Serena Williams Biography

Legendary tennis superstar Serena Williams was born in 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan. When Serena was still a toddler, the family moved to Compton, California, where she and her sister Venus both learned to play tennis. By the time Serena was nine years old, the family had already developed a strong commitment to her mastery of the sport, uprooting the family once again to move to West Palm Beach so that she could train properly under the tutelage of legendary coach Rick Macci.

Serena made her professional debut at the age of fourteen, but it would be a few years before she would rise to become the tennis phenomenon she is today. Although her career has seen ups and downs, today she is regarded as a legend in the sport. Williams currently ranks number one in women’s singles tennis, and she has reached the number one spot in a number of years prior. Serena currently holds the most titles for major singles, doubles, and mixed doubles among all players, and she ranks third in Grand Slam singles titles with a current total of twenty-one. In addition to that, Serena Williams has won four Olympic gold medals, and she continues to compete in the sport and is currently preparing for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Off the court, Serena Williams has endorsed her own clothing line with sponsors Nike and Puma, and her status as a celebrity personality has brought her to a number of roles on television and in film, including My Wife and Kids, The Bernie Mac Show, Law & Order, Drop Dead Diva, and ER. Serena established her own charitable foundation to help provide scholarships for underserved students throughout the United States, and she also supports numerous other organizations, such as the Common Ground Foundation, the Elton John AIDS Foundation, World Education, and the Eva Longoria Foundation, to name a few. Williams is also the author of the book Venus & Serena: Serving from the Hip: 10 Rules for Living, Loving, and Winning (2005.)

Most recently, Serena Williams became the first female black athlete to be featured on the cover of Vogue. She had previously posted for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues in 2003 and 2004.