Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player & has been ranked singles world No. 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association.
Serena Williams : Retirement | Face | Ranking, Stats
Along with her older sister Venus, Serena Williams was coached by her parents Oracene Price and Richard Williams.Turning professional in 1995, she won her first major singles title at the 1999 US Open.
| Full name | Serena Jameka Williams |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) | United States |
| Residence | Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S. |
| Born | September 26, 1981 Saginaw, Michigan, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Turned pro | October 1995 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
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From the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open, she was dominant, winning all four major singles titles (each time over Venus in the final) to achieve a non-calendar year Grand Slam and the career Grand Slam, known as the “Serena Slam”.
The next few years saw her claim two more singles majors, but suffer from injury and decline in form. Beginning in 2007, however, she gradually returned to form despite continued injuries, retaking the world No. 1 singles ranking.
Beginning at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships, Williams returned to dominance, claiming Olympic gold and becoming the first tennis player to achieve a Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
She won eight out of thirteen singles majors, including all four in a row from 2014–15 to achieve a second “Serena Slam”.
At the 2017 Australian Open, she won her 23rd major singles title, surpassing Steffi Graf’s Open Era record.
She then took a break from professional tennis after becoming pregnant, and has reached four major finals since returning to play.
Serena Williams Retirement
Tennis legend Serena Williams announced her retirement in a Vogue article published Tuesday.
“I have never liked the word retirement,” Williams wrote. “Maybe the best word to describe what I’m up to is evolution. I’m here to tell you that I’m evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”
Williams, who turns 41 next month, has 73 career singles titles, 23 career doubles titles and over $94 million in career winnings.
Williams is widely hailed as one of the greatest athletes of all time. In her Vogue piece, she noted that some of detractors point out that she hasn’t won the most grand slam titles in women’s tennis history, however.
“There are people who say I’m not the GOAT because I didn’t pass Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam titles, which she achieved before the ‘open era’ that began in 1968,” Williams wrote. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want that record.”
She said she will retire after the U.S. Open, which will run from late August into September. A victory there would tie her with Court’s grand slam record.
Serena Williams face
Everyone’s wondering the same thing when it comes to Serena Williams’ choice of facial accessory at Wimbledon this year.
According to The Times, the small sections of medical tape on her face are proposed to relieve the eight-time Wimbledon singles champion’s sinus problems.
She started wearing the tape when she reached the doubles semifinals at Eastbourne, where unfortunately her teammate Ons Jabeur’s injury kept the pair from finishing.
“My secret’s out,” said the 40-year-old athlete in an interview with Reuters. “I’m a sinus sufferer. Playing tennis or pretty much doing anything everyday is not easy when you have sinuses.
“You feel a lot of pressure, congestion and pain and training for grand slams such as … Wimbledon and the French Open, it’s not easy,” she added.
To keep the nasal passageways clear and the tennis techniques solid, Williams takes hot showers and uses natural saline spray several times a day.
Ranking
Serena Williams hasn’t played since last year’s Wimbledon and is now ranked 246th in the world, but she says he is planning to play at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club this year.
The stripping of ranking points decision was in response to Wimbledon’s ban of Russian and Belarusian players for this year’s Grand Slam tournament amid the invasion of Ukraine.
The ATP disagreed with the tournament’s decision to punish the players from these countries, stating that the ban was against tennis’ ethical values.
So, the ATP wanted to get rid of ranking points so that the players who are unable to compete at Wimbledon are not impacted career-wise.
Notably, Russian Daniil Medvedev will be able to keep his No. 2 ranking despite not being allowed to participate in the June tournament.
Stats
Serena was 38 years, three months, 17 days old when she won the ASB Classic in Auckland in January 2020. Only Kimiko Date and Billie Jean King have won titles at an older age.
However, if Serena wins another title, she will own the record and become the first 40-year-old to win a WTA singles title.
Serena’s 39 combined Grand Slams (23 singles, 14 women’s doubles, 2 mixed doubles) are the most among active players.
It also puts her joint-third (along with Billie Jean King) on the all-time list – behind Margaret Court’s 64 and Martina Navratilova’s 59.
Having not played since her withdrawal from Wimbledon, Serena Williams is currently ranked 40th in the world. That’s also the number of Grand Slam semi-finals she has reached in her career.