Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American professional tennis player and actress who has been ranked No. 1 in women's singles tennis by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) on six separate occasions. She first achieved the world No. 1 ranking on July 8, 2002, and reached it for the sixth time on February 18, 2013. As of July 18, 2016, she held the No. 1 position for 179 consecutive weeks and 302 weeks overall. Williams holds 38 major titles combined in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, ranking fourth all-time and second in the Open Era with 22 singles, 14 women's doubles, and two mixed doubles titles. She is the only player to have held all four major singles titles simultaneously twice and, with her sister Venus, to have held all four Grand Slam women's doubles titles simultaneously.
Williams shares the Open Era record for the most Grand Slam singles titles (22, tied with Steffi Graf) and ranks second all-time behind Margaret Court. She is the only player to win at least six singles titles in three different Grand Slam tournaments and the only player to win 10 Grand Slam singles titles in two separate decades. She holds the Open Era records for most Australian Open titles (6) and shares the US Open record (6). Alongside Venus, she has won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles without a defeat in finals, making them second in women's doubles titles behind Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver. Serena has won five WTA Tour Championships and four Olympic gold medals—one in singles and three in doubles. The Williams sisters are credited with initiating a new era of power tennis in the women's game. In 2016, Serena was the highest-paid female athlete, earning $28.9 million, and was named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year in 2015.
United States
