50 Fun Facts About Venus Williams

How many Grand Slam singles titles has Venus Williams won?

Five came at Wimbledon and two at the US Open.

How many WTA Tour singles titles has Venus won?

Seven of them are majors, plus the 2008 WTA Tour Championships.

In which California city was Venus born in 1980?

The family moved to Compton when she was three, at her father's insistence.

Where did the family move when Venus was 11 so the sisters could attend Rick Macci's academy?

Richard Williams pulled them out of the academy in 1995 and took over all coaching himself.

What was Venus's record on the USTA junior tour when her father stopped entering her in events?

She was the No. 1 under-12 player in Southern California at the time.

How old was Venus when she turned professional on October 31, 1994?

Her only event that year was the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland.

Who beat the 17-year-old Venus in her first major final, the 1997 US Open?

The semi-final was marked by a mid-match collision with Irina Spîrlea.

In which year did Venus and her sister first meet as professionals?

Venus won the second-round match and then lost to Lindsay Davenport.

With whom did Venus win the 1998 Australian and French Open mixed doubles titles?

Her sister won the other two that year for a 'Williams Family Mixed Doubles Grand Slam'.

Whom did Venus beat in the final to win her first major singles title at Wimbledon 2000?

She beat No. 1 Hingis in the quarters and her sister in the semis along the way.

Whom did Venus defeat in the 2000 Sydney Olympic singles final?

She added doubles gold with her sister the same week.

How long was Venus's winning streak after the 2000 French Open?

It included six tournaments and ended in the Linz final against Lindsay Davenport.

Venus and her sister controversially did not meet at which 2001 tournament after Venus defaulted?

Neither sister returned for 14 years after the crowd booed the family.

How many championship points did Venus save in the 2001 Key Biscayne final?

The win took her to a career-high No. 2.

How many sets did Venus drop on the way to the 2001 US Open title?

The final against her sister was the first all-sister major final of the Open era.

On what date did Venus first become world No. 1?

She was the first African-American woman to hold the ranking and the second ever after Althea Gibson.

Whom did Venus displace to become No. 1 in 2002?

She held the ranking for three weeks before handing it straight back.

How many consecutive major finals did Venus lose to her sister in 2002–03?

Nadal and Djokovic later matched the feat of the same two players meeting in four straight major finals.

What was Venus's seeding when she won Wimbledon in 2005?

She saved a match point against Lindsay Davenport in the final, the first such comeback in 70 years.

Whom did Venus beat in the 2007 Wimbledon final as the 23rd seed?

It made her the lowest-seeded Wimbledon champion ever, breaking her own 2005 record.

How fast was Venus's 2007 US Open serve, a Grand Slam record at the time?

She held the WTA fastest-serve record until 2014.

Whom did Venus beat in the 2008 Wimbledon final for her fifth title there?

It was the first time since 2001 she had beaten her sister in a major final.

Whom did Venus defeat in the final to win the 2008 WTA Tour Championships in Doha?

It was her first and only year-end championship title.

In which year did Venus reach No. 1 in doubles for the first time?

She and her sister had just completed a non-calendar-year Grand Slam at the French Open.

What autoimmune condition forced Venus out of the 2011 US Open?

She adopted a vegan diet after the diagnosis.

How many Olympic gold medals has Venus won?

One in singles and three in doubles, plus a mixed doubles silver in 2016.

With whom did Venus win Olympic mixed doubles silver in 2016?

It made her the first player to medal at four Olympic Games.

How many women's doubles majors have Venus and her sister won together?

They have never lost a major doubles final.

Venus's run to the 2017 Australian Open final set what Open era record?

Twenty years separated it from the 1997 US Open; her sister later broke the record.

Who beat Venus in the 2017 Wimbledon final?

She avenged the loss at the WTA Finals later that year.

Who eliminated Venus in the 2017 US Open semi-final?

It was her first US Open semi-final since 2010 and sent her back into the top five.

Venus's 2006 essay accusing Wimbledon of being on the wrong side of history ran where?

Tony Blair endorsed her argument; Wimbledon equalised prize money in February 2007.

Who was the first woman to benefit from equal prize money at Wimbledon?

She won the 2007 title and received the same cheque as men's champion Roger Federer.

Which ESPN series documented Venus's equal-pay fight in 'Venus Vs.'?

It premiered on July 2, 2013.

Which world No. 203 beat both Williams sisters in a 1998 'Battle of the Sexes'?

He beat Venus 6–2 and her sister 6–1 at the Australian Open.

What is the name of Venus's interior design firm?

It designed athletes' apartments for New York's failed 2012 Olympic bid.

What is the name of Venus's fashion line, launched in 2007?

Its 2012 New York fashion week debut was modelled by athletes rather than models.

The Williams sisters became minority owners of which NFL team in 2009?

They were the first African-American women to own part of an NFL franchise.

What was the title of Venus's 2010 book?

Co-written with Kelly E. Carter, it reached the New York Times top five.

In what subject did Venus earn an associate degree in 2007?

She later added a business administration degree from Indiana University East in 2015.

Which institution awarded Venus a business administration degree in 2015?

A WTA agreement let her study online while still competing.

Which racquet did Venus use after signing with Reebok at 14?

She signed the Reebok deal in 1995.

In which religion was Venus raised?

Her father home-schooled both sisters.

Whom did Venus marry in 2025?

The wedding was held on the Italian island of Ischia in September.

On which 2021 film about her family was Venus an executive producer?

Will Smith played her father in it.

How tall is Venus?

Her reach at the net is one of her biggest weapons.

What record did Venus extend at the 2026 Australian Open?

It was her 95th major appearance.

Which player ended Venus's 15-match winning streak in the 2010 Miami final in 58 minutes?

The loss still lifted her to No. 4 and past $26 million in career prize money.

Which of Venus's half-sisters was killed in Compton in 2003?

She had been working as the sisters' personal assistant.

In which year did Venus finish ranked No. 102, her first year-end outside the top 50 since 1997?

Her Sjögren diagnosis cost her the second half of the season.