1981
Serena Williams is born
The youngest of five sisters arrived in Michigan and grew into a champion who won 23 major singles titles, more than anyone else in the Open Era.
Serena Jameka Williams was born on September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan, to Oracene Price and Richard Williams. She was the youngest of Price’s five daughters, and her full sister, Venus, became both her doubles partner and a regular opponent. Richard moved the family to Compton, California, convinced that a tough neighborhood would harden his daughters for professional sport. He home-schooled the girls, and Serena picked up a racket at the age of four.
When she was nine, the family relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida, so the sisters could train at Rick Macci’s academy. By 1991 Serena had a 46-3 record on the junior circuit and was the top-ranked under-10 player in Florida. Her father then pulled the girls out of national junior events, wanting them to focus on school and avoid burning out. Experiences of racism at tournaments also shaped that choice.
She played her first professional event in Quebec in October 1995, losing in the first qualifying round. Two years later, ranked No. 304, she beat two top-10 players in Chicago. In 1999 she won the US Open, becoming the second African-American woman to win a Grand Slam singles title, after Althea Gibson.
Why it matters
Williams spent 319 weeks as world No. 1 and won 73 tour-level singles titles. Her 23 major singles titles are the most of the Open Era, and the seventh Australian Open she won in 2017 took her past Steffi Graf’s record. Twice she held all four major singles titles at once, a feat nicknamed the “Serena Slam”. With Venus she won 14 major doubles titles without ever losing a major doubles final, and she collected four Olympic gold medals.
Many players and commentators consider her the greatest female tennis player in history. She and Venus are widely credited with bringing more diversity to the sport and a new emphasis on power and athleticism to the women’s tour. After stepping away in 2022 to focus on her family and her venture capital firm, she returned to competition in 2026, playing doubles events and a singles match at Wimbledon.
Did you know?
In 2009, Serena and Venus bought a small stake in the Miami Dolphins, becoming the first African-American women to hold any ownership in an NFL franchise.
