The Wiliams sisters are two professional American tennis players: Venus Williams (b. 1980), a seven-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), and Serena Williams (b. 1981), twenty-three-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), both of whom were coached from an early age by their parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price .
111-456: The Williams sisters partake in “one of the elite ‘country club’ sports in America,” a sport that wasn’t—along with many others—open to female participation in the past (Smith & Hattery, 75). Their remarkable achievements in tennis are comparable to those seen by men, despite women’s involvement in sports as something unusual when compared to the former regulations within sports. When the sport
222-658: A better future for women's tennis. The WTA's corporate headquarters is in St. Petersburg, Florida , with its European headquarters in London and its Asia-Pacific headquarters in Beijing. The Women's Tennis Association was founded in June 1973 by Billie Jean King , and traces its origins to the inaugural Virginia Slims tournament, arranged by Gladys Heldman , sponsored by Joe Cullman , CEO of Philip Morris, and held on 23 September 1970 at
333-513: A changeover when neither would yield as they passed the umpire's chair. Richard Williams , her father, later claimed that this incident was racially motivated. In her debut at the Australian Open , Williams defeated younger sister Serena Williams in the second round, which was the sisters' first professional meeting. Williams eventually lost in the quarterfinals to No. 3 Davenport. Three weeks later, Williams defeated No. 2 Davenport for
444-459: A knee injury. The WTA announced on January 27, 2016, that Venus would return to Indian Wells for the first time in 15 years. Women%27s Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association ( WTA ) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis . The association governs the WTA Tour , which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women, and was founded to create
555-404: A new era of power and athleticism on the women's professional tennis tour. With 49 WTA Tour singles titles, Williams has the most singles titles among active players. With 22 WTA doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles, her combined total of 73 WTA titles is also the most among active players. She is also the only active player to have reached the singles finals of all four majors. Williams
666-507: A prize pot 10 times lower than the men at the Grand Slams in 1970 to parity in 2007 and ever since, women's tennis has become (almost) the equal of its male counterpart. And they did it themselves, which also explains why their governance is still independent today." The WTA was founded at a meeting organised by Billie Jean King, a week before the 1973 Wimbledon Championships . This meeting was held at Gloucester Hotel in London. In 1975,
777-469: A second time in a Grand Slam final, with her sister winning. Williams once again replaced Capriati as the No. 1 as a result of reaching the final. As the top seed at Wimbledon , Williams defeated Henin in the semifinals to make the final for the third consecutive year. However, there, she lost to her sister Serena. This result meant Serena Williams replaced Venus as the No. 1. The Williams sisters teamed up to win
888-501: A silver in mixed doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. As a duo, they completed the double career Golden Slam in doubles. Between the two of them, they have completed the Boxed Set , winning all four major events in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles; they split the four mixed doubles titles in 1998. Note: Serena Williams did not play at the 2004 Olympics because of injury. Venus partnered with American Chanda Rubin and lost in
999-454: A single package, reaching large audiences around the world. "The '80s energized the popularity base, taking tennis out of country clubs and landed estates into public parks and arenas. It became a sport, in contrast to an amenable pastime." "From those first steps in Houston in 1970 to the current WTA Tour, with tournaments in 33 countries and total prize money of $ 139 million (in 2018); from
1110-416: A single season. In 2013 Serena Williams went over the twelve million dollar mark, winning $ 12,385,572 in a single year. American sports entrepreneur Jerry Diamond (1928–1996) served as executive director of the women's association from 1974 to 1985. He was instrumental in negotiating business deals with Avon, Colgate-Palmolive, and Toyota, and worked out the deal that made Virginia Slims the titular sponsor of
1221-432: A tournament. By winning the 2001 Australian Open doubles title , they became the fifth pair of women to complete the career Grand Slam in doubles, and the first pair to complete the career Golden Slam in doubles. At the time, Venus and Serena were only 20 and 19 years old, respectively. Since then, they went on to add another two Olympic gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics . Moreover,
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#17327974023331332-464: A well-mannered bunch. They're respectful. They sit still. And in Palm Springs, especially, they tended to be pretty well-heeled, too. But I looked up and all I could see was a sea of rich people—mostly older, mostly white—standing and booing lustily, like some kind of genteel lynch mob. I don't mean to use such inflammatory language to describe the scene, but that's really how it seemed from where I
1443-690: A wildcard, falling in the first round of the tournaments in Los Angeles and Toronto but reaching the quarterfinals in Oakland, defeating No. 18 Amy Frazier in the second round for her first win over a top-20 ranked player, before losing to Magdalena Maleeva . Williams played five events in 1996, falling in the first round four times but reaching the third round in Los Angeles, before losing to No. 1 Steffi Graf . Williams played 15 tour events in 1997, including five Tier I tournaments. She reached
1554-671: Is capable of hitting both her forehand and backhand flat, and with topspin. She is also adept at hitting her backhand with slice to slow down rallies and disrupt pace within rallies. Her serve is powerful, allowing her to serve numerous aces in any match. At the peak of her career, her first serve would average 182 km/h (113 mph), and would frequently peak at 199 km/h (124 mph); her serve has slowed since then, averaging 172 km/h (107 mph), and peaking at 189 km/h (117 mph). She possesses effective kick and slice serves, which she deploys as second serves, preventing opponents from scoring free points. Up to 2014, she held
1665-588: Is very hard." In 1984, The Australian Open joined the US Open in offering women equal prize money, but temporarily did not between 1996 and 2000. After a 30-year campaign, 2007 marked the historic achievement of equal prize money at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. This meant all four major tournaments offered parity. In 1995, the WTA Players Association merged with the Women's Tennis Council to form
1776-541: The 2000 Sydney Olympics . She first reached the singles world No. 1 ranking on 25 February 2002, becoming the first African American woman to do so in the Open era , and the second of all time after Althea Gibson . She reached four consecutive major finals between 2002 and 2003, but lost each time to Serena. She then suffered from injuries, winning just one major title between 2003 and 2006. Williams returned to form starting in 2007, when she won Wimbledon (a feat she repeated
1887-471: The Australian Open by Tsvetana Pironkova , which was her earliest loss ever at that tournament. After that loss, she did not play again for three months due to a wrist injury. She returned in late April on clay in Warsaw, where she defeated former No. 1 Hingis in the second round, before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. Williams completed the clay-court season by reaching the quarterfinals of
1998-739: The Avon Championships , in the WTA tennis history. The Colgate Series , renamed the Toyota Series in 1981, included tournaments in all parts of the world, whereas the Avon sponsored events took place solely in the US. The two circuits merged beginning with the 1983 season , when Virginia Slims returned to take full sponsorship rights of the WTA Tour. Every tournament under the administration of
2109-594: The French Open to Barbara Schett . This was only the second time that she had lost in the first round of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Williams then successfully defended her Wimbledon title, defeating third-seeded Davenport in the semifinals and eighth-seeded Henin in three sets in Henin's first Wimbledon final. During the North American summer hardcourt season, Williams won for the second consecutive year
2220-501: The French Open to Vera Zvonareva . At Wimbledon , Williams was seeded fourth. Williams defeated former champion Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals and Kim Clijsters in the semifinals to advance to her fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, where she lost again to sister Serena. Wimbledon was Williams's last event of the year as an abdominal injury that occurred during the Clijsters match prevented her from playing again. While she
2331-465: The French Open , she was seeded fourth there. She won her first four matches in Paris without losing a set before losing in the quarterfinals to eighth-seeded and former champion Arantxa Sánchez, in three sets. Williams then won 35 consecutive singles matches and six tournaments. She won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, defeating No. 1, Martina Hingis, in the quarterfinals, sister Serena in
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#17327974023332442-421: The French Open , where she lost to Nicole Vaidišová. Williams was the defending champion and one of the favorites to win the singles title at Wimbledon . However, she lost in the third round to 26th-seeded Jelena Janković. After the loss, Williams said that she was having pain in her left wrist, although she admitted that the injury was not the cause of her loss. Williams did not play in the U.S. Open Series or
2553-498: The U.S. Open itself due to the wrist injury. In October, during her first tournament in almost three months, she reinjured her wrist at the Luxembourg Open and lost in the second round to qualifier Agnieszka Radwańska . Williams finished the season as No. 46, her lowest finish since she began to play on the WTA Tour full-time in 1997. It was the second consecutive year she finished higher than her sister Serena, who finished
2664-525: The U.S. Open , Williams defeated No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and No. 2 Davenport in the final. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney , she defeated Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals, Seles in the semifinals, and Elena Dementieva in the final to win the gold medal. She also won the gold medal in women's doubles with her younger sister Serena. Davenport eventually snapped her winning streak in October in
2775-471: The U.S. Open . She is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Along with her younger sister, Serena , Venus Williams was coached by her parents Oracene Price and Richard Williams . Turning professional in 1994, she reached her first major final at the 1997 U.S. Open . In 2000 and 2001, Williams claimed the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles, as well as Olympic singles gold at
2886-610: The Chinese government, the WTA under Steve Simon suspended its operations in China and Hong Kong. The boycott was lifted in 2023 after 16 months, citing financial losses due to the suspension of operations in China as well as the COVID-19 pandemic . In March 2022, medical technology firm Hologic reached an agreement to become title sponsor and "official health partner" of the WTA Tour, marking its first title sponsorship agreement since
2997-520: The French Open, Venus and Serena Williams were ranked world No. 1 and No. 2 on singles, respectively, marking the first time in history that sisters occupied the top two positions. On 21 June 2010, Serena and Venus again held the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings spots in singles, respectively, some eight years after first accomplishing this feat. At the time, Serena was three months shy of her 29th birthday and Venus had just celebrated her 30th birthday. There
3108-590: The Houston Racquet Club in Houston , Texas. Rosie Casals won this first event. When the Women's Tennis Association was founded, Billie Jean King was one of nine players that comprised the WTA, also referred to as the Original 9, that included Julie Heldman , Valerie Ziegenfuss , Judy Dalton , Kristy Pigeon , Peaches Bartkowicz , Kerry Melville Reid , Nancy Richey , and Rosie Casals . Today,
3219-581: The ILTF sanctioned 15 men-only tournaments, all of which had previously been combined events. The Virginia Slims Circuit , which would later absorb the ILTF's Women's Grand Prix circuit, and eventually become the WTA Tour. The circuit was composed of 19 tournaments, all based in the United States (one in Puerto Rico ), and prize money totalled $ 309,100. In 1973 the US Open tennis tournament became
3330-472: The No. 1, before losing it again to Capriati after three weeks. During those three weeks, Williams had made the final in Hamburg, defeating Hingis in the semifinals, before losing to Clijsters in the final. Seeded second at the French Open , Williams defeated former champion Seles to reach the semifinals for the first time. There, she defeated Clarisa Fernández . In the final, Williams met her sister Serena for
3441-535: The Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp for the second consecutive year, defeating Kim Clijsters in the final. However, shortly afterwards, she began to struggle with injury. She reached the final of the clay-court J&S Cup in Warsaw, before being forced to retire against Amélie Mauresmo. She then suffered her earliest exit at a Grand Slam tournament in two years when she lost in the fourth round of
Williams sisters - Misplaced Pages Continue
3552-575: The Tier I Key Biscayne Open . She defeated Hingis in the semifinals and No. 4 Jennifer Capriati in the final, after saving eight championship points. Because of this victory, her ranking rose to a career high of No. 2. During the European clay-court season, Williams won the Tier II tournament in Hamburg but lost in the third round of the Tier I German Open to No. 18 Justine Henin and the first round of
3663-472: The U.S. Open prior to the semifinals. Williams completed the year by losing in the quarterfinals of three indoor tournaments in the fall, a period that included defeat in her first meeting with 17-year-old Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova at the Zurich Open . Williams finished the year as No. 9 and did not qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships. In 2005, Williams started the year by losing in
3774-750: The US Eastern Grass Court circuit with stops at Merion Cricket Club and Essex county club. There were two professional tennis circuits in existence at the start of the Open Era: World Championship Tennis (WCT), which was for men only, and the National Tennis League (NTL). Ann Jones , Rosie Casals , Françoise Dürr , and Billie Jean King joined NTL. King was paid $ 40,000 a year, Jones was paid $ 25,000, and Casals and Durr were paid $ 20,000 each. The group played established tournaments, such as
3885-698: The US Open and Wimbledon. But the group also organised their own tournaments, playing in the South of France for two months. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) then imposed several sanctions on the group: the women were not allowed to play in the Wightman Cup in 1968 and 1969 and the USLTA refused to include Casals and King in their rankings for those years. By the 1970s the pay differential had increased. King said "Promoters were making more money than women. Male tennis players were making more money. Everybody
3996-484: The US Open. The 1970 Houston Women's Invitation for nine women players was formed. Heldman was friends with Joseph Cullman, CEO and chairman of Phillip Morris, who secured the new tournament. The tournament was a success and the women found footing, "so, at the bidding of the Original 9, Heldman – who had secured backing from Philip Morris's Virginia Slims cigarette brand for her Houston Invitational – went back to her friend, Philip Morris chairman Joe Cullman III, to see if
4107-589: The WTA Tour. The WTA circuit continued to expand during these years. In 1971, King became the first female athlete to surpass $ 100,000 in earnings for a single year. Chris Evert became the first female athlete to win over $ 1,000,000 in career earnings in 1976. By 1980, over 250 women were playing professionally, and the circuit consisted of 47 global events, offering a total of $ 7.2 million in prize money. These increased financial opportunities allowed for groundbreaking developments not only in tennis, but across women's sports. In 1982, Martina Navratilova became
4218-599: The WTA has more than 2,500 players from nearly 100 countries competing for $ 146 million in prize money. Tennis's Open Era , in which professional players were allowed to compete alongside amateurs, began in 1968. Billie Jean King was a high ranking tennis player in the late 1960s who won several titles and was interviewed in the media. The first Open Tournament was the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth . Later that year at
4329-414: The WTA increased its financial stature by signing a television broadcast contract with CBS , the first in the WTA's history. Further financial developments ensued. In 1976, Colgate assumed sponsorship of the circuit from April to November. In 1979, Avon replaced Virginia Slims as the sponsor of the winter circuit, and in its first year offered the largest prize fund for a single tournament, $ 100,000 for
4440-787: The WTA now became part of the Virginia Slims World Championships Series . In all, Virginia Slims (Philip Morris) sponsored women's tennis from 1970 to 1978 and again from 1983 to 1994. The sponsored has received such criticism as the following from the Stanford [University] Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising: "Virginia Slims cleverly sponsored the WTA Tour Championships at the time to increase connections between cigarettes and healthy female athletes." In 1977, women's tennis
4551-606: The WTA tour. Larry Scott became chairman and CEO of the WTA on 16 April 2003. While at the WTA, Scott put together the largest sponsorship in the history of women's sports, a six-year, $ 88 million sponsorship deal with Sony Ericsson . On 24 March 2009, Scott announced that he was resigning as WTA chief to take up a new position as the commissioner of the Pac-10 Conference , on 1 July 2009. Scott pointed to Korn Ferry to headhunt his replacement but "with no decision made" on 13 July 2009, WTA Tour announced
Williams sisters - Misplaced Pages Continue
4662-489: The age of 14. In the first round of her first professional tournament, the Silicon Valley Classic in Oakland, Venus defeated former NCAA singles champion Shaun Stafford . In the second round, Williams was up a set and a service break against world No. 2, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario , before losing the match. That was the only tournament Williams played in 1994. In 1995, Williams played three more events as
4773-570: The appointment of Stacey Allaster, the Tour's president since 2006, as the new chairman and CEO of the WTA. Allaster was named as one of the "Most Powerful Women in Sports" by Forbes Magazine and led the WTA through significant growth and under her leadership, she secured a media agreement that would maximise fan exposure to women's tennis globally. During her time with the WTA, she generated an estimated $ 1 billion in diversified contract revenues, built
4884-541: The brand globally, and was a strong advocate for gender equality. She announced her retirement as chief executive of the WTA on 22 September 2015 citing a personal change in priorities. On 5 October 2015, Steve Simon , the Tournament Director of the BNP Paribas Open , was announced to succeed Stacey as the new WTA chairman and CEO. In December 2021, following Peng Shuai 's disappearance by
4995-517: The company would support a circuit of some kind. Delighted by the publicity splash from Houston, Cullman was only too keen to give the women what they needed: financial backing, to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars, and the Virginia Slims name as title sponsor for a circuit in 1971." The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) began dropping several women's competitions from the tournaments it presided over. For example, in 1970,
5106-461: The crowd of "taking off their hoods". After the initial controversy, neither Williams sister played the tournament in Indian Wells for 14 years. The Women's Tennis Association currently classifies the Indian Wells tournament as a Premier Mandatory event for all eligible players. Exceptions are made when players engage in tournament promotions, but Venus and Serena both declined to promote
5217-679: The doubles rubber. At the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Williams defeated Hingis in the semifinals before losing to her sister Serena for the first time in the final. Williams won her sixth title of the year at the Tier I event in Zurich, defeating No. 1 Hingis in the final. Four weeks later, she lost to Davenport in the semifinals of the tournament in Philadelphia . Making her debut at the year-ending WTA Championships, Williams lost to Hingis in
5328-421: The downside and difficulties faced by touring tennis pros, not unlike the problems of traveling musicians performing a whole series of tour dates and gigs. The article included the phrase "comradeship that falls short of camaraderie", because fellow members were also competitors who usually felt they needed to maintain a certain amount of distance. One player was quoted as saying, "But if you are not playing well, it
5439-476: The duo achieved a non-calendar year Grand Slam in doubles between 2009 Wimbledon and 2010 Roland Garros , which made them the co-No. 1 doubles players on 7 June 2010. Their last major doubles title came at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships . Both players won four gold medals at the Olympics , one each in singles and three in doubles— all won together— the most of any tennis players. Venus also won
5550-487: The expiration of the previous Sony Ericsson deal. In 2024, the WTA made all WTA 1000 events mandatory. The WTA Elite Trophy did not return: WTA 125 tournaments (30) events Since 2012 (number of events varies each year; in 2018 there were ten tournaments: four in United States, two in China and one each in Croatia, France, India and Taiwan), with prize money for the four events in United States at US$ 150,000 and at
5661-721: The final in Key Biscayne, where she defeated her sister in three sets in the first final on the WTA Tour to be contested by two sisters. Williams lost her first match at the Amelia Island Championships in Florida. Three weeks later, however, she won her first title on clay at the WTA Hamburg , defeating Mary Pierce in the final. Williams then won the Tier I Italian Open in Rome, defeating No. 1 Hingis in
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#17327974023335772-481: The final of the Linz Open . Williams did not play a tournament the rest of the year because of anemia . She finished the year ranked No. 3 and with six singles titles. In 2001, Williams reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time, where she lost to No. 1 Hingis. However, Williams teamed with her sister to win the doubles title at the event, completing a Career Golden Slam in women's doubles for
5883-482: The final of the Tier I German Open in Berlin. She then withdrew from that match against Mauresmo due to injury. Going into the French Open , Williams had the best clay-court record among the women and was among the favorites to win the title; however, after making the quarterfinals to extend her winning streak on the surface to 19 matches, she lost to eventual champion Anastasia Myskina . Despite her defeat, she re-entered
5994-412: The final. Serena Williams was subsequently booed during the final with Kim Clijsters and during the trophy presentation. Due to this, neither Williams sister entered the tournament for 14 years, with her sister Serena entering in 2015 after appeals for forgiveness from the event and the WTA Tour. Williams rebounded from the Indian Wells 'boycott' controversy to win the next tournament on the tour calendar,
6105-588: The final. However, she then lost for the first time in her career to Seles in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open . Williams then went on to win the Open Gaz de France in Paris when Jelena Dokić withdrew from the final, and the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, defeating Henin in the final. As a result of her strong start to the season, Williams assumed the world No. 1 position for the first time on February 25, dislodging Capriati. Williams
6216-513: The final. On August 30, 1999, her world ranking reached third for the first time. Seeded third at the U.S. Open , Williams lost in the semifinals to No. 1 Hingis in three sets. However, she teamed with singles champion Serena Williams at this event to win their second Grand Slam women's doubles title. Williams contributed to the victory of the U.S. team over Russia in the Fed Cup final, winning one singles rubber before joining her sister to win
6327-725: The final. She lost in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt, before losing in the final of the Tier I Swisscom Challenge in Zürich to No. 1 Davenport and the semifinals of the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow to Pierce. She had earned enough points during the year to participate in the year-ending WTA Tour Championships but withdrew from the tournament because of tendonitis in her knee. She finished
6438-498: The first Grand Slam tournament to award the same prize money for women as men. The Australian Open would become the second Grand Slam offering equal prize money following suit in 1985 although the tournament awarded men more money from 1996 to 2000 before equal prize money returned in 2001. The French Open offered equal prize money for champions in 2006. In 2007 both Wimbledon and the French Open both offered equal prize money. The WTA Tour sold television rights of all its tournaments as
6549-421: The first Open Wimbledon, the prize fund difference was 2.5:1 in favor of men. King won £750 for taking the title, while Rod Laver won £2,000. The total purses of both competitions were £14,800 for men and £5,680 for women. Confusion also reigned as no one knew how many Open Tournaments there were supposed to be. The tournaments that did not want to provide prize money eventually faded out of the calendar, including
6660-498: The first round to eventual gold-medalists Sun Tiantian and Li Ting . During the 2001 Indian Wells Open tournament in Indian Wells, California , Venus Williams withdrew four minutes prior to her semifinal match with her sister Serena . The following day, Serena played Kim Clijsters in the final. As Richard Williams and Venus made their way to their seats, the crowd booed, and some spectators yelled verbal jabs. Serena
6771-671: The first time in the semifinals of the Cellular South Cup in Oklahoma City. Williams then defeated Joannette Kruger in the final to win the first singles title of her career. In her first Tier I event of the year, Williams lost in the semifinals of the State Farm Evert Cup in Indian Wells to No. 1 Hingis. The following week, Williams won the Tier I Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida. On March 30, 1998, her ranking broke into
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#17327974023336882-404: The first time. This enabled Justine Henin , who won the French Open in 2007, to earn over $ 5 million that year, becoming the first woman in sports to do this. In 2009, Serena Williams went over the six million mark by earning over $ 6.5 million in a single year. Then in 2012 both Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka became the first players to exceed $ 7 million in prize money in
6993-460: The first time. In the final, however, she lost to her sister Serena. This marked the first time in the open era that the same two players had met in four consecutive Grand Slam finals (matched by Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic who met in Wimbledon 2011 final through the French Open 2012 final). Venus and Serena Williams teamed to win the women's doubles title at the event, their sixth Grand Slam title in women's doubles. In February, Williams won
7104-485: The first to win over $ 1,000,000 in a single year. Navratilova's single year earnings exceeded $ 2 million in 1984. In 1997, Martina Hingis became the first to earn over $ 3 million during a single year. In 2003, Kim Clijsters surpassed $ 4 million in earnings for a single year. In 2006, Venus Williams and the WTA pushed for equal prize money at both the French Open and Wimbledon . Both of these Grand Slam events relented in 2007 and awarded equal money for
7215-517: The following year ). In 2010, she returned to the world No. 2 position in singles, but then suffered again from injuries. Starting in 2014, she again gradually returned to form, culminating in two major final appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017. Along with her seven singles major titles, Williams has also won 14 women's doubles major titles, all partnering Serena; the pair are unbeaten in Grand Slam doubles finals. She became
7326-460: The fourth round of the Australian Open to Alicia Molik. She then reached the final in Antwerp, defeating Clijsters and Myskina en route. In the final, Williams was a set and a service break up against Mauresmo before eventually losing. In March, at the Miami Open , she defeated sister Serena in the quarterfinals, the first time she had defeated her since 2001. Venus Williams went on to lose in
7437-464: The fourth round, but then lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Williams did not qualify for the year-ending Tour Championships because of an injury sustained during the China Open . She finished the year ranked No. 10. It was the first year since 2001 that she had finished a year ranked higher than her sister Serena Williams. In 2006, Williams was upset in the first round of
7548-471: The open era. Venus won the match and her fourth Grand Slam singles title. Williams also became only the sixth woman in history to win the singles titles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in consecutive years, the others being Martina Navratilova (twice), Steffi Graf (twice), Althea Gibson , Maureen Connolly Brinker , and Helen Wills Moody (twice). Williams began 2002 by winning the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts in Gold Coast, defeating Henin in
7659-404: The other events at around US$ 125,000. Ranking points are also available at tournaments on the ITF Women's Circuit organized by the International Tennis Federation , which comprises several hundred tournaments each year with prize funds ranging from US$ 15,000 to US$ 100,000. The Players' Council is a group or sub-committee under the WTA board of directors, consisting of eight selected players on
7770-443: The pair. Williams also reached the semifinals of the Tier I Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, where she controversially defaulted her match with her sister just before the match started. Williams had been suffering from knee tendinitis throughout the tournament and eventually this prevented her from playing. The following day, Williams and her father Richard were booed as they made their way to their seats to watch
7881-407: The quarterfinals in three of the Tier I events – the State Farm Evert Cup in Compton, California, the European Indoor Championships in Zürich, and the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. In Indian Wells in March, Williams defeated No. 9, Iva Majoli , in the third round for her first win over a player ranked in the top 10. She then lost in the quarterfinals to No. 8, Lindsay Davenport . Her ranking broke into
7992-648: The quarterfinals of Wimbledon. On July 27, 1998, her ranking rose to No. 5. Williams played three tournaments during the North American 1998 summer hardcourt season. She reached her fifth final of the year at the Stanford Classic in California, defeating No. 6 Monica Seles in the semifinals before losing to No. 1 Davenport. Patellar tendonitis in her left knee caused her to retire from her quarterfinal match in San Diego while trailing Mary Pierce in
8103-459: The quarterfinals of her next three tournaments. Williams began to find her form at the beginning of the clay-court season. At the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Williams defeated Conchita Martínez in the final to win her first title in over a year and the second Tier I title on clay of her career. She then won in Warsaw, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, before reaching
8214-954: The record for the fastest serve on the WTA Tour, recorded at the 2007 U.S. Open , at 208 km/h (129 mph). She likes to approach the net, and finish points quickly. Her height, at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), provides her with a long arm span, allowing her to reach difficult returns while positioned at the net. She has a repertoire of shots to perform at the net, which leads to many won points. Due to her all-court game, Williams can hit winners from any position. An exceptional tactical player with remarkable problem-solving skills, she also plays with sheer power and aggression. She relies on defense infrequently, rarely hitting drop shots and lobs, as her exceptional speed and court coverage allow her to hit with assertive power and strength from frequently defensive positions. Further strengths include her detailed and intricate footwork, and supreme athleticism. Williams turned professional on October 31, 1994, at
8325-412: The season. She reached the semifinals at the year-ending Tour Championships after defeating Seles in the quarterfinals, but she then was forced to retire against Clijsters due to injury. Williams finished the year ranked No. 2 having won seven titles, her best showing in both respects of her career. Williams started 2003 by defeating fifth seed Justine Henin to make the final of the Australian Open for
8436-704: The semifinal and defending champion, Lindsay Davenport, in the final. She also teamed with her sister Serena to win the women's doubles title at this event. She won three Tier II events during the North American summer hardcourt season, defeating Davenport in the final of the Silicon Valley Classic in Stanford and Monica Seles in the finals of both the San Diego Classic in and the Pilot Pen Tennis championships in New Haven. At
8547-459: The semifinals and No. 8 Pierce in the final. At the French Open , she extended her winning streak to 22 matches before losing in the fourth round to No. 125, Barbara Schwartz . Williams teamed with Serena Williams to win the women's doubles title at this event, the first Grand Slam title the pair won together. At Wimbledon , Williams reached the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, losing to eventual runner-up Graf. Williams rebounded in
8658-485: The semifinals to No. 3 Sharapova. In May, she won her first title in over a year at the clay-courts at the İstanbul Cup , defeating Nicole Vaidišová in the final. However, at the French Open, she lost in the third round to 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva , who subsequently tested positive for steroids and was suspended. Williams was seeded 14th for the Wimbledon Championships . In the quarterfinals of
8769-553: The semifinals. She finished the year ranked No. 3. In 2000, Williams missed the first five months of the year with tendinitis in both wrists. She returned to the tour during the European clay court season. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg to Amanda Coetzer and in the third round of the Tier I Italian Open in Rome to Jelena Dokić . Although she had won only two of her four matches before
8880-410: The side of the court, and everybody turned and started to point and boo at them ... It was mostly just a chorus of boos, but I could still hear shouts of 'Nigger!' here and there. I even heard one angry voice telling us to go back to Compton. It was unbelievable ... We refused to return to Indian Wells. Even now, all these years later, we continue to boycott the event. It's become a mandatory tournament on
8991-461: The stands during the final. Serena discusses what happened in her view at Indian Wells in detail in an entire chapter titled "The Fiery Darts of Indian Wells" in her 2009 autobiography, On the Line . She says that on the morning of the semifinal, Venus told the tour trainer that she had injured her knee and didn't think she could play and tried for hours to get approval from the trainer to withdraw, but
9102-670: The summer when she won two Fed Cup matches against Italy and lost in the final of the Stanford Classic to No. 1 Davenport. One week later, Williams defeated Davenport in the semifinals of the San Diego Classic , before losing to No. 2 Hingis in the final. In her last tournament before the U.S. Open , Williams won the New Haven Open in Connecticut, defeating No. 5 Seles in the semifinals and Davenport in
9213-431: The tennis academy of Rick Macci , who took notice of the sisters and who would provide additional coaching. He did not always agree with Williams' father but respected that "he treated his daughters like kids, allowed them to be little girls". Richard stopped sending his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments when Williams was eleven, since he wanted them to take it slowly and focus on schoolwork. Another motivation
9324-758: The third pair of sisters to win a WTA tour doubles title. Williams started the 1999 tour in Australia, where she lost to No. 10 Steffi Graf in the quarterfinals of the Sydney International and No. 1 Davenport in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open . However, she rebounded at the Faber Grand Prix in Hanover , defeating Graf for the first time in the semifinals before losing the final to No. 3 Novotná. Williams then successfully defended her titles in both Oklahoma City and Key Biscayne. At
9435-574: The third set. At the U.S. Open , Williams defeated fourth-seeded Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals before losing to second seeded and eventual champion Davenport in the semifinals. 1998 was the first year that Williams reached at least the quarterfinals of all majors. Williams played four tournaments in the remainder of 1998. She won her third title of the year at the Grand Slam Cup in Munich in September, defeating No. 9 Patty Schnyder in
9546-627: The top 10 for the first time, at No. 10. Williams played only one tournament on clay before the 1998 French Open . At the Italian Open in Rome, she defeated her sister in the quarterfinals and No. 5, Sánchez Vicario, in the semifinals, before losing to No. 1, Hingis, in the final. She lost again to Hingis in the quarterfinals of the French Open. She lost her first match at the Eastbourne International on grass , before losing to No. 3 and eventual champion, Jana Novotná , in
9657-427: The top 10. In Wimbledon , Williams lost a controversial second-round match to Croatian Karolina Šprem . The umpire of the match, Ted Watts, awarded Šprem an unearned point in the second-set tiebreak. Upon the conclusion of the match, he was relieved of his duties. This defeat marked the first time since 1997 that Williams had exited Wimbledon prior to the quarterfinals. After Wimbledon, she reached her fourth final of
9768-419: The top 100 on April 14, 1997. She made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open, reaching the second round before losing to Nathalie Tauziat . She then lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Magdalena Grzybowska . During her debut at the U.S. Open , she lost the final to Martina Hingis , after defeating Irina Spîrlea in a semifinal which saw Spîrlea and Williams collide during
9879-495: The top 9 woman tennis players to take a stand for equality. "These woman became known as the Original 9". They did not play in the Los Angeles tournament and instead wanted to create their own tennis tournament. Several female players contacted Gladys Heldman , publisher of World Tennis Magazine , and stated that they wanted to boycott the event. Although Heldman advised against it, she did help them put together their own tournament in Houston which would not take place until after
9990-568: The tour that advocate player interest, handles grievances, changes in the tennis schedule and other concerns. 2023–2024 Players' Council These lists are based on the WTA rankings. [ vedit · edit source ] [ vedit · edit source ] Venus Williams Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American inactive professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles , Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at
10101-455: The tour, meaning that the WTA can fine a player if she doesn't attend. But I don't care if they fine me a million dollars, I will not play there again. However, on February 3, 2015, Serena Williams wrote an exclusive column for Time magazine stating her intentions to return to Indian Wells for a tournament on March 9, 2015. She did indeed return and won her opening match. Williams withdrew before her semi-final match with Simona Halep because of
10212-433: The tournament officials kept stalling. What got me most of all was that it wasn't just a scattered bunch of boos. It wasn't coming from just one section. It was like the whole crowd got together and decided to boo all at once. The ugliness was just raining down on me, hard. I didn't know what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened to me. What was most surprising about this uproar was the fact that tennis fans are typically
10323-421: The tournament, she defeated French Open runner-up Pierce in a second-set tiebreak, winning it 12–10 to make the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in two years. There, she defeated defending champion and second-seeded Sharapova to make the Wimbledon final for the fifth time in six years. Playing top-seeded Davenport in the final, Williams saved a match point with a backhand winner en route to winning. This
10434-510: The tournament; WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott agreed he would not, promotionally, "put them in a position that is going to be awkward", and tournament director Charlie Pasarell has stated he would accept the WTA tour's ruling. Allegations had been made before Venus's withdrawal that Richard Williams decided who won the matches between his daughters. Those allegations continued and increased as a result of her withdrawal. Richard has said that racial epithets were used against him and Venus as they sat in
10545-501: The tournaments in San Diego, defeating Seles in the final, and in New Haven, defeating Davenport in the final. Williams also won the U.S. Open singles title for the second consecutive year, without dropping a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat fifth-seeded Clijsters, followed by a semifinal victory over No. 2 Capriati. She played her sister Serena in the final, which was the first Grand Slam singles final contested by two sisters during
10656-446: The tournaments, and because many of them were former players themselves, their sympathies lay with the male players, who argued vociferously that most of the money should be theirs." The low point in women's pay inequality came before the US Open in 1970. The Pacific Southwest Championships directed by Jack Kramer , had announced a 12:1 ratio in the prize money difference between what males and females would win. This tournament provoked
10767-559: The women's doubles title at the event, their fifth major women's doubles title together. Williams won the titles in San Diego and New Haven for the third consecutive year, defeating Davenport and Dokic to win the former and defeating Davenport in the final of the latter. At the U.S. Open , Williams defeated Seles in the quarterfinals and Amélie Mauresmo in three sets to make the final. Playing her younger sister Serena for their third consecutive Grand Slam final, her sister won once again. After that, Williams played just four more matches during
10878-457: The world No. 1 in doubles for the first time on June 7, 2010, alongside Serena, after the pair completed a non-calendar-year Grand Slam at the French Open . The pair also won three Olympic gold medals in women's doubles, in 2000 , 2008 , and 2012 , adding to Venus' singles gold in 2000 and her mixed doubles silver in 2016 . Williams has also won two mixed doubles major titles, both in 1998. The Williams sisters are credited with ushering in
10989-494: The year at the Stanford Classic in California, where she was beaten by Lindsay Davenport for the first time since 2000. As the defending champion at the Athens Olympics , Williams lost in the third round to Mary Pierce. She then won three very close matches against Petra Mandula , Shikha Uberoi and Chanda Rubin to make the fourth round of the U.S. Open where she lost to Davenport, the first time she had ever lost at
11100-558: The year ranked No. 5. In 1998, Williams teamed with Justin Gimelstob to win the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and the French Open. Her sister Serena Williams won the other two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles that year, completing a "Williams Family Mixed Doubles Grand Slam". Williams won the first two women's doubles titles of her career, in Oklahoma City and Zürich. Both titles came with her sister, becoming only
11211-665: Was a noted professional rivalry between the sisters in singles — between the 2001 US Open and the 2017 Australian Open , they contested nine major finals. They became the first two players, female or male, to contest four consecutive major singles finals, from the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open ; Serena famously won all four to complete the first of two "Serena Slams" ( non-calendar year Grand Slams ). Between 2000 and 2016, they collectively won 12 Wimbledon singles titles (Venus five, and Serena seven). Nonetheless, they remain very close, often watching each other's matches in support, even after one of them had been knocked out of
11322-497: Was booed often during the match, which she won 4–6, 6–4, 6–2, and the booing continued into the presentation ceremony. Richard accused the crowds at Indian Wells of overt racism, saying, "The white people at Indian Wells, what they've been wanting to say all along to us finally came out: 'Nigger, stay away from here, we don't want you here'". When Venus was asked about her father's statements, she said, "I heard what he heard." Oracene Price (mother and coach of Venus and Serena) accused
11433-408: Was down on the court. Like these people were gonna come looking for me after the match. ... There was no mistaking that all of this was meant for me. I heard the word nigger a couple times, and I knew. I couldn't believe it. That's just not something you hear in polite society on that stadium court ... Just before the start of play, my dad and Venus started walking down the aisle to the players' box by
11544-409: Was her third Wimbledon singles title, her fifth Grand Slam singles title overall and her first since 2001. It was the first time in 70 years that a player had won after being down match point during the women's final at Wimbledon. Williams reached her fourth final of the year in Stanford, where she lost to Clijsters. At the U.S. Open , Williams achieved her second consecutive win over sister Serena in
11655-518: Was introduced as a form of leisurely activity in the United States, “many clubs would not allow women to be members” (Smith & Hattery, 76). Thus, the success of the Williams sisters is one that’s astonishing to the United States both professionally and socially. Both sisters have been ranked by the Women's Tennis Association at the world No. 1 position in both singles and doubles . In 2002, after
11766-407: Was making more money except the women ". In 1969, ratios of 5:1 in terms of pay between men and women were common at smaller tournaments. By 1970 these figures had increased to up to 12:1. Billie Jean King and Cynthia Starr wrote in their book, We Have Come a Long Way , in 1988, "The women were being squeezed financially because we had no control in a male-dominated sport. Men owned, ran and promoted
11877-764: Was racial, as he had allegedly heard parents of other players disparage the Williams sisters during tournaments. At that time, Williams held a 63–0 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among the under-12 players in Southern California. In 1995, Richard pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy and took over all coaching. Williams is an aggressive player, with an all-court game. Due to her assertive playing style, she typically accumulates large numbers of both winners and unforced errors. She possesses powerful groundstrokes on both sides, and
11988-424: Was recovering from the injury, her sister Yetunde Price was murdered. Williams finished the year ranked No. 11. It was the first time in nearly six years that she had dropped out of the top 10. In 2004, Williams came back to the tour suffering inconsistent results. As the third seed because of a protected ranking, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to Lisa Raymond . She then lost in
12099-574: Was the first African-American woman ever to hold the ranking. She held it for just three weeks before surrendering it back to Capriati. Williams failed to defend her title in Miami, after losing in the semifinals to her sister Serena. However, she made a strong start to the clay-court season, winning the Amelia Island Championships, defeating Henin in the final. A week after winning that tournament, she once again replaced Capriati as
12210-497: Was the first professional sport opened to transgender women. The New York Supreme Court ruled in favour of Renée Richards , a player who underwent male-to-female sex reassignment surgery . Eligibility of transgender players is officially regulated under the current WTA official rulebook. In April 1977, the Washington Post published an article entitled "Social Variety Is Slim on Women's Tennis Tour" which looked at some of
12321-486: Was twice the season prize money leader (in 2001 and 2017 ), and ranks second behind Serena in all-time career prize money winnings, having earned over US$ 42 million as of March 2022. Williams was born in Lynwood, California , to Richard Williams and Oracene Price . The Williams family moved from Compton, California , to West Palm Beach, Florida , when she was eleven, so that she and her sister Serena could attend
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