Serena Williams
The Compton Kid Who Rewrote Tennis
Born Serena Jameka Williams on 26 September 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, Serena Williams won twenty-three Grand Slam singles titles — the most by any woman in the Open Era — plus fourteen major doubles titles with her sister Venus and four Olympic gold medals, and spent 319 weeks as world number one.
- 16 min listen
- 23 Grand Slam titles
- Four Olympic golds
- Venture investor
Serena Williams’s full 16 min audio biography, The Compton Kid Who Rewrote Tennis, is available on Lyfestori for iOS. Listen to a free preview below.
A life in brief
Serena Williams: life and timeline.
Richard Williams taught himself tennis from books and videos, then took his daughters to the public courts in Compton with a shopping cart full of balls. At seventeen Serena Williams won the 1999 US Open, the first Black American woman to win a major singles title since Althea Gibson in 1958. She went on to win twenty-three, the last while about eight weeks pregnant. After her daughter was born, she had to insist on the scan that found blood clots in her lungs.
- 1981
Born in Saginaw
Born on 26 September in Saginaw, Michigan, the youngest of five sisters. The family settles in Compton, California, where her father, Richard, coaches her and Venus on cracked public courts.
- 1995
Professional debut
At fourteen she plays her first WTA event in Quebec City and loses quickly. The family has moved to Florida for full-time training, and Richard keeps the girls off the junior circuit.
- 1997
Arrival in Chicago
Ranked 304th, she beats Mary Pierce and Monica Seles at the same tournament — then the lowest-ranked player in the Open Era to beat two top-ten opponents in one event.
- 1999
US Open champion
At seventeen, seeded seventh, she beats Martina Hingis in the final and becomes the first Black American woman since Althea Gibson in 1958 to win a Grand Slam singles title.
- 2001
Indian Wells
After Venus withdraws from their semi-final, Serena is booed through the final and the trophy ceremony. Richard says he heard racist slurs, and the sisters stay away from the tournament for more than a decade.
- 2003
The Serena Slam
Winning the Australian Open completes four consecutive major titles, all four finals against Venus.
- 2011
Blood clots
After two foot surgeries from stepping on broken glass in 2010, she is found to have blood clots in her lungs and later has a hematoma treated. She misses nearly a year before returning in June.
- 2012
Olympic gold in London
She beats Maria Sharapova 6–0, 6–1 for singles gold and wins doubles gold with Venus, completing a career Golden Slam in singles and doubles.
- 2015
Back to Indian Wells
Fourteen years after the booing, she returns to Indian Wells and receives a standing ovation.
- 2017
Twenty-three, and a daughter
In January she wins the Australian Open about eight weeks pregnant, beating Venus. Her daughter Olympia is born in September by emergency caesarean, and she marries Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in November.
- 2022
Evolving away
In August she announces in Vogue that she is stepping away from tennis. Her last match, in the third round of the US Open, is a defeat to Ajla Tomljanović.
- 2026
The return
Now forty-four, she comes back, losing to Maya Joint 6–3, 6–7, 6–3 in the first round at Wimbledon on 30 June. At the US Open she plays only doubles, with Venus and with Carlos Alcaraz, because of her right knee.
Major achievements
Serena Williams: major achievements.
- 01
Twenty-three Grand Slam singles titles
Seven Australian Opens, three French Opens, seven Wimbledons and six US Opens, spanning eighteen years from 1999 to 2017.
- 02
Unbeaten in major doubles finals
With Venus she won fourteen Grand Slam women's doubles titles and never lost a final together.
- 03
Four Olympic golds
Singles in 2012 and doubles with Venus in 2000, 2008 and 2012 made her one of the few players to complete a career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
- 04
319 weeks at number one
She held the top ranking for 319 weeks across her career, combining huge power with movement, touch and one of the greatest serves in the women's game.
- 05
Serena Ventures
Her venture capital firm invests mainly in companies founded by women and people of colour. She has also launched the cosmetics brand Wyn Beauty.
Turning points
Serena Williams: defining moments.
- Childhood
Richard's plan
Before his daughters were born, Richard Williams saw the prize money in women's tennis and wrote a long-term plan. He taught himself the game and coached Venus and Serena in Compton, sometimes when gunfire broke out nearby. Serena spent years in her older sister's shadow before deciding she would be herself.
- 2001
Booed at Indian Wells
The hostility she faced in the 2001 final, which her family described as racist, kept both sisters away for fourteen years. Her return in 2015 was a choice to reclaim the place on her own terms.
- 2017
A fight to be heard
The day after her emergency caesarean she felt short of breath and, knowing her history of clots, asked for a CT scan and blood thinners. Her concerns were not at first acted on. The scan found clots in her lungs. She later wrote about it to highlight the higher maternal mortality risk Black women face in the US.
- 2022–2026
Evolution, not retirement
She chose the word evolution over retirement in 2022, focusing on family and Serena Ventures. In 2026 she returned to the tour, playing singles at Wimbledon and doubles at the US Open, and said she would probably play again.
I have never liked the word retirement.
Serena Williams, Vogue, August 2022
What you’ll take away
Lessons from Serena Williams’s life.
- 01
Insist on being heard
A champion with a known history of clots still had to push doctors to act. Knowing your own body, and saying so, can save your life.
- 02
Write your own plan
Richard Williams had no tennis background, only a plan and public courts. Sticking to the plan mattered more than the advantages they lacked.
- 03
Stepping away isn't an ending
She called it evolution in 2022 and was back on Centre Court four years later. A career can change shape more than once.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Serena Williams.
What is Serena Williams' full name?
Serena Jameka Williams. She was born on 26 September 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, the youngest of five daughters of Oracene Price and Richard Williams.
What is Serena Williams's net worth?
About $400 million, according to Forbes (June 2026), making her the wealthiest woman to have made her money mainly as an athlete. The fortune comes from prize money, two decades of endorsement deals and equity stakes, including her venture firm Serena Ventures, a small early stake in the Miami Dolphins, and investments in Angel City FC and the Los Angeles Golf Club.
How did Serena Williams make her money?
Mostly from endorsements and business rather than prize money. She won about $94.8 million on court, a WTA record, while long-term sponsors such as Nike, Wilson, Audemars Piguet and Lincoln paid far more; Forbes puts her career earnings at roughly $620 million before taxes. She also runs Serena Ventures, a venture-capital firm, and a production company with a first-look deal at Amazon Studios.
Where did Serena Williams grow up?
In Compton, California, where her father coached her and Venus on public courts. The family later moved to Florida so the sisters could train full time, including with coach Rick Macci.
Who was Serena Williams' first coach?
Her father, Richard Williams. He taught himself tennis from books and videos and coached his daughters on the public courts in Compton, with their mother, Oracene, also coaching them.
When did Serena Williams go pro?
In 1995, at fourteen. She played her first professional event in Quebec City in October 1995 and won her first major, the US Open, in 1999.
Did Serena Williams retire?
She stepped away in 2022 and returned in 2026. After announcing in Vogue in August 2022 that she was 'evolving away' from tennis, she played singles at Wimbledon in June 2026 and doubles at the US Open.
Who is Serena Williams married to?
Alexis Ohanian, a co-founder of Reddit. They married in New Orleans in November 2017 and have two daughters, Olympia, born in 2017, and Adira, born in 2023.
How many Grand Slams did Serena Williams win?
Thirty-nine in all: twenty-three in singles, fourteen in women's doubles with Venus and two in mixed doubles.
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16 min · one sitting