Serena Williams (born September 26, 1981) is a professional tennis player from the United States who is widely considered as one of the most prominent players in the sport’s history. Serena made her professional debut at the age of 14 in 1995, under the tutelage of her father. She became the second African American woman and the first in the Open Era to succeed a Grand Slam singles title at the U.S. Open in 1999. In 1968, Grand Slam tournaments agreed to allow professional players to compete alongside amateurs, kicking off the “Open Era.” Serena Williams revolutionized women’s tennis with her forceful style of play, breaking multiple records.
Here are the ten major accomplishments of Serena Williams.
The Open Era’s Most Grand Slam Titles (22)
“Wait, didn’t Serena already do this?” you might wonder. No. Most reporters, fans, and even fellow players anticipated Williams would break the record after cruising through the first five rounds of the U.S. Open this year. To that time in 2015, Williams had won four straight grand slams and had only lost twice. However, Roberta Vinci pulled off an upset, forcing Williams to wait until 2016 to tie Steffi Graf’s Open Era record of 22 Grand Slams. Williams was given another chance at the Australian Open, but it was thwarted by Kerber.
Grand Slam Champion with the Most Years (34 years and seven months)
Williams continues to set new records in this category. Williams, who is 33 years and eight months old, beat Muguruza at Wimbledon last summer to break Martina Navratilova’s record for the oldest female grand slam champion. With a win in Paris, she can extend her record by roughly 11 months.
American with the second-highest number of French Open titles (4)
Despite the fact that American men are generally awful at clay, women have had amazing success. The United States has the most all-time titles (29), as well as the most Open Era titles (15). (Great Britain and Australia each have eight all-time titles and five countries have four Open Era titles).
The First Paris Repetition
The French Open is the only Grand Slam in which Williams has not won back-to-back titles. She has won back-to-back Wimbledon titles twice, back-to-back Australian Open titles once, and a three-peat at the U.S. Open from 2012 to 2014. Williams won her last two French Opens in 2013 and 2015, but she was beaten 6-2, 6-2 in the second round at Roland Garros in 2014 by Muguruza, her opponent in this year’s final
The fourth-highest number of titles across all disciplines (37)
Start following this less well-known category. When women’s doubles and mixed doubles are added to singles, Williams now has 36 total grand slam titles (Williams, who has 13 women’s doubles titles with sister Venus, made four straight mixed doubles grand slam finals from the 1998 French Open to the 1999 Australian Open, winning with Max Mirnyi at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1998).
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