Serena Williams Biography

(born Sept. 26, 1981, Saginaw, Mich., U.S.) U.S. tennis player. Serena and her sister Venus were introduced to the sport by their father, who recognized their talent early on. Serena turned professional in 1995, just one year after Venus. Possessing powerful ground strokes and superb athleticism, the sisters were soon dominating women's professional tennis. Serena won the U.S. Open in 1999, and in 2002 she won the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon, defeating Venus in the finals of each tournament. She captured her first Australian Open in 2003 and later in the year defended her Wimbledon title. In 2005 and 2007 Serena again won the Australian Open. In 2008 she won the U.S. Open and teamed with Venus to capture a second women's doubles Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Games (the pair previously won doubles gold at the 2000 Sydney Games).