Serena Williams facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Serena Williams

Williams at the 2013 US Open
Full name	Serena Jameka Williams
Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Born	(1981-09-26) September 26, 1981 (age 43) Saginaw, Michigan, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Turned pro	October 1995
Retired	September 2022
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$94,816,730 1st in all-time rankings
Singles
Career record	858–156 (84.62%)
Career titles	73 (5th in overall rankings)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (July 8, 2002)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	W (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2017)
French Open	W (2002, 2013, 2015)
Wimbledon	W (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016)
US Open	W (1999, 2002, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2014)
Other tournaments
Grand Slam Cup	W (1999)
Tour Finals	W (2001, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014)
Olympic Games	W (2012)
Doubles
Career record	192–35 (84.58%)
Career titles	23
Highest ranking	No. 1 (June 21, 2010)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (2001, 2003, 2009, 2010)
French Open	W (1999, 2010)
Wimbledon	W (2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2016)
US Open	W (1999, 2009)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	SF (2009)
Olympic Games	W (2000, 2008, 2012)
Mixed doubles
Career record	27–4 (87.1%)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	F (1999)
French Open	F (1998)
Wimbledon	W (1998)
US Open	W (1998)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	W (1999), record 17–3
Hopman Cup	W (2003, 2008)
Signature
Medal record Women's tennis Representing  United States Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney Doubles Gold 2008 Beijing Doubles Gold 2012 London Singles Gold 2012 London Doubles

Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. Many people think she is one of the greatest tennis players ever. She was ranked the world No. 1 in women's singles for 319 weeks. This included 186 weeks in a row, which is a record. She also finished as the year-end No. 1 five times. Serena won 73 singles titles in the WTA Tour. This includes 23 major singles titles, which is the most in the Open Era of tennis. She is the only player to win a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles. This means she won all four major tournaments and an Olympic gold medal in both types of play.

Serena Williams' Early Life

Serena Williams was born on September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan. Her parents are Oracene Price and Richard Williams. She has an older sister, Venus, who is also a famous tennis player.

When Serena and Venus were young, their family moved to Compton, California. Serena started playing tennis when she was just four years old. Her parents were her first coaches.

The Williams sisters at a Pam Shriver event in Baltimore, 1993

When Serena was nine, her family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. This was so she could go to a special tennis academy. In 1995, her father decided to coach his daughters himself at home.

Serena Williams' Amazing Career

Serena became a professional tennis player in 1995. She won her first big singles title at the 1999 U.S. Open. After that, she won many more tournaments. She also won four Olympic gold medals. Three of her gold medals were in women's doubles with her sister Venus. This is a record they share.

Serena has won the most major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles combined among active players. She has 39 titles in total: 23 in singles, 14 in women's doubles (all with Venus), and two in mixed doubles. She was the first tennis player to achieve a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.

Williams at the 2018 French Open, her first Grand Slam after returning to the tour

On September 1, 2017, Serena gave birth to her daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, Jr., often called "Olympia."

She played her first match after giving birth on December 30, 2017. It took some time for her to get back to her top form. She started playing better in 2018. In 2020, she won her first singles title as a mother. However, in 2021, she faced more injuries and had to withdraw from some tournaments.

Retirement from Tennis

In August 2022, Serena Williams announced her plans to stop playing tennis after the U.S. Open. She said she wanted to focus on her growing family and other business interests. Many other tennis players, like Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff, praised Serena. They said they would not be playing tennis if it weren't for her.

Serena Williams' Earnings

Serena is the highest-earning woman athlete of all time. In 2016, she was the world's highest-paid woman athlete, earning almost $29 million. She was again the highest-paid in 2017, earning $27 million. In 2021, she was ranked 28th on Forbes list of the world's highest-paid athletes.

Serena Williams' Playing Style

Many people think Serena's serve is the best in women's tennis history. It is known for being very fast and accurate. She can toss the ball in a way that makes it hard for her opponents to guess where she will serve.

Williams is also famous for her powerful groundstrokes. These are considered some of the strongest shots ever in women's tennis.

Even though Serena plays very aggressively, she is also a great defender. She can move quickly around the court. People have often praised her strong mental game and competitive spirit.

Serena Williams' Legacy

Serena Williams is seen as one of the greatest female tennis players ever. Along with her sister Venus, she has helped make the sport of tennis more diverse.

In March 2019, the players of the United States women's national soccer team wore jerseys with the names of women they admired. Crystal Dunn chose Serena Williams' name.

In December 2019, The Associated Press named Williams the Female Athlete of the Decade for the 2010s.

In September 2022, Twitter announced that Serena Williams was the most tweeted-about female athlete ever.

Serena Williams' Personal Life

Williams's husband Alexis Ohanian in 2018

Serena Williams is married to Alexis Ohanian, who helped start Reddit. He asked her to marry him on December 10, 2016, in Rome. They got married on November 16, 2017, in New Orleans.

On September 1, 2017, Serena gave birth to her first daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. In August 2023, she had her second daughter, Adira River Ohanian.

Serena was raised as a Jehovah's Witness. She has said that she has "never really practiced it."

Serena Williams' Off-Court Activities

Equipment and Endorsements

Serena has had many endorsement deals. This means companies pay her to wear their products or promote their business. Some of these companies include Puma, Nike, Wilson, Gatorade, and Pepsi.

Fashion

Williams is known for her unique and colorful outfits on the tennis court. She has had special clothing lines with Puma and Nike. Since 2004, she has had her own clothing line called "Aneres." This is her first name spelled backward. In 2009, she started selling handbags and jewelry. In 2019, she joined the board of directors for the online fashion marketplace Poshmark. Later that year, she launched her sustainable clothing line, "S by Serena."

Activism

Williams has become more involved in social change. She uses social media to share her thoughts. In 2016, she showed her support for Black Lives Matter on her Facebook page.

In 2014, she started her own company called "Serena Ventures." This company focuses on equity.

Even though she is the highest-paid woman athlete, Serena Williams wrote an open letter in Porter Magazine in 2016. In it, she talked about gender equality and the challenges she faced as a woman in tennis.

Entertainment

Williams has appeared in TV shows and movies. She has also done voice work for animated shows. She was in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 2003 and 2004. In 2021, Williams signed a deal with Amazon Studios to create new projects.

Language Skills

Besides English, her native language, Serena also speaks French. She knows some Spanish and Italian too. At the French Open in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2018, she gave her interviews on court in French. The crowd loved it!

Miami Dolphins Venture

In August 2009, Serena and her sister Venus bought a small part of the Miami Dolphins football team. This made them minority owners. They live close to each other in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, which is about an hour from the Dolphins' stadium. They are the first black women to own any part of an NFL team.

Charity Work

In 2004 and 2005, Serena and Venus visited hospitals. They also played tennis matches to raise money for Ronald McDonald House charities. They chose cities with mostly black residents. Williams has also helped with tennis clinics at schools and community centers. She especially helps programs for young people who are at risk. She supports First Serve Miami, a group that helps kids learn tennis if they cannot afford lessons.

Serena started the Serena Williams Foundation. This foundation has built schools in Matooni, Kenya and Trelawny Parish, Jamaica. It also gives college scholarships to students in the United States who need financial help.

In 2016, Serena and Venus started the Yetunde Price Resource Center in their childhood home of Compton, California. They named it after their late sister.

Writing

The Williams sisters, with author Hilary Beard, wrote a book together. It was called Venus & Serena: Serving From The Hip: 10 Rules For Living, Loving and Winning and came out in 2005. Serena also wrote her own book, an autobiography called On the Line, after the 2009 U.S. Open.

Soccer

On July 21, 2020, it was announced that Serena Williams was part of a group of investors. This group, mostly women, was given a new team in the National Women's Soccer League. Serena's husband, Alexis, is the only man in the ownership group. The team, Angel City Football Club, started playing in 2022.

Serena Williams' Famous Quotes

• "Everyone's dream can come true if you just stick to it and work hard."
• "I love who I am, and I encourage other people to love and embrace who they are."
• "I’ve grown most not from victories, but setbacks."

Interesting Facts About Serena Williams

• Serena Williams won the U.S. Open when she was only 17 years old.
• She studied fashion at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale from 2000 to 2003.
• Serena Williams holds the most combined major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.
• She won four Olympic gold medals: three in doubles tennis with her sister Venus and one in singles tennis.
• Serena Williams was the highest-paid female athlete in the world in 2016 and 2017.
• She played in 60 Grand Slam Tournaments during her career.
• She is the oldest female tennis player to reach the No.1 ranking. She was 35 years and 124 days old.
• Serena retired from tennis in September 2022.

Career Statistics

Grand Slam Tournament Performance

Current through the 2022 U.S. Open.

Note: Williams withdrew from the 2018 French Open before her fourth round match and the 2020 French Open before her second round match, both of which do not officially count as losses.

Grand Slam Tournament Finals

Singles Finals: 33 (23 Wins, 10 Losses)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponents	Score
Win	1999	US Open	Hard	Martina Hingis	6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Loss	2001	US Open	Hard	Venus Williams	2–6, 4–6
Win	2002	French Open	Clay	Venus Williams	7–5, 6–3
Win	2002	Wimbledon	Grass	Venus Williams	7–6(7–4), 6–3
Win	2002	US Open (2)	Hard	Venus Williams	6–4, 6–3
Win	2003	Australian Open	Hard	Venus Williams	7–6(7–4), 3–6, 6–4
Win	2003	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Venus Williams	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Loss	2004	Wimbledon	Grass	Maria Sharapova	1–6, 4–6
Win	2005	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Lindsay Davenport	2–6, 6–3, 6–0
Win	2007	Australian Open (3)	Hard	Maria Sharapova	6–1, 6–2
Loss	2008	Wimbledon	Grass	Venus Williams	5–7, 4–6
Win	2008	US Open (3)	Hard	Jelena Janković	6–4, 7–5
Win	2009	Australian Open (4)	Hard	Dinara Safina	6–0, 6–3
Win	2009	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	Venus Williams	7–6(7–3), 6–2
Win	2010	Australian Open (5)	Hard	Justine Henin	6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Win	2010	Wimbledon (4)	Grass	Vera Zvonareva	6–3, 6–2
Loss	2011	US Open	Hard	Samantha Stosur	2–6, 3–6
Win	2012	Wimbledon (5)	Grass	Agnieszka Radwańska	6–1, 5–7, 6–2
Win	2012	US Open (4)	Hard	Victoria Azarenka	6–2, 2–6, 7–5
Win	2013	French Open (2)	Clay	Maria Sharapova	6–4, 6–4
Win	2013	US Open (5)	Hard	Victoria Azarenka	7–5, 6–7(6–8), 6–1
Win	2014	US Open (6)	Hard	Caroline Wozniacki	6–3, 6–3
Win	2015	Australian Open (6)	Hard	Maria Sharapova	6–3, 7–6(7–5)
Win	2015	French Open (3)	Clay	Lucie Šafářová	6–3, 6–7(2–7), 6–2
Win	2015	Wimbledon (6)	Grass	Garbiñe Muguruza	6–4, 6–4
Loss	2016	Australian Open	Hard	Angelique Kerber	4–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss	2016	French Open	Clay	Garbiñe Muguruza	5–7, 4–6
Win	2016	Wimbledon (7)	Grass	Angelique Kerber	7–5, 6–3
Win	2017	Australian Open (7)	Hard	Venus Williams	6–4, 6–4
Loss	2018	Wimbledon	Grass	Angelique Kerber	3–6, 3–6
Loss	2018	US Open	Hard	Naomi Osaka	2–6, 4–6
Loss	2019	Wimbledon	Grass	Simona Halep	2–6, 2–6
Loss	2019	US Open	Hard	Bianca Andreescu	3–6, 5–7

Women's Doubles Finals: 14 (14 Wins, 0 Losses)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1999	French Open	Clay	Venus Williams	Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova	6–3, 6–7(2–7), 8–6
Win	1999	US Open	Hard	Venus Williams	Chanda Rubin Sandrine Testud	4–6, 6–1, 6–4
Win	2000	Wimbledon	Grass	Venus Williams	Julie Halard-Decugis Ai Sugiyama	6–3, 6–2
Win	2001	Australian Open	Hard	Venus Williams	Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu	6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Win	2002	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Venus Williams	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	6–2, 7–5
Win	2003	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Venus Williams	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win	2008	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	Venus Williams	Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur	6–2, 6–2
Win	2009	Australian Open (3)	Hard	Venus Williams	Daniela Hantuchová Ai Sugiyama	6–3, 6–3
Win	2009	Wimbledon (4)	Grass	Venus Williams	Samantha Stosur Rennae Stubbs	7–6(7–4), 6–4
Win	2009	US Open (2)	Hard	Venus Williams	Cara Black Liezel Huber	6–2, 6–2
Win	2010	Australian Open (4)	Hard	Venus Williams	Cara Black Liezel Huber	6–4, 6–3
Win	2010	French Open (2)	Clay	Venus Williams	Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik	6–2, 6–3
Win	2012	Wimbledon (5)	Grass	Venus Williams	Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká	7–5, 6–4
Win	2016	Wimbledon (6)	Grass	Venus Williams	Tímea Babos Yaroslava Shvedova	6–3, 6–4

Mixed Doubles Finals: 4 (2 Wins, 2 Losses)

Result	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1998	French Open	Clay	Luis Lobo	Justin Gimelstob Venus Williams	4–6, 4–6
Win	1998	Wimbledon	Grass	Max Mirnyi	Mahesh Bhupathi Mirjana Lučić	6–4, 6–4
Win	1998	US Open	Hard	Max Mirnyi	Patrick Galbraith Lisa Raymond	6–2, 6–2
Loss	1999	Australian Open	Hard	Max Mirnyi	David Adams Mariaan de Swardt	4–6, 6–4, 6–7(5–7)

• Records in bold mean Serena is the only player to achieve them.
• Records in italics are still active streaks.

Serena Williams' Film and TV Appearances

Williams has been in movies, TV shows, and music videos. She and Venus were also executive producers for the 2021 movie King Richard. This film was about their father.

See also

In Spanish: Serena Williams para niños