An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs. Exhibitions include [whatever as in major art museums and small art galleries; interpretive exhibitions, as at natural history museums and history museums], for example; and commercial exhibitions, or trade fairs.

The word "exhibition" is usually, but not always, the word used for a collection of items. Sometimes "exhibit" is synonymous with "exhibition", but "exhibit" generally refers to a single item being exhibited within an exhibition.

Exhibitions may be permanent displays or temporary, but in common usage, "exhibitions" are considered temporary and usually scheduled to open and close on specific dates. While many exhibitions are shown in just one venue, some exhibitions are shown in multiple locations and are called travelling exhibitions, and some are online exhibitions.

Though exhibitions are common events, the concept of an exhibition is quite wide and encompasses many variables. Exhibitions range from an extraordinarily large event such as a World's Fair exposition to small one-artist solo shows or a display of just one item. Curators are sometimes involved as the people who select the items in an exhibition. Writers and editors are sometimes needed to write text, labels and accompanying printed material such as catalogs and books. Architects, exhibition designers, graphic designers and other designers may be needed to shape the exhibition space and give form to the editorial content. Exhibition also means a scholarship.

Art exhibitions[link]

Fine art exhibited at Tate Modern.

Art exhibitions include an array of artifacts from countless forms of human making: paintings, drawings, crafts, sculpture, video installations, sound installations, performances, interactive art, etc. Art exhibitions may focus on one artist, one group, one genre, one theme or one collection; or may be organized by curators, selected by juries, or show any artwork submitted.

Fine arts exhibitions typically highlight works of art with generous space and lighting, supplying information through labels or audioguides designed to be unobtrusive to the art itself.

Exhibitions may occur in series or periodically, as in the case with Biennales, triennials and quadrennials.

Interpretive exhibitions[link]

Fossil skeletons at the American Museum of Natural History.

Interpretive exhibitions are exhibitions that require more context to explain the items being displayed. This is generally true of exhibitions devoted to scientific and historical themes, where text, dioramas, charts, maps and interactive displays may provide necessary explanation of background and concepts. Interpretive exhibitions generally require more text and more graphics than fine art exhibitions do.

The topics of interpretive graphics cover a wide range including archaeology, anthropology, ethnology, history, science, technology and natural history. Examples of such exhibitions may be found at the Natural History Museum, museums of the Smithsonian Institution, the American Museum of Natural History and the Field Museum — to name a few of the largest museums of this kind.

Commercial exhibitions[link]

Vehicles exhibited at the Tokyo Motor Show 2007

Commercial exhibitions, generally called trade fairs, trade shows or expos, are usually organized so that organizations in a specific interest or industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products, service, study activities of rivals and examine recent trends and opportunities. Some trade fairs are open to the public, while others can only be attended by company representatives (members of the trade) and members of the press.

Exhibitions as marketing tools[link]

Throughout the ages, trade fairs have been recognized as one of the most efficient and powerful tools for effectively doing business. As a face-to-face meeting point, fairs and exhibitions are basically a target opportunity for achieving your trade objectives. They are a cost-effective means to reach your market audience - in one time and in one place. Among the key advantages of trade show participation is:

Customer contact: Trade shows provide excellent venues for initiating contacts with new customers and developing new trade leads. Equally important they enable you to maintain and renew contacts with valued clients.

Product and Service Launch Platforms: Live presentations and Demonstrations of your products and services speak for themselves, accelerating the selling process and generating new sales.

Marketing Communications: Trade fairs focus media attention on your Company and products. Public relations efforts can be focused to raise the profile of your company image and brands.

A high return/expense ratio: Trade shows are known to have a high return/expense ratio. An EEAA (Exhibition Association of Australia) survey showed that an average expenditure of 9% of companies' marketing budgets in trade far events resulted in a return of 23% of business.

CEIR (centre of exhibition industry researches): - 76% of exhibition attendees arrive with an agenda; - 48% of exhibition leads don't require a sales call to close the deal; - Exhibition leads cost 56% less to close than field sales calls; - 87% of exhibition attendees say they will share information obtained at exhibitions with their immediate superiors.

See also[link]

• Exhibition history
• Online exhibition

Ronald "Ron" Mueck (English pronunciation: /mjuːɛk/ or /muːɪk/; born 1958, Melbourne) is an Australian hyperrealist sculptor working in the United Kingdom.

Early work[link]

Ron Mueck began his career working on the Australian children's television program Shirl's Neighbourhood. He was the creative director and made, voiced and operated the puppets Greenfinger the Garden Gnome, Ol' Possum, Stanley the snake and Claude the Crow amongst many others. The show was made for Channel 7 Melbourne between 1979 and 1984, broadcast nationally and starred the ex-lead singer of Skyhooks, Graeme "Shirley" Strachan.

Mueck's early career was as a model maker and puppeteer for children's television and films, notably the film Labyrinth for which he also contributed the voice of Ludo, and the Jim Henson series The Storyteller.

Mueck moved on to establish his own company in London, making photo-realistic props and animatronics for the advertising industry. Although highly detailed, these props were usually designed to be photographed from one specific angle hiding the mess of construction seen from the other side. Mueck increasingly wanted to produce realistic sculptures which looked perfect from all angles.

Sculptor[link]

In 1996 Mueck transitioned to fine art, collaborating with his mother-in-law, Paula Rego, to produce small figures as part of a tableau she was showing at the Hayward Gallery. Rego introduced him to Charles Saatchi who was immediately impressed and started to collect and commission work. This led to the piece which made Mueck's name, Dead Dad, being included in the Sensation show at the Royal Academy the following year. Dead Dad is a silicone and mixed media sculpture of the corpse of Mueck's father reduced to about two thirds of its natural scale. It is the only work of Mueck's that uses his own hair for the finished product.

Mueck's sculptures faithfully reproduce the minute detail of the human body, but play with scale to produce disconcertingly jarring visual images. His five metre high sculpture Boy 1999 was a feature in the Millennium Dome and later exhibited in the Venice Biennale. Today it sits as the centerpiece in the foyer off the Danish Contemporary Art Museum ARoS in Aarhus.

In 1999 Mueck was appointed as Associate Artist at the National Gallery, London. During this two-year post he created the works Mother and Child, Pregnant Woman, Man in a Boat, and Swadled Baby.^[1]

In 2002 his sculpture Pregnant Woman^[2] was purchased by the National Gallery of Australia for A$800,000.

Exhibitions[link]

Ron Mueck's first exhibition in Japan opened on 26 April 2009 at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. It ran until 8 August and featured a collection of works displayed over six spaces in the gallery. Among them were Mueck's latest work, "A Girl". The exhibition also included two short films about the artist, covering both his artistic background and his production techniques.

An exhibition was held at The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, from 12 December 2007 through 30 March 2008. "Ron Mueck at The Andy Warhol Museum" featured seven of the artist’s realistic human sculptures, including: In Bed; A Girl; Wild Man; Spooning Couple; Man in a Boat; Mask II; and Mask III.

A major exhibition of his work was shown as part of the Edinburgh Festival at the Royal Scottish Academy Building until 1 October 2006.^[3] A solo exhibition of nine works by Ron Mueck was presented at the Brooklyn Museum from 3 November 2006 through 4 February 2007.^[4]

An exhibit of his work was also on view at the National Gallery of Canada, in Ottawa from 2 March to 6 May 2007, organized by the Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain (Paris), in collaboration with the National Gallery of Canada, the Brooklyn Museum and the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, showed an exhibition of thirteen of Mueck's pieces from 24 June 2007, through 21 October 2007. The works in the show include Untitled (Seated Woman) (1999), Dead Dad (1996–97), In Bed (2005), Untitled (Big Man) (2000), Two Women (2005), Crouching Boy in Mirror (1999–2000), Spooning Couple (2005), Mask II (2001–2002), Mask III (2005), Wild Man (2005), and A Girl (2006).^[5]

A major retrospective of Mueck's work was held in his home town of Melbourne, Australia, in April 2010, at the National Gallery of Victoria.

The Christchurch Art Gallery is hosting a touring version of the National Gallery of Victoria's exhibition 2 October 2010 to 23 January 2011.^[6] The antique College of San Ildefonso Mexico 2011

[edit] Chronological list of works^[7]

• Big Baby (1996), silicone, polyurethane, wood, synthetic hair. 85-cm-high model of baby with oversize eyes. (Private collection).
• Mongrel (1996), polyester resin, fiberglass, synthetic fur. Life-sized mongrel dog.(Collection of Sheilagh Tennant, Edinburgh).
• Pinocchio (1996), mixed media - standing boy, perhaps 5 years of age, wearing only underpants. (John and Amy Phelan Collection, New York).
• Dead Dad (1996–97), silicone, acrylic paint and human hair - a 2/3-life-sized sculpture of Mueck's father lying on his back, naked. (Stefan T. Edlis Collection, Chicago).
• Angel (1997), mixed media - a 1/3-scale boy seated on a tall stool, in a brooding pose looking down, sprouting wings made of real goose feathers. (Hoffman Collection, Dallas)
• Big Baby II (1997), polyester resin, fiberglass, silicone, synthetic hair. 85 cm-high model of baby. (Caldic Collectie, Rotterdam).
• Big Baby III (1997), polyester resin, fiberglass, silicone, synthetic hair, cotton. 85 cm-high model of baby. (Stefan T. Edlis Collection, Chicago).
• Man in a Sheet (1997), polyester resin, fiberglass, silicone, polyurethane, aluminum wire, synthetic hair, cotton. Man wrapped in a sheet, bending forward to gaze at floor. (Olbricht Collection, Germany).
• Mask (Self Portrait)(1997) - eight-foot reproduction of Mueck's own face, frowning. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. J. Tomilson Hill. Residing in the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
• Ghost (1998), mixed media - 2 metres tall (3/2 scale?) adolescent girl, in swimming costume, leaning against a wall, face averted. (Tate Gallery)
• Man under Cardigan (1998), silicone, polyurethane, polyester resin, aluminum wire, wool. Naked man, sitting on floor, a woollen cardigan held over his head as if to shelter from rain. (Vicki and Kent Logan Collection).
• Shaved Head (1998), mixed media. Naked man, squatting, arms stretched out, head turned downwards. (Hoffman Collection, Berlin).
• Boy (2000), fibreglass, resin, silicone - a 5-metre-tall sculpture of a boy, crouching. First shown in the UK Millennium Dome exhibition. It is now owned by the art museum ARoS in the city of Aarhus, Denmark, who use it as a trademark piece.
• Seated Woman (1999), mixed media - 1/2 scale clothed, seated, elderly woman, hands clasped, eyes almost closed - (Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth).
• Crouching Boy in Mirror (1999–2002), mixed media. Figure similar to the Millennium Boy, above, but on a much smaller scale, examining his reflection in a mirror. (The Broad art Foundation, Santa Monica).
• Baby (2000), mixed media - tiny naked newborn baby boy, arms akimbo.(Keith and Kathy Sachs).
• Untitled (Big Man) (2000) - a nearly seven-foot sculpture of a naked, completely hairless, belligerent-looking man sitting with his knees drawn up and his elbows resting on his knees, his head in his hand. The work is designed to sit in a corner. Owned by the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., it has become one of the museum's most popular works since its acquisition.
• Man in Blankets (2000), mixed media - 1/2 scale - elderly naked man almost completely enveloped in blankets, which form a kind of cocoon. (Hoffman Collection, Dallas). Artist's proof is owned by Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf.
• Old Woman in Bed (2000), mixed media - 1/2 scale - very elderly or dying woman lying in bed, draped in blankets, asleep. (Anthony d'Offay).
• Standing Man (2000), mixed media. Middle-aged or elderly man dressed in gown and duffle coat. (Private collection, Milan).
• Mask II (2001-2), mixed media. Huge head (the face appears to be Mueck's own), lying on its side as if asleep - private collection.
• Mother and Child (2002), fibreglass, resin, silicone - 1/2 scale naked woman who has just given birth, the baby laid on her stomach with umbilical cord still attached and trailing to the woman's womb. (Bayerische Staatsgemaeldesammlungen, Munich).
• Man in a Boat (2002), mixed media - 1/3 scale naked man seated toward the prow of a 4-metre-long rowing boat. (Private collection).
• Pregnant Woman (2002), fibreglass, resin, silicone - 2.5-metres tall sculpture of a naked pregnant woman clasping her hands above her head. (National Gallery of Australia).
• Swaddled Baby (2002), mixed media - life-sized new-born baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, head on a pillow.
• Head of a Baby (2003), mixed media. Huge head of a baby. (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa).
• Baby on a Chair (2004), mixed media. Baby wrapped in blanket, placed on a wooden chair. (Collection Glenn Fuhrmann, New York).
• In Bed (2005). Huge (3 x scale?) woman lying in bed, hand raised to her face in a contemplative pose. (Queensland Gallery of Modern Art).
• Mask III (2005), mixed media. Huge (1.5 metre tall) face of a black woman. (Anthony d'Offay).
• Spooning Couple (2005), mixed media. 1/2 scale of partially clothed middle-aged man and woman lying in 'spooning' position as if in bed - artist's collection.
• Two Women (2005), mixed media. Two diminutive, clothed, elderly women, standing as though gossiping. (National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia).
• Wild Man (2005), mixed media. A nine-foot sculpture of a naked, bearded, fearful man clutching the stool he is seated on. (McClelland Gallery and Sculpture Park, Langwarrin, Victoria, Australia).
• A Girl (2006), mixed media. Newborn baby, with part of umbilical cord and some blood. (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa).
• Standing Woman (2007), mixed media. Huge (4-meter high) middle-aged woman, dressed in black. (Towada Arts Center, Towada City, Japan).
• Woman with Sticks (2008), mixed media. 180 cm-high model of naked woman, bent backwards, carrying huge bundle of sticks. (Private collection).

• Drift (2009), mixed media. 2/3-scale man floating on his back on inflatable raft, wearing sunglasses and swimming trunks. (Anthony d'Offay).
• Still Life (2009), mixed media. Slaughtered and plucked chicken, same size as a human being, hung from hook by its feet. (Anthony d'Offay).
• Youth (2009), mixed media. Diminutive figure (65 cm high) of black youth, holding up his T-shirt to examine a wound in his belly. (Anthony d'Offay).

See also[link]

• Duane Hanson
• George Segal
• John De Andrea
• Patricia Piccinini (similar artist)
• Roman sculpture (historical connection)

Notes[link]

1. ^ Greeves, Susanna; Colin Wiggins (2003). Ron Mueck. London: National Gallery Company. pp. 23–41. ISBN 1-85709-167-1. 
2. ^ http://www.nga.gov.au/NewAcquisitions/2003/mueck.htm
3. ^ National Galleries of Scotland - Whatson
4. ^ Brooklyn Museum: Ron Mueck
5. ^ Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
6. ^ Christchurch Art Gallery | Exhibitions | Ron Mueck
7. ^ Hurlston, David; et al (2010). Ron Mueck (Exhibition Catalog). Melbourne: National Gallery of Victoria. 

External links[link]

• Muecks' studio and work in progress
• Sculpture Magazine article
• 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa Japan
• Ron Mueck at the Internet Movie Database
• Ron Mueck at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain (Paris)
• Ron Mueck Muppet Wiki
• Examples of work at the James Cohan Gallery
• Pregnant Woman at the National Gallery of Australia
• Washington Post gallery
• At the National Gallery of Scotland, 2006
• Article on Ron Mueck in The Guardian
• Solo Exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
• Details of the exhibition run by English Heritage at Belsay Hall, Northumberland
• Ukiran Hidup Ron Mueck

Marc Jacobs
Born	(1963-04-09) April 9, 1963 (age 49) New York City, New York, U.S.
Residence	Paris, France
Nationality	American
Education	High School of Art and Design Parsons The New School for Design
Occupation	Fashion designer
Awards	Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Labels	Marc Jacobs Marc by Marc Jacobs Louis Vuitton

Marc Jacobs (born April 9, 1963) is an American fashion designer. He is the head designer for Marc Jacobs, as well as Marc by Marc Jacobs,^[1] a diffusion line, with more than 200 retail stores in 80 countries.^[2] He has been the creative director of the French design house Louis Vuitton since 1997. Jacobs is on Time Magazine's "2010 Time 100" list of the 100 most influential people in the world,^[3] and ranked 12th on Out Magazine's 2011 list of "50 Most Powerful Gay Men and Women in America".^[4]

Early life and education[link]

Marc Jacobs was born to a non-observant Jewish family in New York City. When he was seven, his father, an agent at the William Morris agency, died. His mother, who remarried three times, , was “mentally ill” and “didn’t really take care of her kids”, according to Jacobs.^[5] As a teenager, he went to live with his paternal grandmother on the Upper West Side, in an apartment in the Majestic on Central Park West.^[6]

He graduated from the High School of Art and Design in 1981 and studied at the Parsons School of Design in New York. During his time at Parsons, Jacobs won the Perry Ellis Gold Thimble Award in 1984, and in the same year was also awarded the Chester Weinberg Gold Thimble Award and the Design Student of the Year Award.^[7]

Career[link]

At age fifteen, Jacobs worked as a stockboy at Charivari, a now-defunct avant-garde clothing boutique in New York City.^[8] While still at Parsons, Jacobs designed and sold his first line of hand-knit sweaters. He also designed his first collection for Reuben Thomas, Inc., under the Sketchbook label.

With Robert Duffy, Jacobs' creative collaborator, and business partner since the mid-1980s, he formed Jacobs Duffy Designs Inc., which continues to this day. In a 2008 interview for 032c, Duffy indicated that he remains Jacobs's best friend and confidant.^[9]

In 1986, backed by Onward Kashiyama USA, Inc., Jacobs designed his first collection bearing the Marc Jacobs label. In 1987, Jacobs was the youngest designer to have ever been awarded the fashion industry's highest tribute, the Council of Fashion Designers of America's Perry Ellis Award for "New Fashion Talent".^[10]

In 1988, Jacobs and Duffy joined the women's design unit of Perry Ellis after its founder, Perry Ellis, had died as vice president and president, respectively. In addition, Jacobs oversaw the design of the various women's licensees. In 1992, the Council of Fashion Designers of America awarded Jacobs with The Women's Designer of the Year Award. In the same year, he designed a "grunge" collection for Perry Ellis, leading to his dismissal.^[11]

In the fall of 1993, Jacobs Duffy Designs Inc. launched their own licensing and design company: Marc Jacobs International Company, L.P.^[10]

In 1994, Jacobs produced his first full collection of menswear.^{[citation needed]}

In 1997, Jacobs was appointed Louis Vuitton's creative director, where he created the company's first ready-to-wear clothing line.^[11] Jacobs has collaborated with many popular artists for his Louis Vuitton collections, including Stephen Sprouse, Takashi Murakami and most recently American artist Richard Prince and rapper Kanye West,^[12]

In the spring of 2001, Jacobs introduced his secondary line, Marc by Marc Jacobs.^[8] In 2006, Jacobs started a new line of body-splash fragrances in affordable huge ten-ounce bottles which are distributed by Coty. First only being sold in perfume boutiques, they have become more and more popular during the recent years.

In 2007 filmmaker Loïc Prigent released a documentary film about Jacobs entitled Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton.^[13]

In February 2008, Jacobs was accused of plagiarizing a scarf design created in the 1950s by Swedish designer Gösta Olofsson.^[14] Jacobs settled the matter by offering monetary compensation to Olofsson’s son.^[15]

In 2009, Jacobs launched a shirt, sold at his stores,^[16] demanding the legalization of gay marriage.

In May 2009, Jacobs co-hosted, with fashion model Kate Moss, a "model and muse"-themed gala for the New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.

In February 2010, Jacobs sued Ed Hardy for infringing on the designs of one of his embroidered handbags.^[17]

In the course of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Berlin in July 2011 Jacobs was the patron of the young talent award “Designer for Tomorrow by Peek & Cloppenburg”. The five finalists were selected by Jacob and the juryboard and received a personal coaching by Jacobs. The juryboard and Jacobs appointed the winner of 2011 during the DfT award show.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2011, it was reported that Jacobs may succeed John Galliano as creative director of Christian Dior.^[18]

Jacobs is a prominent fixture in the New York City celebrity scene, having become something of a celebrity himself. The audience for his fashion shows typically includes celebrities like Kim Gordon and Vincent Gallo.^[19] Most of his collections make references to the fashions of past decades from the 1940s to the 1980s. Disputing the claim by the designer Oscar de la Renta that Jacobs is a mere copyist, Guy Trebay, a critic for The New York Times, has written "unlike the many brand-name designers who promote the illusion that their output results from a single prodigious creativity, Mr. Jacobs makes no pretense that fashion emerges full blown from the head of one solitary genius".^[20] Explaining his clothes, Jacobs has said "what I prefer is that even if someone feels hedonistic, they don't look it. Curiosity about sex is much more interesting to me than domination. ... My clothes are not hot. Never. Never."^[6]

Awards[link]

Council of Fashion Designers:

• Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award, 2011
• Womenswear Designer of the Year, 2010
• Accessory Designer of the Year, 2005
• Accessory Designer of the Year, 2003
• Menswear Designer of the Year, 2002
• Accessory Designer of the Year, 1999
• Accessory Designer of the Year, 1998
• Womenswear Designer of the Year, 1997
• Womenswear Designer of the Year, 1992

Eponymous company[link]

In summer 2011, there were 239 Marc Jacobs retail stores in 60 countries.^[21] Some of them present only a certain portion of the company's several brands (The Marc Jacobs Collection, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Little Marc, a children's line). The various ready-to-wear and accessory collections are also widely available at department stores around the globe.

As of May 2008, Marc Jacobs boutiques were located in dozens of cities throughout the world.

Personal life[link]

Jacobs, who is openly gay was in a four-year relationship with salesman Jason Preston and was in a relationship with advertising executive Lorenzo Martone. In March 2009, Women's Wear Daily reported that the pair was engaged after a year of dating.^[22] Several reports that they got married were later denied.^[23] On July 24, 2010, Martone announced via Twitter that he and Jacobs had not been together for two months.^[24]

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Fashion portal

• List of fashion designers
• List of people from New York City

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Grigoriadis, Vanessa (November 27, 2008). "The Deep Shallowness of Marc Jacobs". Rolling Stone. http://www.vanessagrigoriadis.com/jacobs.html. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marc Jacobs

• marcjacobs.com, company's official website
• Marc Jacobs on Fashion Net
• Marc Jacobs - designer profile at ChoosyStyle
• Marc Jacobs launches E-commerce Playhouse
• DfT hosted by Marc Jacobs

Serena Williams

Serena Williams at the 2011 AEGON International
Country	United States
Residence	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida[1]
Born	(1981-09-26) September 26, 1981 (age 30) Saginaw, Michigan
Height	1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	70.3 kg (155 lb)
Turned pro	September 1995
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$ 36,019,574 (1st all-time among women athletes and 4th all-time among tennis athletes)
Singles
Career record	523–106 (83%)
Career titles	41 WTA[1] (10th in overall rankings)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (July 8, 2002)
Current ranking	No. 5 (May 28, 2012)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010)
French Open	W (2002)
Wimbledon	W (2002, 2003, 2009, 2010)
US Open	W (1999, 2002, 2008)
Other tournaments
Championships	W (2001, 2009)
Olympic Games	QF (2008)
Doubles
Career record	153–20 (88.4%)
Career titles	20
Highest ranking	No. 1 (June 7, 2010)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	W (2001, 2003, 2009, 2010)
French Open	W (1999, 2010)
Wimbledon	W (2000, 2002, 2008, 2009)
US Open	W (1999, 2009)
Other Doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	Gold medal (2000, 2008)
Mixed Doubles
Career record	27–3 (90%)
Career titles	2
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1999)
French Open	F (1998)
Wimbledon	W (1998)
US Open	W (1998)
Last updated on: May 28, 2012.

Olympic medal record
Women's tennis
Competitor for the  United States
Gold	2000 Sydney	Doubles
Gold	2008 Beijing	Doubles

Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on November 2, 2009.^[2] She is the only female player to have won over $35 million in prize money.

Her 27 Grand Slam titles places her ninth on the all-time list: 13 in singles, 12 in women's doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles. She is the most recent player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously and only the fifth woman in history to do so. She was also the first woman, along with sister Venus Williams, to hold all four Grand Slam doubles titles simultaneously since Martina Hingis did so in 1998. Her 13 Grand Slam singles titles is sixth on the all-time list.^[3] Williams ranks fourth in Grand Slam women's singles titles won during the open era, behind Steffi Graf (22 titles) and Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova (18 titles each).^[3] She has won more Major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles than any other active player, male or female.

Williams has won two Olympic gold medals in women's doubles.^[4] She has won more career prize money than any other female athlete in history.^[5] Serena has played older sister Venus in 23 professional matches since 1998, with Serena winning 13 of these matches. They have met in eight Grand Slam finals, with Serena winning six times. Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, which was the first time in the open era that the same two players had contested four consecutive Grand Slam finals. The pair have won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles together. She is the first player, male or female, to win 5 Australian Open singles titles during the open era.

Early life[link]

Serena Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price. She is of African American heritage and is the youngest of Price's five daughters: half-sisters Yetunde (1972–2003), Lyndrea and Isha Price, and full sister Venus.^[1] When the children were young, the family moved to the city of Compton in Los Angeles county, where Serena started playing tennis at the age of five.^[6] Her father home-schooled Serena and her sister Venus^[7] and to this day, Serena Williams was and remains coached by both her parents.^[1]

Williams' family moved from Compton to West Palm Beach^[8] when she was nine so that she could attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci, who would provide additional coaching. Macci spotted the exceptional talents of the sisters. He did not always agree with Williams' father but respected that "he treated his daughters like kids, allowed them to be little girls".^[9] Richard stopped sending his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments when Williams was 10, since he wanted them to take it slow and focus on school work. Another motivation was racial, as he had allegedly heard parents of white players talk about the Williams sisters in a derogatory manner during tournaments.^[10] At that time, Williams had a 46–3 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among under 10 players in Florida.^[11] In 1995, when Serena was in the ninth grade, Richard pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy, and from then on took over all coaching at their home. When asked in 2000 whether having followed the normal path of playing regularly on the junior circuit would have been beneficial, Williams responded: "Everyone does different things. I think for Venus and I, we just tried a different road, and it worked for us."^[11]

Playing style[link]

Williams is primarily a baseline player. Her game is built around taking immediate control of rallies with a powerful and consistent serve (considered by some to be the best in the women's game),^[12] return of serve, and forceful groundstrokes from both her forehand and backhand swings. Williams' forehand is considered to be among the most powerful shots in the women's game as is her double-handed backhand. Williams strikes her backhand groundstroke using an open stance, and uses the same open stance for her forehand. Williams's aggressive play, a "high risk" style, is balanced in part by her serve, which combines great power and placement with very high consistency.^[13] Her serve has been hit as hard as 128 mph (206.5 km/h), the second-fastest all-time among female players (Venus recorded the fastest with 129 mph).^{[citation needed]} Serena also possesses a very solid volley and powerful overhead which is very useful for her net game. Although many think of Williams as only an offensive player, she also plays a strong defensive game.^[14]

Professional career[link]

1995–98: Professional debut[link]

Williams's first professional event was in September 1995, at the age of 13, at the Bell Challenge in Quebec City. She lost in the first round of qualifying to world no. 149 Annie Miller in less than an hour of play and earned US$240 in prize money.

Williams did not play a tournament in 1996. The following year, she lost in the qualifying rounds of three tournaments, before winning her first main-draw match in November at the Ameritech Cup Chicago. Ranked world no. 304, she upset world no. 7 Mary Pierce and world no. 4 Monica Seles, recording her first career wins over top 10 players and becoming the lowest-ranked player in the open era to defeat two top 10 opponents in one tournament.^[1] She ultimately lost in the semifinals to world no. 5 Lindsay Davenport. She finished 1997 ranked world no. 99.

Williams began 1998 at the Medibank International Sydney. As a qualifier ranked world no. 96, she defeated world no. 3 Davenport in the quarterfinals, before losing to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals. Williams made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open, where she defeated sixth-seeded Irina Spîrlea in the first round, before losing to sister Venus in the second round in the sisters' first professional match.^[15] Williams reached six other quarterfinals during the year, but lost all of them, including her first match against world no. 1 Martina Hingis at the Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, and her second match against Venus at the Italian Open in Rome. She failed to reach the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam tournament the remainder of the year, losing in the fourth round of the French Open to Sánchez Vicario, and the third round of both Wimbledon and the US Open, to Virginia Ruano Pascual and Spîrlea, respectively. She did, however, win the mixed doubles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open with Max Mirnyi, completing the Williams family's sweep of the 1998 mixed doubles Grand Slam tournaments. Williams won her first professional title in doubles in Oklahoma City with Venus, becoming the third pair of sisters to win a WTA title.^[1] The Williams sisters won two more doubles titles together during the year. Serena finished the year ranked world no. 20 in singles.

1999–2001: Becoming a top-10 player[link]

Williams lost in the third round of the 1999 Australian Open to Sandrine Testud. The following month, she won her first professional singles title, when she defeated Australian Open runner-up Amélie Mauresmo, 6–2, 3–6, 7–6, in the final of the Open Gaz de France in Paris. With Venus also winning the IGA Superthrift Classic in Oklahoma City that day, the pair became the first sisters to win professional tournaments in the same week.^[16] A month later, Serena won her first Tier I singles title at the Evert Cup in Indian Wells, California by defeating world no. 7 Steffi Graf, 6–3, 3–6, 7–5, in the final. At the following tournament, the Tier I Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Williams defeated world no. 1 Martina Hingis in the semifinals, before Venus ended her 16-match winning streak in the first all-sister singles final in WTA history.^[1] On April 5, 1999, Serena made her top-10 debut at world no. 9.

Williams played three tournaments during the 1999 European spring clay court season. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Tier I Italian Open in Rome to World No. 1 Hingis and in the quarterfinals of the Tier I German Open in Berlin to World No. 7 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario. Serena and Venus won the women's doubles title at the French Open, but Serena was upset by Mary Joe Fernandez in the third round of the singles competition. She then missed Wimbledon because of injury.

When she returned to the tour, Williams won a Fed Cup singles match, before playing two tournaments during the 1999 North American summer hard-court season. She won the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles, defeating world no. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and Julie Halard-Decugis in the final. Williams was seeded seventh at the US Open, where she defeated world no. 4 Monica Seles, world no. 2 Lindsay Davenport, and world no. 1 Hingis to become the second African-American woman (after Althea Gibson in 1958) to win a Grand Slam singles tournament.^[1] The Williams sisters also won the doubles title at this tournament, their second Grand Slam title together.

To complete 1999, Williams won a doubles match in the Fed Cup final against Russia, her third tournament of the year at the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, and lost in the second round of the tournament in Filderstadt. Williams ended the year ranked world no. 4 in just her second full year on the main tour.

Williams started 2000 by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to 16th seeded Elena Likhovtseva. She failed to defend her titles in Paris and Indian Wells, although she did win the Faber Grand Prix in Hanover. Williams missed the French Open because of injury. She returned at Wimbledon, where she lost to eventual champion Venus in the semifinals after Serena had lost just 13 games in advancing to the second Grand Slam semifinal of her career. The Williams sisters teamed to win the doubles title at the event. Williams successfully defended her title in Los Angeles in August, defeating world no. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and world no. 2 Davenport in the final. She reached the final of the Du Maurier Open in Montreal, Canada the following week, where an injury forced her to retire from her match with Hingis. Her defense of the US Open title ended when she lost in the quarterfinals to second-seeded Davenport. Williams teamed with Venus to win the gold medal in doubles at the Sydney Olympics in September. She then won her third singles title of the year the following week at the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo. She finished the year ranked world no. 6.

Williams played two tournaments in Australia at the beginning of 2001, losing to world no. 1 Hingis in the quarterfinals of both the tournament in Sydney and the Australian Open. Serena and her sister Venus won the women's doubles title at the latter tournament, becoming only the fifth doubles team in history to win all four Grand Slam women's doubles titles during their career, a "Career Grand Slam".

She did not play again until March, when she defeated Kim Clijsters in the final of the Tier I Tennis Masters Series in Indian Wells, California. She advanced to the final there when Venus withdrew just before the start of their semifinal match. Venus claimed that an injury prevented her from playing, but the withdrawal was controversial. Neither Williams sister has entered the tournament since.^[17] The following week at the Tier I Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Williams lost to Jennifer Capriati in the quarterfinals.

Williams did not play a clay-court tournament before the 2001 French Open, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Capriati, 2–6, 7–5, 2–6. Williams also did not play a grass-court tournament before Wimbledon, where she again lost in the quarterfinals to Capriati, 7–6, 5–7, 3–6, marking the fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament at which Williams had exited in the quarterfinals.

Williams played three tournaments during the 2001 North American summer hard-court season. After losing in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Los Angeles, Williams captured her second title of the year at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, defeating Seles in the semifinals and world no. 3 Capriati in the final. Williams was seeded tenth at the US Open, where she defeated world no. 6 and Wimbledon runner-up Justine Henin in the fourth round, world no. 3 Davenport in the quarterfinals, and world no. 1 Hingis in the semifinals, before losing to sister Venus in the final. That was the first Grand Slam final contested by two sisters during the open era.

At the 2001-ending Sanex Championships in Munich, Williams defeated Silvia Farina Elia, Henin, and Testud en route to the final. She then won the championship by walkover when Davenport withdrew before the start of the final because of a knee injury. Williams finished 2001 at world no. 6 for the second straight year.

2002–03: The "Serena Slam"[link]

Williams playing Amélie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Sydney in 2002

Injury forced Williams to retire from her semifinal match at the Medibank International Sydney and to withdraw from the 2002 Australian Open. She won her first title of the year at the State Farm Women's Tennis Classic in Scottsdale, USA, defeating world no. 2 Jennifer Capriati in the final. She then won the Tier I Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne for the first time, becoming one of three players in the open era to defeat the world's top 3 at one tournament,^[1] after beating world no. 3 Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals, world no. 2 and sister Venus in the semifinals, and world no. 1 Capriati in the final. Her 6–2, 6–2 win over Venus was her second career win over her sister.

Williams played three clay court tournaments before the 2002 French Open. Her first tournament was at Charleston, where she was the third seed. Serena reached the quarterfinals after wins over Jennifer Hopkins and Nathalie Dechy, but eventually lost to world no. 30, Patty Schnyder, 6–2, 4–6, 5–7. She reached her first clay-court final in May, at the Eurocard German Open in Berlin, losing to Justine Henin in a third set tiebreak. The following week, Williams won her first clay court title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, defeating Capriati in the semifinals and Henin in the final.^[18] This raised her ranking to a new high of world no. 3. Williams, as the third seed at the French Open, made the last eight at the tournament with wins over Martina Sucha, Dally Randriantefy, Janette Husárová, and a three-set win over Vera Zvonareva. In her quarterfinal match, she defeated '00 champion, Mary Pierce, 6–1, 6–1. In the semifinals, she faced defending champion and world no. 1, Jennifer Capriati. After an outstanding display of tennis, Williams advanced to her first French Open final, 3–6, 7–6, 6–2. In the final, she faced world no. 2 and older sister, Venus. Serena won in the final, 7–5, 6–3, to claim her second Grand Slam title, her first in almost two and a half years. Serena rose to a career high of no. 2 after the win, second only to older sister Venus

At the 2002 Wimbledon Championships, Williams defeated Evie Dominikovic, Francesca Schiavone, Els Callens, and Chanda Rubin to reach her third Wimbledon quarterfinal. In her next match, Williams breezed past Daniela Hantuchová, 6–3, 6–2, and Amélie Mauresmo, 6–2, 6–1, to reach the final for the first time. There, she again defeated defending champion and no. 1 Venus, 7–6, 6–3, to win a Grand Slam singles title without dropping a set for the first time in her career. This victory earned Williams the world no. 1 ranking, dethroning her sister and becoming only the second African-American woman to hold that ranking.^[1] The Williams sisters also won the doubles title at the tournament, the fifth Grand Slam doubles title for the pair.

Williams in Charleston

Williams played just one tournament between Wimbledon and the US Open, losing in the quarterfinals of the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles to Chanda Rubin, ending a 21-match winning streak. As the top-seeded player at the US Open, she defeated Corina Morariu, future rival Dinara Safina, Nathalie Dechy, and Dája Bedáňová to make her fourth consecutive quarterfinal, where she crushed Daniela Hantuchová, 6–2, 6–1, to book a place in the semifinals against former champion and no. 1 Lindsay Davenport. It marked the fourth consecutive time she face Davenport at the US Open. After a tight second set, Serena made her third US Open final in four years, where she faced Venus once more. Serena won the US Open title for the second time with a 6–4, 6–3 win in the final, making it her fourth Grand Slam singles title to date.

Williams won two consecutive singles titles in the fall, defeating Kim Clijsters to win the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo, and Anastasia Myskina to win the Sparkassen Cup in Leipzig, Germany. She reached the final at the year-end Home Depot Championships, where she lost to fifth seeded Clijsters in straight sets, ending her 18-match winning streak.

Williams finished 2002 with a 56–5 record, eight singles titles, and the world no. 1 ranking. She was the first African-American (male or female) to end a year with that ranking since Althea Gibson in 1958. She was the first woman to win three Grand Slam titles in one year since Hingis in 1997.^[1]

At the 2003 Australian Open, Williams went on to reach the semifinals for the first time, where she recovered from 5–2 down in the third set and saved two match points, before defeating Clijsters. She faced her sister Venus for the fourth consecutive Grand Slam final and won, 7–6, 3–6, 6–4, to become the sixth woman in the open era to complete a Career Grand Slam, joining Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Steffi Graf, and Margaret Court. She also became the fifth woman to hold all Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously, joining Maureen Connolly Brinker, Court, Graf, and Navratilova.^[19] The Williams sisters won their sixth Grand Slam doubles title together at this event.

Williams then captured singles titles at the Open Gaz de France in Paris and the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, defeating Clijsters in the semifinals and Capriati in the final. The following week, Williams lost the final at the clay-court Family Circle Cup in Charleston, USA to Henin, her first loss of the year after 21 wins. She also lost to Mauresmo in the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. Despite these losses, Williams was the top seed at the French Open, where she lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Henin, 2–6, 6–4, 5–7, marking Williams's first loss in a Grand Slam tournament since 2001. The match was controversial, as Williams questioned Henin's sportsmanship, and spectators applauded Williams's errors.^[20] She was know to be dating [Larar Arrington] at the time.

Williams rebounded from the loss at the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, defeating Henin in the semifinals and Venus in the final, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2. This was Williams' second consecutive Wimbledon title and her sixth Grand Slam singles title overall. This was her last tournament of the year, as knee surgery prevented her from competing in the year's remaining events, including the US Open. As a result, she lost the world no. 1 ranking to Clijsters in August, having held it for 57 consecutive weeks. Williams finished the year ranked world no. 3 and with four titles. On September 14, 2003, while Williams was still recovering from surgery, her sister Yetunde Price was murdered.

2004–06: Injuries and inconsistent results[link]

Williams delivering a serve at an exhibition in November 2004.

Williams withdrew from the Australian Open to continue rehabilitating her left knee. She then withdrew from further tournaments, which generated speculation that she was losing interest in the sport.^[21] After eight months away from the tour, Williams began her comeback at the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, where she defeated 16-year-old Russian Maria Sharapova in the fourth round and world no. 8 Elena Dementieva in the final. This was the third consecutive year that Williams had won this tournament.

She then played three clay-court tournaments leading up to the French Open. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, and, the following week at the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, she withdrew before her third-round match because of an injured knee. She was away from the tour for four weeks before playing the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, where she lost to world no. 9 Jennifer Capriati in the semifinals, 4–6, 4–6. Although ranked world no. 7, she was seeded second at the French Open. She won her first four matches over players ranked outside the top 50, before Capriati beat her in the quarterfinals,3–6, 6–2, 3–6. This was the first time she had lost before the semifinals at a Grand Slam singles tournament since Wimbledon in 2001.

She was seeded first at Wimbledon, even though her ranking had dropped to world no. 10. She reached the final, where she was defeated by 13th-seeded Sharapova 1–6, 4–6. This loss caused her ranking to drop out of the top 10 for the first time since early 1999.

Williams reached her third final of the year at the JPMorgan Chase Open in Los Angeles on hard courts. She lost there to Lindsay Davenport, 1–6, 3–6, which was her first loss to Davenport since the 2000 US Open. Williams then withdrew before her quarterfinal match at the Acura Classic in San Diego with another left knee injury. This injury caused her to miss both the Tier I Rogers AT&T Cup in Montreal and the Athens Olympics. She returned for the US Open, where she was seeded third even though she was ranked world no. 11. She lost there in the quarterfinals to world no. 8 Capriati, 6–2, 4–6, 4–6. This match featured several missed line calls, including one that led to the suspension of the chair umpire for the remainder of the tournament. This match is commonly referred to as the impetus for the current challenge system.^[22][23]

Williams played only three tournaments the remainder of the year. She won her second title of the year at the China Open in Beijing, in which she defeated US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. Five weeks later, she lost in the second round of the tournament in Linz, Austria to world no. 73 Alina Jidkova, but still qualified for the WTA Tour Championships. In the round-robin phase of the tournament, she defeated world no. 5 Dementieva, lost to world no. 1 Davenport, and defeated world no. 3 Anastasia Myskina. She lost to world no. 6 Sharapova in the final, 6–4, 2–6, 4–6. Williams trailed 5–2 in the second set, when she asked for treatment of an abdominal injury that caused her to serve around 65 mph. She led 4–0 in the third set, before Sharapova won the last six games of the match.^[24] Williams finished 2004 ranked world no. 7, but did not win a Grand Slam singles tournament for the first time since 2001.

At the 2005 Australian Open, Williams rejected suggestions that she and sister Venus were a declining force in tennis, following Venus's early exit at the tournament.^[25] In the quarterfinals, Williams defeated second-seeded Mauresmo, 6–2, 6–2. In the semifinals, she saved three match points in defeating fourth-seeded Sharapova, 2–6, 7–5, 8–6. In the final, Williams defeated world no. 1 Davenport, 2–6, 6–3, 6–0, to win her second Australian Open singles title and seventh Grand Slam singles title. The win moved Williams back to world no. 2, and she stated that she was now targeting the no. 1 spot.^[26]

She did not, however, reach the final at any of her next five tournaments. She withdrew before her quarterfinal match at the Open Gaz de France in Paris, citing a stomach illness.^[27] Three weeks later, she retired from her semifinal match with Jelena Janković at the Dubai Duty Free Women's Open, citing a strained tendon in her right shoulder.^[28] Four weeks later, she lost to sister Venus for the first time since 2001 in the quarterfinals of the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open in Key Biscayne, 1–6, 6–7. The following week, a left ankle injury forced her to retire from her quarterfinal match on clay at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island. Five weeks away from the tour did not improve her results, as she lost in the second round of the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome to Francesca Schiavone, 6–7, 1–6. The ankle injury also caused her to miss the French Open.^[29]

She returned for Wimbledon as the fourth seeded player, but, after struggling through her first two matches in three sets, she was defeated in the third round by world no. 85 Jill Craybas, 3–6, 6–7.

Williams hitting a return at the US Open in 2006

After winning her first match at the Tier I Rogers Cup in Toronto, a recurrence of her left knee injury caused her to withdraw from the tournament. At the US Open, Williams lost to her sister Venus in the fourth round, 6–7, 2–6. This was the earliest the sisters had met in a Grand Slam tournament since their first meeting at the 1998 Australian Open. Williams played just one more match the remainder of the year, a loss to world no. 127 Sun Tiantian at the tournament in Beijing. She failed to qualify for the year-end championship for the first time since 1998. She finished the year ranked world no. 11, her first time finishing outside of the top 10 since 1998.

Williams did not participate in any of the official warm-up tournaments for the 2006 Australian Open.^[30] Williams was the defending champion at the Australian Open, but fell to world no. 17 Daniela Hantuchová in the third round, 1–6, 6–7.^[30] She then withdrew from tournaments in Tokyo (citing her lack of fitness)^[31] and Dubai and from the Tier I NASDAQ-100 Open in Key Biscayne (citing a knee injury and lack of fitness).^[32] On April 10, her ranking fell out of the top 100 for the first time since November 16, 1997. Shortly after, she announced that she would miss both the French Open and Wimbledon because of a chronic knee injury. She said that she would not be able to compete before "the end of the summer", on doctor's orders.^[33]

Williams returned to the Tour in July at the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati. Ranked world no. 139 because of her inactivity, she defeated world no. 11 Myskina in the first round, 6–2, 6–2, before losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Vera Zvonareva. She also reached the semifinals in Los Angeles, losing to world no. 28 Janković in straight sets.

At the US Open, Williams was unseeded in a Grand Slam tournament for the first time since 1998 and needed a wildcard to enter the tournament because her ranking was too low. She lost to top-seeded Mauresmo in the fourth round, 4–6, 6–0, 2–6.^[30] She did not play again in 2006, ending the year ranked world no. 95. This was her lowest year-end ranking since 1997. Williams played just four tournaments in 2006.

2007–08: Return to the top 10[link]

Williams began 2007 with renewed confidence, stating her intention to return to the top of the rankings,^[34] a comment former player and commentator Pat Cash branded "deluded."^[35]

Williams lost in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Hobart, Australia, a warm-up for the Australian Open.^[36] Williams was unseeded at the Australian Open because of her world no. 81 ranking and was widely regarded as "out of shape."^[37] In the third round, however, Williams defeated fifth-seeded Nadia Petrova, which was her first win over a top-10 player since defeating Lindsay Davenport in the 2005 Australian Open final. In the final, Williams defeated top-seeded Maria Sharapova, 6–1, 6–2^[38] to win her third Australian Open singles title and her eighth Grand Slam singles title. Williams dedicated the title to her deceased sister Yetunde.^[38] Her performance in the final was described by TENNIS.com as "one of the best performances of her career"^[37] and by BBC Sport as "arguably the most powerful display ever seen in women's tennis."^[39]

Williams next played at the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida in late March. In the final, Williams defeated world no. 1 Justine Henin, 0–6, 7–5, 6–3 after saving 2 match points at 40–15 in the second set.^[40]

Williams after defeating Dinara Safina in the fourth round of the 2007 French Open

At the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina on clay courts, Williams retired from her second-round match because of a groin pull. The following week, Williams won her first singles match in the first round Fed Cup tie against Belgium on hard courts,^[41] but withdrew from the second singles match to rest her knee. Williams played only one clay-court tournament in Europe before the French Open. In Rome at the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Williams lost to 14th-seeded Patty Schnyder of Switzerland in the quarterfinals, 3–6, 6–2, 6–7.^[41] After the tournament, however, she re-entered the top 10 at world no. 9. As the eighth seed at the French Open, Williams lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Henin, 4–6, 3–6.^[41] Williams said her performance was "hideous and horrendous" and worse than ever.^[42] She also said that she felt "violated".^[43]

Despite the loss, Williams was one of the favorites for the Wimbledon title.^[44] During her fourth round match against Daniela Hantuchová, Williams collapsed from an acute muscle spasm at 5–5 in the second set. After a medical timeout and holding serve to force a tiebreak, rain forced play to be suspended for nearly two hours. When the players returned, Williams won the match, 6–2, 6–7, 6–2.^[45] Williams then lost her quarterfinal match with world no. 1 Henin, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6. Williams started the match with a heavily taped calf and was forced to use a one-handed backhand slice because of a left thumb injury. Williams was criticized for claiming after the match that she would have beaten Henin had Williams been healthy.^[46] After Wimbledon, Williams moved up to world no. 7, her highest ranking since 2005.

Because of the thumb injury, Williams did not play a tournament between Wimbledon and the US Open.^[41] At the US Open, she beat 2007 Wimbledon runner-up Marion Bartoli in the fourth round,^[41] but lost her third consecutive Grand Slam singles quarterfinal to Henin, 6–7, 1–6.^[41]

In October, Williams lost in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Stuttgart to world no. 2 Svetlana Kuznetsova.^[41] Williams then reached her third final of the year at the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow, defeating Kuznetsova in the semifinals, before losing to Elena Dementieva.^[41] Nevertheless, Williams's performances at these tournaments raised her ranking to world no. 5 and qualified her for the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Madrid. Her participation there was short. Because of injury, she retired from her first match with Anna Chakvetadze, after losing the first set, and then withdrew from the tournament.^[47] Williams finished 2007 as World No. 7 and the top-ranked American for the first time since 2003.^[41]

Williams started 2008 by participating on the U.S. team that won the Hopman Cup for the fifth time in Perth, Australia.^[48] Williams was the seventh seed at the Australian Open, but lost in the quarterfinals to world no. 4 and third-seeded Jelena Janković, 3–6, 4–6.^[49] This was her fourth straight loss in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament. In the women's doubles event, Serena and her sister Venus lost in the quarterfinals to the seventh-seeded team of Zheng Jie and Yan Zi.

Williams then withdrew from three tournaments because of an urgent need for dental surgery.^[50] Upon her return to the Tour, Williams won three consecutive singles titles. At the Tier II tournament in Bangalore, India, Serena defeated sister Venus in the semifinals, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6,^[49] after Serena saved a match point at 6–5 in the third set. This was the first time they had played each other since the fourth round of the 2005 US Open. Serena then defeated Schnyder in the final.^[49] At the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Williams won her fifth career singles title there, tying Steffi Graf for the most singles titles at this tournament. Williams defeated world no. 1 Henin in the quarterfinals, world no. 3 Kuznetsova in the semifinals, and world no. 4 Janković in the final.^[49] This was her 30th career singles title.

Williams stretching for a ball in her first round match against Kaia Kanepi of Estonia at Wimbledon in 2008

At the clay-court Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Williams defeated, for the fourth consecutive time, second-seeded Sharapova in the quarterfinals.^[49] In the final, Williams defeated Vera Zvonareva^[49] to capture her tenth career Tier I title and first clay-court title since the 2002 French Open. Her 17-match winning streak was ended by Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open in Berlin, 6–2, 1–6, 6–7.^[49] Williams was the fifth-seeded player at the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome and made it to the quarterfinals, where Alizé Cornet received a walkover over Williams^[49] because of a back injury.

Williams was the fifth-seeded player at the French Open. Although she was the only former winner of this tournament in this year's draw, following the sudden retirement of four-time champion Henin, she lost in the third round to 27th-seeded Katarina Srebotnik, 4–6, 4–6.^[49]

At Wimbledon, the sixth-seeded Williams reached the finals for the first time in four years. She defeated former world no. 1 and 2006 Wimbledon champion Amélie Mauresmo in the third round, before losing the final to her older sister Venus in straight sets.^[49] This was the first Grand Slam final in which the Williams sisters had played each other since 2003. Serena and Venus then teamed to win the women's doubles title without dropping a set the entire tournament, their first Grand Slam women's doubles title since 2003.

Williams playing World Team Tennis in 2008

Williams then played four World Team Tennis matches for the Washington Kastles,^[51] contributing 49 points for her team.

Williams was seeded first at the tournament in Stanford, California, but retired from her semifinal match against qualifier Aleksandra Wozniak while trailing 6–2, 3–1^[49] because of a left knee injury. That injury caused Williams to withdraw from the tournament in Los Angeles the following week.

Playing in the singles draw at the Olympics for the first time in Beijing, Williams was the fourth-seeded player in singles, but lost to fifth-seeded and eventual gold-medalist Dementieva in the quarterfinals, 6–3, 4–6, 3–6.^[49] Serena and her sister Venus won the gold medal in doubles to add to their victory at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, beating the Spanish team of Anabel Medina Garrigues and Virginia Ruano Pascual in the final.

Williams was seeded fourth at the US Open and defeated her seventh-seeded sister Venus in the quarterfinals, 7–6, 7–6. Serena trailed 5–3 in both sets and saved two set points in the first set and eight set points in the second set. Williams then defeated Safina in the semifinals and second-seeded Jelena Janković, 6–4, 7–5, in the final, after saving four set points at 5–3 in the second set. This was her third US Open and ninth Grand Slam singles title. This victory returned her to the world no. 1 ranking for the first time since 2003.^[52]

At the Tier II Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Williams was the top seed, but lost to world no. 30 Li Na in the second round, 6–0, 1–6, 4–6. Serena also played doubles there with her sister Venus, but they withdrew after winning their first round match because of a left ankle injury to Serena. On October 3, Williams announced her withdrawal from the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow, citing a continuing left ankle injury and a desire to give her body time to recover from a packed playing schedule.^[53] Because of her withdrawal, she lost the world no. 1 ranking to Janković.

Williams returned to the Tour Championships

Williams defeated Safina in her first round-robin match at the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha, before losing to her sister Venus, 5–7, 6–1, 6–0 in her second round-robin match. She then withdrew from her match against Dementieva, citing a stomach muscle injury. She ended the year ranked world no. 2 and with four singles titles, her strongest performance in both respects since 2003.

2009: Back at world no. 1[link]

At the Medibank International in Sydney, top-seeded Williams lost in the semifinals to Russian Elena Dementieva for the third consecutive time, 3–6, 1–6.

Williams was seeded second at the Australian Open. She claimed her tenth Grand Slam singles title by defeating Dinara Safina in the final, 6–0, 6–3, in 59 minutes. This win returned her to the world no. 1 ranking and resulted in her becoming the all-time career prize money leader in women's sports, overtaking golfer Annika Sörenstam. In women's doubles, Serena and her sister Venus captured the title for the third time.

At the Open GDF SUEZ in Paris, Williams withdrew from the tournament before her scheduled semifinal with Dementieva because of a knee injury. Williams was the top seed at the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships, a Premier 5 event on the tour. She defeated former world no. 1 Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals, before losing to her sister Venus in the semifinals, 1–6, 6–2, 6–7.

Williams at the 2009 Australian Open

At the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, a Premier Mandatory event, Williams was upset in the final by 11th seeded Victoria Azarenka. This was the first of four consecutive losses for Williams, the longest losing streak of her career.^[54] She was defeated in her opening match at her first three clay-court events of the year, including the Premier 5 Internazionali d'Italia in Rome and the Premier Mandatory Mutua Madrilena Madrid Open. She lost the world no. 1 ranking to Safina on April 20. Despite not having won a match on clay in 2009 before the French Open, she reached the quarterfinals there, before losing to the eventual champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, 6–7, 7–5, 5–7. This ended her 18-match Grand Slam tournament winning streak.

She rebounded at Wimbledon, saving a match point in defeating fourth seeded Dementieva in the semifinals, 6–7, 7–5, 8–6. In the final, Serena defeated her sister Venus, 7–6, 6–2, to win her third Wimbledon title and her 11th Grand Slam singles title. Although Williams was now holding three of the four Grand Slam singles titles, she continued to trail Safina in the WTA rankings, a fact Williams publicly mocked.^[55] Williams and her sister Venus teamed to win the women's doubles title at Wimbledon for the second consecutive year, their ninth Grand Slam title in women's doubles.

Following Wimbledon, Williams played two Premier 5 tournaments before the US Open. She lost in the third round of the Western & Southern Financial Group Women's Open in Cincinnati and in the semifinals, to world no. 5 Dementieva, of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.

She was seeded second at the US Open, where she lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters amid controversy involving shouting at a line judge when defending match point, an offense which ultimately cost Williams the point and therefore the match. She continued in the doubles competition, teaming up with Venus to win their third Grand Slam doubles title of the year and tenth of their career.^[56][57]

Williams played only two tournaments after the US Open. At the Premier Mandatory China Open in Beijing, she was defeated in the third round by Nadia Petrova. Williams won all three of her round-robin matches at the year-end WTA Tour Championships in Doha, Qatar, defeating world no. 7 Venus Williams, world no. 5 Dementieva, and world no. 3 Kuznetsova. She saved a match point against Venus, before winning in a third-set tiebreak. She then advanced to the final, when US Open runner-up Wozniacki retired from their semifinal match while trailing, 6–4, 0–1. In the final, Williams played Venus for the second time in four days, winning once again, 6–2, 7–6, against her tired and error-stricken sister.^[58] This was Serena's second singles title at this event.

Williams finished the year ranked world no. 1 for the second time in her career, having played in 16 tournaments, more than any other year. She also broke the record previously set by Justine Henin for the most prize money earned by a female tennis player in one year, with Williams earning $6,545,586. In doubles, the Williams sisters finished the year ranked world no. 2, despite playing only six tournaments as a pair. She won five Grand Slam titles, putting her total Grand Slam titles at 23.

Williams was named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press^[59] in a landslide vote (66 of 158 votes – no other candidate received more than 18 votes). She also was the International Tennis Federation World Champion in singles and doubles.^[60]

2010[link]

Williams's first scheduled tournament was the Medibank International Sydney. She defeated Frenchwoman Aravane Rezaï in the semifinals, 3–6, 7–5, 6–4, after trailing 5–2 in the second set and being two points from defeat. She then lost the final to world no. 5 and defending champion Elena Dementieva, 3–6, 2–6.

Williams in doubles action on her way to the single and doubles title at the 2010 Australian Open

At the Australian Open, Williams was the defending champion in both singles and doubles. She reached the singles quarterfinals without losing a service game or a set, where she eliminated Victoria Azarenka, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2, after trailing 4–0 in the second set. In the semifinals, Williams defeated 16th seeded Li Na, 7–6, 7–6, on her fifth match point to reach her fifth final in Melbourne and her fifteenth Grand Slam singles final. She then defeated 2004 champion Justine Henin, 6–4, 3–6, 6–2, for her twelfth Grand Slam singles title. This was the first time that Henin and Williams had played each other in a Grand Slam tournament final.^[61] Williams is the first female player to win consecutive Australian Open singles titles since Jennifer Capriati in 2001–02.^[3] In doubles, Serena and Venus successfully defended their title by defeating the top-ranked team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the final, 6–4, 6–3.

A leg injury then caused Williams to withdraw from five consecutive tournaments, including the Premier 5 Dubai Tennis Championships and the Premier Mandatory Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne. She returned to the WTA Tour at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, where she lost to Jelena Janković in the semifinals, 6–4, 3–6, 6–7^(5–7), after failing to convert a match point while serving at 5–4 in the third set, and then surrendering a 5–2 lead in the deciding tiebreaker.

At the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Open, she received a first-round bye. In her first match, she made 73 unforced errors in defeating Vera Dushevina in the longest match of her career, 3 hours, 26 minutes, 6–7, 7–6, 7–6. Williams saved a match point at 6–5 in the second set, then injured her upper leg early in the third set. She then fell to 16th seeded Nadia Petrova, 6–4, 2–6, 3–6. Williams won only two of her eighteen opportunities to break Petrova's serve. She teamed with Venus to win the doubles title.

At the French Open, she lost to Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals, 3–6, 7–6, 6–8. Williams made 46 unforced errors and squandered a match point at 5–4 in the final set. It was the first Grand Slam tournament that Williams had not won or been defeated by the eventual champion since the 2008 French Open. Williams had not advanced past the quarterfinals at this event since 2003. She also played doubles with Venus as the top seeds. Their defeat of Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues in the semifinals improved their doubles ranking to world no. 1. They then defeated 12th seeds Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik in the final, 6–2, 6–3, to win their fourth consecutive Grand Slam women's doubles title.

Her next tournament was Wimbledon, where she defeated Russian Vera Zvonareva in the final, 6–3, 6–2, without facing a break point and breaking the serve of Zvonareva three times.^[62][63] She did not lose a set in the tournament.^[64] After the match, Martina Navratilova said that Williams is in the top 5 of all the women's tennis players in all of history, which she said that "it's not just about how many Slams you win or how many tournaments you win—it's just your game overall. And she’s definitely got all the goods."^[63] Serena was the defending champion in doubles with her sister Venus, winning the last two years. They lost in the quarterfinals to Elena Vesnina and Zvonareva, 6–3, 3–6, 4–6.

In Munich on July 7, Williams stepped on broken glass while in a restaurant.^[65] She received 18 stitches, but the following day she lost an exhibition match to Kim Clijsters, 3–6, 2–6, in Brussels before a world-record crowd for a tennis match, 35,681 at the King Baudouin Stadium.^[66] The cut foot turned out to be a serious injury, requiring surgery and preventing her from playing for the remainder of 2010. As a result, she lost the world no. 1 ranking to Dane Caroline Wozniacki on October 11, 2010^[67] and ended the year ranked no. 4 in singles, despite having played only six tournaments, and no. 11 in doubles after four tournaments.

2011: Comeback after medical complications[link]

Because of her continuing rehabilitation for her foot injury, Serena withdrew from the 2011 Hopman Cup and the 2011 Australian Open.^[68][69] On March 2, 2011, she confirmed that she had suffered a hematoma and a pulmonary embolism.^[70][71][72] She made her first appearance on the WTA tour in almost a year at the 2011 AEGON International in Eastbourne,^[73] winning her first match since Wimbledon, against Tsvetana Pironkova, but lost to top-seeded world no. 3 Vera Zvonareva in the second round, in a match that lasted over three hours.

Her next tournament was Wimbledon, where she was the defending champion. Despite being ranked no. 26, she was seeded seventh. In her first round match, she defeated French no. 2, Aravane Rezai. She then won her second round match against Simona Halep, and her third round against Maria Kirilenko. Her tournament ended when she lost to ninth seed, Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in the round of 16.

Williams then played in Stanford as an unseeded player. She won her opening-round match against Anastasia Rodionova. In her second-round match, she took out Maria Kirilenko in three sets to set up a meeting with Wimbledon finalist Maria Sharapova. Serena won in straight sets. In the semifinals, Serena took on Wimbledon semifinalist, Sabine Lisicki and also defeated her in two sets. Serena won her first final of the season, against Marion Bartoli in two sets. Serena won her 38th career WTA singles title and her first title in 2011.

In her next tournament, Williams won the Rogers Cup, Serena started off strongly by beating Alona Bondarenko. In her second-round match, she beat Julia Goerges in straight sets, as well. After back-to-back three-setters against Jie Zheng and Lucie Safarova, the semifinals matched Serana against one of the most consistent players of the year, Viktoria Azarenka. Serena won, advancing to her second consecutive final. In the final, Serena defeated Samantha Stosur to win her second consecutive title and her 39th career title overall. At the Cincinnati Open, Serena defeated Lucie Hradecka, only to withdraw the next day, citing a right toe injury.

Next on her schedule was the US Open. She was seeded 28th and faced Bojana Jovanovski in the first round, winning the match easily. She next faced Michaëlla Krajicek, winning in two sets. In the third round she defeated Azarenka. She moved into the finals with two set wins over Ana Ivanovic, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, and world no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki in the semifinals. She lost the final, 2–6, 3–6, to Samantha Stosur, during a match which featured her verbally abusing the chair umpire.

The US Open final turned out to be Williams' last match in 2011, and she ended the year ranked world no. 12 with 2 titles and with a 22–3 record for the season. She only participated in six tournaments throughout the season.

2012[link]

Williams started the year by playing her debut at Brisbane International as her preparation for the Australian Open.^[74] She defeated Chanelle Scheepers in the first round and Bojana Jovanovski in the second. However, during her match against Jovanovski, she injured her left ankle when serving for the match late in the second set. As a result, Williams was forced to withdraw from the tournament.^[75] Next she participated at the Australian Open where she was seeded 12th. She defeated Tamira Paszek in the first round and Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová in the second round.^[76] She beat Hungarian Greta Arn in the third round.^[77] Williams was knocked out of the Australian Open by Ekaterina Makarova 6–2, 6–3. Serena however, came back from her loss at the Australian Open, by cruising to a 5–7, 6–1, 6–1, victory over Anastasiya Yakimova, completing the U.S sweep over Belarus in the Fed Cup.

Williams returned to competition in Miami where she was seeded 10th. She avenged her US Open final loss to Samantha Stosur by beating her 7–5, 6–3 in the fourth round in a match where she fired 20 aces. Her quarterfinals berth brought her back to the top 10 of the world ranking. Her run, however, ended in the quarterfinals where Caroline Wozniacki defeated her 4–6, 4–6. A week later, she made her first final appearance of the season in Charleston where she defeated Sam Stosur convincingly 6–1, 6–1 in the semifinals. She went on to win her first title of the season, her 40th career title, after defeating Lucie Šafářová 6–0, 6–1 in the final. Her success at Family Circle Cup brought her ranking up to No. 9 in the world.

Williams started her European clay court season in Madrid as the ninth seed where she advanced to her second consecutive final following a third round victory against Caroline Wozniacki by 1–6, 6–3, 6–2 and world no. 2 , Maria Sharapova, in the quarterfinals by 6–1, 6–3. Her run to the final assured her ranking to increase to world no. 6 ^[78]. She eventually won her 41st title after defeating the world no.1, Victoria Azarenka, 6–1, 6–3, in the final. A week later, she participated in Rome as the ninth seed where she reached the semifinals. She withdrew before her semifinals match against Li Na citing a lower back injury. Her run, however, will bring her ranking to world no. 5.

On May 29th, 2012 lost in the first round of a major tournament for the first time in her career, falling to Virginie Razzano of France 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 Tuesday at the French Open. The fifth-seeded Williams was two points from victory nine times in the second set, including leading 5-1 in the tiebreaker. But Razzano won six straight points to force a third set, and then took control of the match.

Grand Slam Performance Timeline[link]

Grand Slam Finals[link]

Singles: 17 (13 titles, 4 runner-ups)[link]

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1999	US Open	Hard	Martina Hingis	6–3, 7–6(7–4)
Runner-up	2001	US Open	Hard	Venus Williams	2–6, 4–6
Winner	2002	French Open	Clay	Venus Williams	7–5, 6–3
Winner	2002	Wimbledon	Grass	Venus Williams	7–6(7–4), 6–3
Winner	2002	US Open (2)	Hard	Venus Williams	6–4, 6–3
Winner	2003	Australian Open	Hard	Venus Williams	7–6(7–4), 3–6, 6–4
Winner	2003	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Venus Williams	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	2004	Wimbledon	Grass	Maria Sharapova	1–6, 4–6
Winner	2005	Australian Open (2)	Hard	Lindsay Davenport	2–6, 6–3, 6–0
Winner	2007	Australian Open (3)	Hard	Maria Sharapova	6–1, 6–2
Runner-up	2008	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Venus Williams	5–7, 4–6
Winner	2008	US Open (3)	Hard	Jelena Janković	6–4, 7–5
Winner	2009	Australian Open (4)	Hard	Dinara Safina	6–0, 6–3
Winner	2009	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	Venus Williams	7–6(7–3), 6–2
Winner	2010	Australian Open (5)	Hard	Justine Henin	6–4, 3–6, 6–2
Winner	2010	Wimbledon (4)	Grass	Vera Zvonareva	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	2011	US Open (2)	Hard	Samantha Stosur	2–6, 3–6

Rivalry with Venus Williams[link]

Serena Williams has played her sister Venus 12 times in Grand Slam singles tournaments and 11 times in other tournaments (including 11 finals). Serena has a three match lead in the head-to-head series, 13–10. They are the only women during the open era to have played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals.

Controversies[link]

2004 US Open[link]

In her 2004 U.S. Open quarterfinal match against Jennifer Capriati, an overrule was made by chair umpire Mariana Alves in Capriati's favor, even though later video review showed this to be clearly in error. Williams attempted to argue the call, but was not successful. Capriati won the match, but tournament officials dismissed the umpire from the tournament. The controversy renewed calls for the adoption of technology like the MacCam and Hawk-Eye systems.^[79]

2009 US Open[link]

In 2009, Williams again was involved in a controversial U.S. Open match, this time against Kim Clijsters in the semifinal round. The drama began at the end of the first set, when Williams slammed her racquet on the court in frustration over losing the set. She was given a warning, with a potential second violation carrying a one-point penalty. While trailing 4–6, 5–6, 15–30, Williams's second serve was called a foot fault, resulting in two match points for Clijsters. Williams gestured with her racquet to the lineswoman who had made the call and yelled at her, including profanities.^[80] During the subsequent on-court conference between the head judge, the lineswoman, US Open officials, and Williams, a television microphone picked up Williams saying to the lineswoman, "I didn't say I would kill you. Are you serious?"^[81] The incident resulted in Williams being penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct — necessitated by the earlier warning for racquet abuse — meaning Clijsters won the match 6–4, 7–5. The following day, Williams was issued the maximum permissible on-site fine of $10,000 (plus $500 for racquet abuse). After further investigation, the Grand Slam Committee in November 2009 fined her $175,000 in lieu of suspending her from the 2010 US Open or other Grand Slam events.^[82] They also placed her on a two year probation, so if Williams commits another offense in the next two years at a Grand Slam tournament, she will be suspended from participating in the following US Open. If she commits no offenses in the next two years, her fine will be reduced to $82,500.^[82] Williams initially refused to apologize for her outburst, both in her post-match press conference^[83] and in an official statement released the following day.^[56] She eventually apologized to the lineswoman in a statement two days following the incident.

2011 US Open[link]

In the final of the 2011 U.S. Open against Samantha Stosur, Williams again generated controversy. After shouting "Come on!" as the Australian attempted to return a forehand Williams believed to be a winner, chair umpire Eva Asderaki awarded the point to Stosur based on the USTA's deliberate hindrance rule, which states, "If a player commits any act which hinders his opponent in making a stroke, then, if this is deliberate, he shall lose the point or if involuntary, the point shall be replayed."^[84] As the point was 30–40 on Williams's serve, the penalty gave the break of serve to Stosur. Williams became angry with the chair umpire and made several gestures and unflattering comments toward her during the next several changeovers, warning her, "Don't look at me," and telling her that if Asderaki ever saw Williams coming toward her, she should "look the other way". She told the umpire that she was "a loser", "a hater" and "unattractive, on the inside". Williams initially gained momentum in the set following the penalty, breaking back in the next game, but eventually flagged and lost the match, 6–2, 6–3. At the end of the match, she declined to offer the customary handshake to Asderaki. Williams mentioned the incident in her post-match speech as the tournament runner-up, claiming, "I hit a winner, but I guess it didn't count," but added, "It wouldn't have mattered in the end. Sam played really well."^[85][86] A writer for ESPN suggested that Williams could avoid being found to have violated the terms of the "probation" on which she was placed following her 2009 outburst, as she did not appear to have used profanity in addressing Asderaki during the match.^[87] In the end, Williams was fined $2,000 and was not barred from competing in the 2012 US Open because "...Williams's conduct, while verbally abusive, [did] not rise to the level of a major offence under the grand slam code of conduct."^[88]

Off-court activities[link]

Fashion[link]

Williams was once known for her unusual and colorful outfits on court. In 2002, there was much talk when she wore a black lycra [[catsuit] at the US Open.^[89] At the 2004 US Open, Williams wore denim skirts and knee-high boots—tournament officials, however, did not allow her to wear the boots during matches.^[90] At Wimbledon in 2008, the white trench coat she wore during warm-up for her opening match was the subject of much discussion since it was worn despite the sunny weather.^[91] Off-court, Williams has also presented new designs. In November 2004, at the London premiere of After the Sunset she wore a red gown that had a near-topless effect.^[92]

Williams formerly had a special line with Puma^[93] and currently has a line with Nike. The deal with Nike is worth US$40 million and was signed in April 2004.^[94] Since 2004, she has also been running her own line of designer apparel called "Aneres"—her first name spelled backward. In 2009 she launched a signature collection of handbags and jewelry.^[95] The collection, called Signature Statement, is sold mainly on the Home Shopping Network (HSN).

In early 2010, Williams became a certified nail technician in preparation for her upcoming nail collection with a company called HairTech.^[96]

Entertainment[link]

Williams has appeared on television and also provided voice work on animated shows: in a 2001 episode of The Simpsons Serena joined the animation along with sister Venus, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.^[97] She has also provided guest voice work in a 2005 episode of Playhouse Disney's animated kids show Higglytown Heroes and a 2007 episode of the Nickelodeon cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender,^[98] which she has described as her "favorite show".^[99]

Williams has posed for the 2003 and 2004 editions of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.^[100] In April 2005, MTV announced plans to broadcast a reality show around the lives of Serena and Venus, which was eventually aired on ABC Family. Williams has appeared twice on MTV's Punk'd and in 2007, appeared in the ABC reality television series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race. In 2002, she played Miss Wiggins in the season 3 episode "Crouching Mother, Hidden Father" of My Wife and Kids;^[101] she has also guest-starred during episodes of The Bernie Mac Show, ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.^[102] In 2007 Williams appeared in the music video of "I Want You" by the American rapper Common, alongside performers Alicia Keys and Kanye West.^[103]

In late 2009, Williams became the first active female professional athlete to appear in a feminine hygiene product advertising campaign. A series of online videos and print advertisements for Tampax Pearl tampons showed her hitting balls at Mother Nature, played by Catherine Lloyd Burns, to prevent Mother Nature giving her a red-wrapped gift, representing her menstrual period. In the online videos, the two have dueling press conferences over the "bad blood" between them. "A lot of celebrities are not open to working with our brand, and we're thrilled that Serena is", said a brand manager for Tampax at Procter & Gamble.^[104]

In May 2012, a minute of a new hip-hop track by Serena Williams was leaked, along with reports the sports star was planning to release an album.^[105]

Miami Dolphins venture[link]

In August 2009, Serena and Venus Williams became part-owners of the Miami Dolphins. The formal announcement was made during a press conference overlooking the practice field. The Williams are the first African-American females to obtain ownership in an NFL franchise. Other prominent owners include: Jimmy Buffett, Gloria and Emilio Estefan (the first Cuban-American owners), and Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez . Stephan Ross, the majority owner of the Dolphins, said "We are thrilled to have Venus and Serena join the Dolphins as limited partners. They are among the most admired athletes in the world and have become global ambassadors for the game of tennis. Their addition to our ownership group further reflects our commitment to connect with aggressively and embrace the great diversity that makes South Florida a multicultural gem."^[106]

Charity work[link]

In 2008 Williams helped to fund the construction of the Serena Williams Secondary School in Matooni, Kenya.^[107][108] She received a Celebrity Role Model Award from Avon Foundation in 2003 for work in breast cancer.^[109] Williams has also been involved in a number of clinics at schools and community centers, particularly those which have programs focusing on at-risk youth.^[1] She has also won the "Young Heroes Award" from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater L.A. and Inland (2003) and the "Family Circle and Prudential Financial Player Who Makes a Difference Award" (2004).^[1] In response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Williams, along with other ATP and WTA stars decided to forego their final day of preparation for the 2010 Australian Open to form a charity event in which all proceeds will go to the Haiti earthquake victims.^[110]

Writing[link]

Serena has published along with her sister Venus Williams and author Hilary Beard^[111] a book titled Venus & Serena: Serving From The Hip: 10 Rules For Living, Loving and Winning by Boston: Houghton Mifflin in 2005.^{[111] [112][113][114][115]} During the 2009 Wimbledon Championships, Williams said that she is in the process of writing a TV show storyline, which will be converted into script form by her agency. She stated that the show will represent subject matter from a mix of popular American television shows such as Desperate Housewives,, and Family Guy.^[116] Serena released her first solo published work, an autobiography entitled On the Line, following the 2009 US Open.

Security[link]

Williams has been the target of an alleged stalker, who was arrested at the gate to her Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., neighborhood on Monday, May 2, 2011. Police report that Patenema Ouedraogo, identified as an African who attended college in Texas, is barred from being near Serena by a preliminary injunction. Police say Ouedraogo was able to track Serena's whereabouts using the social networking site Twitter, and got her address from the letter her attorney sent telling him to stay away from her. Police say Ouedraogo once made it all the way to Serena's dressing room when she made an appearance on the Home Shopping Network at their studios in Tampa, Fla., on April 13, 2011.^[117]

Other records and achievements[link]

• At the 1998 Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, she recorded her fifth singles victory over a player ranked in the top 10, which was the fastest (16 matches) that any woman in professional tennis history had done this.
• At the 2002 French Open, she became the first younger sister to defeat her older sister in a Grand Slam tournament.
• On June 10, 2002, she and her sister Venus became the first siblings ever to hold the top two women's singles rankings simultaneously.
• By winning the 2003 Australian Open, she became the first African-American woman to win the singles title at this tournament.
• On September 8, 2008, she regained the World No. 1 ranking for the first time in 5 years, 1 month. That gap is the biggest in professional tennis history.
• She was named one of the Top 10 Most Superstitious Athletes by Men's Fitness.^[118]

Awards[link]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)

Recognition[link]

In 2005, Tennis Magazine ranked her as the 17th-best player in 40 years.^[120]

In June 2011, she was named one of the "30 Legends of Women's Tennis: Past, Present and Future" by Time.^[121]

See also[link]

References[link]