In 1995, a 14-year old stepped into the world stage of tennis, no one was prepared for what she would do next. She became the greatest female player to ever walk out on a tennis court and her career just came to an end. As she walked out of Arthur Ashe Stadium on September 2nd 2022, she had created a legacy that will not soon be forgotten. She is Serena Williams.
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She was born on September 26, 1981 in the city of Saginaw, Michigan. In her upbringing, she was was taught the game of tennis by her dad and older sister, Venus Williams. Venus impacted Serena's life from childhood, through Serena's early career, and all the way to stardom. No person was more influential to Serena and it shone through when they reached the top as one of the greatest sibling duos in sports history.
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When Serena was at a very young age, the Williams' moved across the country to Los Angeles. This is where Serena completed most of her formal education and made her professional tennis debut.
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She began her career focused mainly on singles and paving her own path to greatness, and she accomplished that goal. She was the world #1 in tennis rankings for 319 weeks out of her career, which is tied for the third most all time. She was also world #1 for 186 consecutive weeks which is the longest streak ever. It is so crazy to think that Serena was so dominant that at one point in her career she was the best on the world for almost three and a half years!
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During her first ever Grand Slam appearance in 1998, Serena lost to her own sister in the second round. Only one year later, Serena won her first Grand Slam at the US Open, and jumped onto everybody's radar. Once again only a year later, Serena and Venus teamed up to win a gold medal in women's doubles at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
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Their next notable moments on the court together were not too sweet. In 2002, Serena won her first Wimbledon and French Open title to usurp the world #1 ranking. However, a bitter sweet taste was left in Serena's mouth after the victories. Both were over Venus, and it was Venus who lost the #1 ranking. In 2003, Serena completed her career Grand Slam with a win at the Australian Open. She also won Wimbledon later that year. This was her last high point for a while.
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Two years later, she won her second Australian Open, but the celebration was short lived. 2006 brough hardships for Serena and her career. She was sidelined for six months with an injury and mental health issues. This was the first year she did not make an appearance in a Grand Slam Final since 2000.
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In 2007, Serena won the Australian Open for the third time in her already prestigious career. Fast-forward eight years, and Serena wins the French Open for the first time, making her the first player ever to win all four Grand Slams three times; she won Wimbledon and the US Open in 2009 and 2008 respectively. Her win at the 2015 French Open also secured her twenty Grand Slam singles titles.
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The craziest year of her career was probably 2017, she won her final Grand Slam title at the Australian. In doing so, she once again defeated her sister, Venus, in the final. Only a few days after the tournament wrapped up, Serena announced that she was pregnant and had won the tournament while being 8 weeks pregnant.
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With her abilities dwindling down, Serena had a few things to do before she retired. In 2020, she won the Auckland Open, her first win as a mother. Finally, Serena announced her plans to retire in a news article. However, she would make one last stand at the 2022 US Open. She won her first two rounds in dramatic fashion, but ended up falling to Ajla Tomljanovic.
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Serena is arguably the greatest women's tennis player ever, but her success cannot be measured just by her success on the court. All throughout her career, Serena made it a point to prove that African-Americans were just as capable athletes as Caucasians. She was also a wonderful mother who found time to raise her daughter even while maintaining a high level of tennis. Serena is the GOAT.
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