Serena Williams

Serena Jameka Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan, the youngest of five daughters. Her father Richard Williams — who had no prior tennis knowledge — decided when Serena and her older sister Venus were young that he would coach them to be tennis champions. He taught himself the sport from instruction videos and books and raised both girls on the public courts of Compton, Los Angeles.

Serena turned professional at 14. Her early career was overshadowed by her sister Venus until her 1999 US Open title made clear that Serena would forge her own extraordinary path. Her physical gifts — serving power, forehand, athleticism — were without precedent in women's tennis, and she used them with a competitive ferocity that made her almost unbeatable in the peak years.

Between 2002 and 2017, Serena won 23 Grand Slam singles titles — more than any player in the Open Era. She held all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously twice (2002-03 "Serena Slam" and 2014-15). She returned to win the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant, making it the most remarkable Grand Slam victory in terms of physical circumstances.

Off court, Serena became a fashion icon, entrepreneur, and activist. Her career intersected with periods of severe health problems (blood clots following childbirth in 2018), racial injustice confrontations, and battles with governing bodies. She retired at the 2022 US Open, a figure who transcended tennis and became a symbol of Black excellence and female athletic greatness.