Serena Jameka Williams is an American tennis player who was born on September 26,

1981. She held the top singles ranking in the world for 319 weeks, including a joint-
      record 186 straight weeks, and five times she was crowned year-end No. 1 by the
      Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). Her 23 Grand Slam singles titles rank second all-
      time behind Margaret Court’s 24 and are the most by any player to have competed
      during the Open Era.
      Serena Williams’ parents, Oracene Price and Richard Williams, also taught her older
      sister Venus. She became a professional in 1995, and the US Open in 1999 saw her
      claim her first major singles victory. She was unbeatable from the 2002 French Open to
      the 2003 Australian Open, winning all four major singles titles (each time defeating
      Venus in the final) and completing the career Grand Slam, also known as the “Serena
      Slam.” She won two more singles majors during the following several years, although
      she also experienced injury and a drop in performance.
      But starting in 2007, she steadily got back into shape despite ongoing ailments,
      reclaiming the top spot in the world singles rankings. Williams reclaimed her dominance
      starting at the Wimbledon Championships in 2012, winning the Olympic gold and
      becoming the first tennis player to complete a Career Golden Slam in both singles and
      doubles. She completed a second “Serena Slam” by winning eight of the thirteen
      singles majors, including all four in a row from 2014 to 2015. She surpassed Steffi
      Graf’s Open Era record by winning her 23rd major singles championship in the 2017
      Australian Open. She subsequently took a break from playing tennis professionally after
      learning she was pregnant, and since starting to play again, she has advanced to four
      major finals.
      Together with her sister Venus, Williams won 14 major women’s doubles
      championships, going undefeated in Grand Slam doubles finals. This includes a Grand
      Slam that took place outside of a calendar year between the 2009 Wimbledon
      Championships and the 2010 French Open, which gave the sisters the No. 1 doubles
      ranking in the world. She and her sister hold the record for the most Olympic gold
      medals ever with four, three of which came in women’s doubles. She also won two
      significant mixed doubles championships, both in 1998. Williams informed the tennis
      world of her intended retirement in August 2022.
      Williams is regarded as one of the all-time best women’s tennis players. A new era of
      strength and athleticism on the women’s professional tennis tour has been linked to the
      Williams sisters’ entry. Serena is the active player with the most major championships in
      singles, doubles, and mixed doubles, having won 39 total: 23 in singles, 14 in women’s
      doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles.

In terms of overall major titles won, she ranks second in the Open Era and tied for third
overall. The most recent woman to win the Surface Slam (major titles on hard, clay, and
grass courts in the same calendar year), she did it in 2015. She is also the most recent
woman to simultaneously hold all four major singles titles (2002-03 and 2014-2015).
Along with Venus, she is the most recent player to hold all four major women’s doubles
titles at once (2009–10).
Williams earned about $29 million in 2016, making her the highest-paid female athlete
in the world. With $27 million in prize money and endorsements, she replicated this
record in 2017 when she was the only female on Forbes’ list of the 100 highest-paid
athletes. In addition to being selected Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated
magazine in December 2015, she has received the Laureus Sportswoman of the Year
award four times (in 2003, 2010, 2016, and 2018). She came in at number 28 on
Forbes’ list of the highest-paid athletes in the world in 2021. She is the all-time highest-
paid female athlete.