3)
2008
- Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year Award
- Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No.3)
2009
- Anti-Defamation League Americanism Award
- Whirlpool 6th Sense Player of the Year Award
- ITF Women's Doubles World Champion (with Serena Williams)
- WTA Doubles Team of the Year Award (with Serena Williams)
- WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year Award (with Serena Williams)
- Doha 21st Century Leaders Awards – Outstanding Leadership
- Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.77)
- Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No.2)
2010
- Caesars Tennis Classic Achievement Award
- Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.83)
- YWCA GLA Phenomenal Woman of the Year Award
- WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year Award (with Serena Williams)
- Forbes 30 Utterly Inspiring Role Models
- Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women in the World (No.60)
- Harris Poll Top 10 Favorite Female Sports Star (No.2)
2011
- Forbes The Celebrity 100 (No.86)
- TIME Magazine 30 Legends of Women's Tennis
- Forbes Most Powerful Black Women In The U.S. (No.10)
See also
- Davenport – V. Williams rivalry
- Hingis – V. Williams rivalry
- Williams sisters rivalryWilliams Sisters rivalryVenus Williams and Serena Williams are professional tennis players and sisters who have played numerous times in Grand Slam finals. The current head to head record between the two is 13-10, in Serena's favor...
- List of Grand Slam women's singles champions
- List of Grand Slam women's doubles champions
- List of Grand Slam mixed doubles champions