Serena Williams became the second black woman to win a Grand Slam Title in 1999, after her singles victory at the U.S open. Serena was groomed to be a tennis player. Along with her five other sisters, their father had envisioned them as tennis champions since before they were born. Serena and her sister, Venus, both showed great potential at a young age.
At the age of four and a half, Serena entered her first tennis tournament. As her father recalls, Serena won 46 of the 49 tournaments he entered her in over the next five years. Before her teen years, Serena became a widely known player, due to her high ranking on the highly competitive preteen circuit in Southern California. With the help of a major clothing endorsement deal offered to Serena and Venus, their family moved to Florida for training, after their father withdrew them from the junior tournaments in 1991, with fear of extreme pressure and racial hostility. In 1995, at age 14, Serena became a professional tennis player. Her debut year consisted of her 99th-placed season ranking of all the women tennis players in the world in 1997 at age 16. In 1998, Serena and Venus made history in professional tennis as the first sisters to win championships on the same day, Serena at the Paris Indoors Tournament and Venus in Oklahoma City.
Serena lived in the shadow of her older sister for some time, but it wasn’t long before she proved to be a promising player herself. In 2009, Serena beat Venus at the Wimbledon Championships, for the first time in 6 years. During their careers, the two have faced each other 31 times. Serena holds the advantage with a 19-12 record. Serena Williams didn’t stop there. She has won 23 Grand Slam titles since then, seven of which she defeated her sister. Today, there is much speculation as to whether Serena has permanently retired or whether she plans to return. Only time will tell.
Source: https://www.notablebiographies...