60 Fun Facts About Serena Williams

Serena Williams was born in 1981 in which city?

The family soon left Michigan for Southern California, which is why most people assume she was born there.

In which year was Serena Williams born?

She is fifteen months younger than her sister and doubles partner, and the youngest of her mother's five daughters.

In which California city did Serena and her sister learn tennis on public courts?

Richard Williams made the move over his wife's objections, believing a tough neighbourhood would toughen up his daughters.

When Serena was nine, the family moved to Florida so she could train at the academy of which coach?

Macci had earlier coached Jennifer Capriati; Richard Williams later pulled his daughters out of the academy to coach them himself.

Serena Williams turned professional in which year?

She was just 14 when she played her first professional event, a qualifying match she lost in under an hour.

At which tournament did Serena win her first Grand Slam singles title?

She was 17, and it made her the first African-American woman to win a major singles title since Althea Gibson in 1958.

Who did Serena beat, the world No. 1 at the time, in the final of her first Grand Slam title in 1999?

On the way to the final she also beat Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martínez, Monica Seles and defending champion Lindsay Davenport.

From the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open, Serena won four straight majors, beating the same opponent in every final. Who?

Holding all four titles at once without doing it in a calendar year became known as the "Serena Slam", and she repeated the feat in 2014-15.

How many Grand Slam singles titles did Serena Williams win?

That is the most of any player in the Open Era and one short of Margaret Court's all-time record, much of which was won before 1968.

At the 2017 Australian Open, Serena's 23rd major broke whose Open Era record of 22?

She won that title without dropping a set and, it later emerged, while about eight weeks pregnant.

How many WTA Tour-level singles titles did Serena win in total?

She added 23 doubles titles and two mixed doubles majors on top of that.

For how many total weeks was Serena ranked world No. 1 in singles?

Only Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova spent longer at the top, and Serena finished five seasons as year-end No. 1.

Serena Williams is married to Alexis Ohanian, a co-founder of which website?

The two met by chance at a hotel breakfast in Rome in 2015, when he sat down at the table next to hers.

Serena and Alexis Ohanian married in November 2017 in which city?

The Beauty and the Beast themed wedding took place at the city's Contemporary Arts Center, with guests including Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian.

What is the first name of Serena's first daughter, born on September 1, 2017?

Her full name is Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., and she has been photographed courtside in matching outfits with her mother since she was a toddler.

Serena's second daughter, born in August 2023, has what first name?

Her middle name is River, and she was born almost a year after her mother's farewell at the 2022 US Open.

How many weeks pregnant did Serena reveal she was in April 2017?

She had accidentally posted the news on Snapchat and then confirmed it, adding that she would miss the rest of the season.

After crowd abuse in 2001, Serena boycotted which tournament for 14 years?

She was booed throughout the 2001 final after her sister withdrew from their semifinal, and her father said the crowd hurled racial slurs.

When Serena ended her 14-year tournament boycott in 2015, she partnered with which non-profit?

The organisation, founded by Bryan Stevenson, provides legal help to people who may have been denied a fair trial.

Who beat Serena in the controversial 2018 US Open final?

The winner, then 20, was collecting her first major, and the trophy ceremony was drowned out by boos aimed at the officiating.

The 2018 US Open final was overshadowed by Serena's row with which chair umpire?

He issued three code violations, including a game penalty, after she called him a thief.

Serena's final professional singles match, at the 2022 US Open, was a defeat to which player?

The three-set third-round loss ended a night session that drew the largest crowd ever for a US Open match at the time.

In which magazine did Serena announce in 2022 that she would "evolve away" from tennis?

She avoided the word retirement, writing that she had never liked it, and said she wanted to grow her family and her venture firm.

How many Olympic gold medals did Serena Williams win?

Three of them came in doubles with her sister, and one in singles, making her one of the few players with a Career Golden Slam.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Serena won singles gold by crushing which opponent in the final?

She won 6-0, 6-1 on the Wimbledon grass, one of the most one-sided Olympic finals ever played.

Serena won her first Olympic gold, in doubles, at which Games?

The sisters went on to win doubles gold again in 2008 and 2012, and never lost an Olympic doubles match together until 2016.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Serena won doubles gold but lost in the singles quarterfinals to whom?

Her conqueror went on to win the singles gold medal, in an all-Russian final.

Which French coach worked with Serena from 2012 through the most dominant stretch of her career?

She won ten of her 23 majors during their partnership, which began after a shock first-round loss at the 2012 French Open.

In which city did Serena cut her foot on broken glass in July 2010, ending her season?

It happened days after she had won Wimbledon, and complications kept her off court for almost a year.

In March 2011, Serena confirmed a hematoma and which life-threatening condition?

She has since said she feared for her life, and she suffered another blood clot scare after giving birth in 2017.

Serena was named Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year in which year?

She was the first woman to receive the award on her own since Mary Decker in 1983.

Serena holds the record for most Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year awards. How many did she win?

She won it in 2003, 2010, 2016 and 2018, and also picked up the Comeback of the Year award in 2007.

Which unseeded Italian ended Serena's 2015 calendar Grand Slam bid in the US Open semifinal?

It was one of the biggest upsets in tennis history; the winner then lost an all-Italian final to Flavia Pennetta.

Serena joined Navratilova, Court, Evert, Graf and which other champion with an Open Era Career Grand Slam?

She completed the set at the 2003 Australian Open, at the age of 21.

With which sportswear company did Serena Williams sign her first big endorsement deal, worth about $12M, in 1999?

She later switched to a far bigger deal with a rival brand, and has said Puma's early faith in her still means a lot.

The venture capital firm Serena founded in 2014 focuses on start-ups founded by whom?

The firm invests mainly in start-ups founded by women and people of colour, and had backed more than a dozen unicorns by 2022.

In 2009, Serena and her sister became minority owners of which NFL team?

They were the first African-American women to hold an ownership stake in an NFL franchise.

Serena is a founding investor in which women's soccer club, which began play in 2022?

The Los Angeles club's celebrity ownership group also includes Natalie Portman, Eva Longoria and Serena's daughter, one of the youngest owners in pro sports.

Who played Serena's father in the 2021 biopic King Richard, which Serena executive produced?

The performance won the Academy Award for Best Actor at a ceremony better remembered for the slap that preceded it.

Richard Williams said his plan for turning his daughters into champions ran to roughly how many pages?

He reportedly decided on tennis after seeing a player on television receive a $40,000 cheque, and taught himself the game from books and videos.

Serena was raised in which religion, and was formally baptised into it in 2023?

She has often thanked Jehovah in victory speeches, and her faith is one reason she does not celebrate birthdays or Christmas.

Serena and her sister met 31 times as professionals. How many of those matches did Serena win?

Nine of their meetings were Grand Slam finals, and Serena won seven of those.

What was Serena promoting with the black catsuit the French federation banned after the 2018 French Open?

She said the compression suit also helped prevent blood clots after her difficult pregnancy; the ban prompted the WTA to update its dress rules.

Which of Serena's half-sisters was murdered in 2003, a loss Serena later dedicated a Grand Slam title to?

She was the eldest sister and had worked as the family's personal assistant; the killing happened in Compton, near where the sisters grew up.

What is the name of Serena's mother, who coached her alongside her father?

A former nurse, she is credited with shaping the sisters' technique after their parents divorced, and rarely gives interviews.

Serena made a surprise dancing cameo at the Super Bowl LIX halftime show during whose performance?

She crip-walked during "Not Like Us", echoing the celebration that had drawn criticism after her 2012 Olympic gold at Wimbledon.

Serena Williams's 2015 Wimbledon win over Muguruza was which Grand Slam singles title of her career?

The win completed her second "Serena Slam", holding all four majors at once, twelve years after the first.

In 2016, Serena was the world's highest-paid woman athlete with earnings of almost how much?

The following year she was the only woman on Forbes's list of the 100 highest-paid athletes.

Serena won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, both in 1998, with which partner?

Her Belarusian partner later became a doubles world No. 1; she never played mixed doubles at a major again after 1999.

How many women's doubles Grand Slam titles did Serena win, all of them with her sister?

The pair never lost a Grand Slam doubles final, a perfect 14-0 record no other team has come close to.

What does the 'Golden' add to a Career Golden Slam, which Serena holds in both singles and doubles?

Only a handful of players have managed even one Career Golden Slam; she has three, one in singles and two in doubles.

With which Canadian teenager did Serena return to professional doubles at Queen's Club in June 2026?

It was her first professional appearance in 1,375 days, and the pair beat third seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in round one.

The largest structure on Nike's Portland campus, covering 1,000,000 square feet, is named after whom?

The one-million-square-foot building is full of references to her career; Nike has sponsored her since a $40 million deal in 2004.

What was Serena's final head-to-head record against Maria Sharapova?

Sharapova's two wins both came in 2004, at the Wimbledon final and the WTA Tour Championships; Serena won every meeting after that.

How much was the five-year deal Serena signed with Nike in 2004 worth?

It followed a $12 million Puma deal signed after she graduated from Driftwood Academy in 1999.

At which 2020 tournament did Serena win her first singles title as a mother?

She beat Jessica Pegula in the Auckland final, then lost in the third round of the Australian Open to Wang Qiang.

Whom did Serena beat in the final of the 1999 Open Gaz de France to win her first professional singles title?

Weeks later she won her first WTA 1000 event at the Evert Cup by beating Steffi Graf in the final.

Which British luxury car maker named Serena its Chief Sporting Officer in 2015?

In 2018 she also joined the board of SurveyMonkey, alongside a long list of endorsement deals from Gatorade to Gucci.

With which partner did Serena win the Hopman Cup for the United States at the start of 2008?

She later reached the 2015 Hopman Cup final with Isner but lost to Poland.

Victoria Azarenka is the only player to have beaten Serena in how many WTA tour-level finals?

Serena still led their series 18–5, including 10–1 at Grand Slams, but Azarenka is counted among the few modern players who truly challenged her.