Add it to the weeks she spent at the top of the world rankings, eight spells spread across 15 years, the longest stretch weeks in a row. Throw in the four gold medals she has won at the Olympics. You could keep on, until you had filled this page and the next with her achievements. Or you could look at how she handled herself in some of her hardest moments on court, the match points she overcame in the semi-finals of three of her grand slam victories, against Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva.
That she has won more individual matches at each of the slams than any other women in the Open era. About the murder of her half-sister Yetunde Price in , killed in Compton in , an innocent bystander in a gang shooting. In , Serena suffered a series of health scares after doctors found a blood clot in one of her lungs, which kept her away from tennis for several months.
Following several procedures, including one to remove a hematoma, speculation rose as to whether Williams would retire from the sport. Open before falling to Samantha Stosur in the finals. Williams stumbled badly at the French Open, enduring a first-round loss for the first time at a major tournament. But she was back in top form in London in July , defeating year-old Agnieszka Radwanska in an emotional three sets to claim her fifth Wimbledon singles title and first major championship in two years.
Serena continued her winning streak to her next Grand Slam event. In September , she beat out rival Victoria Azarenka to take the singles title at the U.
I was really preparing my runner-up speech, because I thought, 'Man, she's playing so great. But I don't think I could ever reach something like a Martina Navratilova — I don't think I'd ever play that long — but who knows? I think I'll leave a mark regardless. In June , Serena took her second French Open title — as well as her 16th Grand Slam singles title — in a , victory over defending champion Sharapova. I think I've always said a champion isn't about how much they win, but it's about how they recover from their downs, whether it's an injury or whether it's a loss.
Nearly one month later, Serena competed at Wimbledon, where she suffered a shocking loss , , in the fourth round to Germany's Sabine Lisicki, the No. Her career-best match winning streak over, Serena told Sports Illustrated , "I don't think it's a huge shock.
Her ranking has no effect on what she should be. She should be ranked higher. She just has a super, super game to play well on grass. Open, Serena made a strong showing. She knocked out her younger rival Sloane Stephens in the fourth round before upending Azarenka to clinch the U.
It was the second year in a row that the pair had faced off in the finals. Serena clinched her third straight and sixth overall U. Open singles title in by defeating her good friend Caroline Wozniacki. Her winning ways carried into the new year, as she beat Sharapova to claim the Australian Open championship. At the French Open in June, Serena managed to overcome illness to win the tournament for the third time and claim her 20th Grand Slam singles title, good for third place all-time.
Serena opened by advancing to the Australian Open final, where she lost in three sets to Angelique Kerber. After notching career WTA title No. On July 9, , Serena found her way back to victory, defeating Kerber , at Wimbledon and winning her 22nd grand slam title. With her historic win, Serena tied Steffi Graf for the most major championships in the Open era of professional tennis, which started in In Melbourne I thought I played well but Angelique played great, and better.
So I knew going into this one I needed to be calm and be confident and play the tennis I've been playing for well over a decade. Open, Serena suffered another surprising defeat, leaving the competition early after she was defeated by Karolina Pliskova in their semifinal match. With the loss, she also gave up the No. Serena went on to clinch the Australian Open to win her 23rd Grand Slam title. Later that year, she revealed she was two months pregnant during the game.
She gave birth to her daughter in September and returned to the courts in late December , hoping to shake off the rust in time to defend her Australian Open title.
She was first ranked world number one in and has reached the top position now on six separate occasions. Serena Williams is the oldest female tennis player ever to be ranked number one in the world.
This is a testament to Serena? For more than a decade she has commandeered the top spot in women? Serena Williams is also the most recent player, male or female, to have held all four grand slam singles titles simultaneously? And having more than double the points of the second-ranked Maria Sharapova, Serena shows no signs of relinquishing the world number one ranking any time soon. American men? The last U. In the intervening years, Serena Williams has become the face of U.
Consider that Serena Williams has more grand slam titles than John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors combined, and you get a sense of her prowess. Serena has also burnished her image in the minds of American tennis fans through numerous endorsements, celebrity events and charitable work.
When people in the U. Think of basketball and the first name that comes to mind is Michael Jordan. Though tennis is not nearly as popular as football, or basketball, Serena has made a name for herself through her intensity and determination, and is as well known as LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Williams is competitive, humble and calm, even after losing a match.
She is a role model to all athletes. Not only has Williams influenced the world of athletics, she has also influenced the community, specifically women and mothers. She shared her story on the experiences and hardships of childbirth.
Serena endured a very dangerous birth and afterwards struggled with postpartum depression. She had an emergency cesarean surgery and two other surgeries to follow. She developed blood clots in her lungs, and had a second surgery.
Then, she urged doctors to administer a CT scan to double check, they found ones they missed. She went into a third surgery. Serena encourages others to speak up for themselves. Not only did Serena have difficulties in childbirth, she also suffered with a very common condition called postpartum depression. Williams said she found herself in a funk, juggling raising Olympia, her daughter, and balancing her career.
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