Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player. She has been ranked World No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association on four separate occasions; as of April 20, 2009, she was ranked World No. 2. She is the reigning US Open and Australian Open singles champion and has won 20 Grand Slam titles: 10 in singles, 8 in doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles. She has won two Olympic gold medals in women’s doubles.

She is the most recent player, male or female, to hold all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously. She is also the only active female player to have won all four Grand Slam tournaments during her career (one French Open, two Wimbledon, four Australian and three US Opens). She also has won more Grand Slams than any active player. Additionally, Williams has won more career prize money than any other female athlete in history. In 2005, Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 17th-best player in 40 years.
She is the younger sister of former World No. 1 professional female tennis player Venus Williams; the sisters have played each other in 20 professional matches dating back to 1998, with matches played between them tied at 10–10 as of May 2009. They are the only women during the open era to have played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals.
Williams’ off-court interests include fashion, acting, and charity.
Country  United States
Residence Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Date of birth September 26, 1981 (1981-09-26) (age 27)
Place of birth Saginaw, Michigan, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg)
Turned pro 1995
Plays Right; Two-handed backhand
Career prize money US$24,205,248
Singles
Career record: 424–92 (82.7%)
Career titles: 33
Highest ranking: No. 1 (8 July 2002)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open W (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009)
French Open W (2002)
Wimbledon W (2002, 2003)
US Open W (1999, 2002, 2008)
Major tournaments
WTA Championships W (2001)
Doubles
Career record: 119–18 (87.3%)
Career titles: 14
Highest ranking: No. 5 (October 1, 1999)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open W (2001, 2003, 2009)
French Open W (1999)
Wimbledon W (2000, 2002, 2008)
US Open W (1999)
Major doubles tournaments
Olympic Games  Gold medal (2000, 2008)
Off-court activities
Personal life
From 2004 to 2005, Williams dated Brett Ratner. She was linked in 2007 to Miami Heat Forward Udonis Haslem and actor Jackie Long and in 2008 to rapper Common. She resides at Ballen Isles in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.
Fashion
Williams is known for her unusual and colorful outfits on court. In 2002, there was much talk when she wore a black lycra catsuit at the US Open. At the 2004 US Open, Williams wore denim skirts and knee-high boots—tournament officials, however, did not allow her to wear the boots during matches.At Wimbledon in 2008, the white trench coat she wore during warm-up for her opening match was the subject of much discussion since it was worn despite the sunny weather. Off-court, Williams has also presented new designs. In November 2004, at the London premiere of After the Sunset she wore a red gown that had a near-topless effect.
Williams formerly had a special line with Puma and currently has a line with Nike. The deal with Nike is worth US$40 million and was signed in April 2004. Since 2004, she has also been running her own line of designer apparel called “Aneres”—her first name spelled backward. In 2009 she launched a signature collection of handbags and jewelry.
Entertainment
Williams has appeared on television and also provided voice work on animated shows: in a 2001 episode of The Simpsons Serena joined the animation along with sister Venus, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi She has also provided guest voice work in a 2005 episode of Playhouse Disney’s animated kids show Higglytown Heroes and a 2007 episode of the Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender, which she has described as her “favorite show”.
Williams has posed for the 2003 and 2004 editions of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. In April 2005, MTV announced plans to broadcast a reality show around the lives of Serena and Venus, which was eventually aired on ABC Family. Williams has appeared twice on MTV’s Punk’d and in 2007, appeared in the ABC reality television series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race. In 2002, she played Miss Johnson in the season 3 episode “Crouching Mother, Hidden Father” of My Wife and Kids; she has also guest-starred during episodes of ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2007 Williams appeared in the music video of “I Want You” by the American rapper Common, alongside performers Alicia Keys and Kanye West.
Charity work
In 2008 Williams helped to fund the construction of the Serena Williams Secondary School in Matooni, Kenya. She received a Celebrity Role Model Award from Avon Foundation in 2003 for work in breast cancer.[64] Williams has also been involved in a number of clinics at schools and community centers, particularly those which have programs focusing on at-risk youth. She has also won the “Young Heroes Award” from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater L.A. and Inland (2003) and the “Family Circle and Prudential Financial Player Who Makes a Difference Award” (2004).

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