Venus Williams

Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player.

A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open.

She is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

Along with her younger sister, Serena, Venus Williams was coached by her parents Oracene Price and Richard Williams.

Turning professional in 1994, she reached her first major final at the 1997 US Open.

In 1995, Richard pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy, and from then on took over all coaching at their home.

Williams is an aggressive player, with an all-court game.

Due to her assertive playing style, she typically accumulates large numbers of both winners and unforced errors.

She possesses powerful groundstrokes on both sides, and is capable of hitting both her forehand and backhand flat, and with topspin.

She is also adept at hitting her backhand with slice to slow down rallies and disrupt pace within rallies.

Her serve is powerful, allowing her to serve numerous aces in any match.

At the peak of her career, her first serve would average 182 km/h, and would frequently peak at 199 km/h; her serve has slowed since then, averaging 172 km/h, and peaking at 189 km/h.

She possesses effective kick and slice serves, which she deploys as second serves, preventing opponents from scoring free points.

Williams has also won two mixed doubles major titles, both in 1998.

The Williams sisters are credited with ushering in a new era of power and athleticism on the women's professional tennis tour.

With 49 WTA Tour singles titles, Williams has the most singles titles among active players.

With 22 WTA doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles, her combined total of 73 WTA titles is also the most among active players.

She is also the only active player to have reached the singles finals of all four majors.

In 2000 and 2001, Williams claimed the Wimbledon and US Open titles, as well as Olympic singles gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

The pair also won three Olympic gold medals in women's doubles, in 2000, 2008, and 2012, adding to Venus' singles gold in 2000 and her mixed doubles silver in 2016.

Williams was twice the season prize money leader (in 2001 and 2017), and ranks second behind Serena in all-time career prize money winnings, having earned over US$42 million as of March 2022.

Williams was born in Lynwood, California, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price.

Her talents were apparent at the age of seven when a professional local tennis player named Tony Chesta spotted Williams and quickly identified her potential in the sport.

The Williams family moved from Compton, California, to West Palm Beach, Florida, when she was thirteen, so that she and her sister Serena could attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci, who took notice of the sisters and who would provide additional coaching.

He did not always agree with Williams' father but respected that "he treated his daughters like kids, allowed them to be little girls".

Richard stopped sending his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments when Williams was eleven, since he wanted them to take it slowly and focus on schoolwork.

Another motivation was racial, as he had allegedly heard parents of other players disparage the Williams sisters during tournaments.

At that time, Williams held a 63–0 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among the under-12 players in Southern California.

She first reached the singles world No. 1 ranking on 25 February 2002, becoming the first African American woman to do so in the Open era, and the second of all time after Althea Gibson.

She reached four consecutive major finals between 2002 and 2003, but lost each time to Serena.

She then suffered from injuries, winning just one major title between 2003 and 2006.

Williams returned to form starting in 2007, when she won Wimbledon (a feat she repeated the following year).

In 2010, she returned to the world No. 2 position in singles, but then suffered again from injuries.

She became the world No. 1 in doubles for the first time on June 7, 2010, alongside Serena, after the pair completed a non-calendar-year Grand Slam at the French Open.

Starting in 2014, she again gradually returned to form, culminating in two major final appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017.

Along with her seven singles major titles, Williams has also won 14 women's doubles major titles, all partnering Serena; the pair are unbeaten in Grand Slam doubles finals.

Up to 2014, she held the record for the fastest serve on the WTA Tour, recorded at the 2007 US Open, at 208 km/h.

She likes to approach the net, and finish points quickly.

Her height, at 6ft 1in, provides her with a long arm span, allowing her to reach difficult returns while positioned at the net.

She has a repertoire of shots to perform at the net, which leads to many won points.