Serena Williams really needs no introduction. At present, she is the number one ranked female player in the world of professional tennis. At only 27, she has won a total of 20 Grand Slam titles (8 women’s doubles, 2 mixed doubles and 10 singles), has held all four Grand Slam titles at once and is the current champion in the Australian Open and the US Open. Williams is nothing less than a living legend in tennis and was named Tennis magazine’s 17th best athlete of all time in 2005. She is sure to achieve much more yet as an athlete and enjoys incredibly popularity with fans.
Williams is the youngest of the family’s five daughters. She was born in Saginaw, MI but moved with her family to Los Angeles while still very young. Her father Richard wanted to see his daughters achieve success as tennis players and began coaching them himself, playing on Compton’s public courts. Out of the Williams sisters, Serena and her sister Venus were especially talented players; Serena in fact won her first tournament while not yet five – by the time she reached the age of ten, she had won no less than forty-six tournaments!
The Williams family chose to home school their children; and fearing that they would be exposed to the ugliness of racism, decided to stop sending the sisters to national junior’s tennis tournaments. Serena was sent to a Florida tennis school operated by the professional player Rick Macci. While at the school, she often trained with Andy Roddick. In one practice match, she even defeated this seasoned player.
All these years of training built Serena into an incredible player. While she is best known as a baseline player, her technique consists of taking control of the rallies and Williams is considered to be one of the more aggressive players in the sport. Her serve, return and ground strokes whether fore or backhand are known for their power. Her serves are known as among the best in tennis, winning admiration from players, sportscasters and fans at every match. She serves at a high speed, regularly meeting and even exceeding 120 mph (she broke a record with her serves of 127 and 129 mph at Charleston in 2008). Her return serve can overpower opponents; and she hits both topspin and flat serves on either corner of the service box.
Other than for her phenomenal playing style, she is also known for her unique fashion sense. The Williams family has even started a line of clothes called Aneres. She has appeared on television shows and in movies and has even posed for a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. She also has many endorsement deals and has produced custom sportswear in association with Nike. She is also active in charity work, having received the Avon Foundation’s Celebrity Role Model Award for her work in breast cancer fundraising. She has also used her earnings to fund a new secondary school in Kenya.
