Serena Jameka Williams, born on September 26, 1981, is considered one of the most consummate champions in the history of women’s tennis. She has a total of 39 grand slam titles placing her third on the all-time greats’s list. She was ranked No. 1 on 8 separate occasions between 2002 and 2017, totalling an astounding 319 weeks at the top.
However, the road to the summit of tennis glory has not been easy. Winning big in what is generally perceived to be an all-white sport came with its share of challenges. Before Serena and her sister Venus broke into the big league, they were subjected to instances of racism and prejudice.
Using such instances as fuel, Serena pummelled her way to the top, defeating every opponent with her revolutionary style of play. One of the most ‘complete’ players, she has a repertoire of skills that cover all aspects of tennis. Her serve is generally held to be the best in the history of tennis. Her powerful forehand and backhand are generally held to be “devastating”.
While displaying an aggressive game style, Serena is also a defender par excellence. Martina Navratilova declared her mental strength to be “unbelievable”.
Serena won the ‘Laureus Sportswoman of the Year’ awards in 2003, 2010, 2016 and 2018. In December 2015, she was named Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated Magazine. In 2021, she was ranked 28th on Forbes list of ‘Highest-Paid Athletes’. She is the highest-earning female athlete of all time with total prize money earnings of US $ 93.63 million!
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