By: Ujan Chakraborty Image credit:Twitter
Since winning the U.S. Open in 1999, where she won her first major singles championship, Williams has gone on to win 23 Grand Slam championships. Her sister Venus and she share the record for the most Olympic gold medals.
The Williams sisters' sudden climb to fame in 1997, when they were changing the women's game with their agility and incredibly strong serves, seemed unstoppable. At the age of 16, Serena played a crucial role in the 1997 U.S. Open final.
Serena started competing in her first Grand Slams in 1998. By the end of that year's tour, she had established a solid record and had climbed to the number 20 spot, but 1999 would prove to be her real breakthrough year.
Serena faced off against Hingis in her first major final, a match she won in the final set. A turning point in Serena's early career came when she defeated Hingis and won the trophy, firmly establishing her new position as a force to be reckoned with.
She has been outspoken about the racism she experienced in the realm of competitive tennis during her career. Her father, Richard, was accused of match-fixing at the 2001 Indian Wells tournament in California. They received racist taunts when they were spectators at Serena's match against Kim Clijsters.
Serena defeated her toughest rival, her own sister Venus, without dropping a set the entire event, 3 years after winning her maiden major championship at the U.S. Open. She ultimately reached the top rank in the world after the victory in 2002, and she stayed there for the following 57 weeks.
Serena's Olympic victory in 2012 was a particularly meaningful one. She became the second player in history to complete the career Golden Slam in singles by winning all four major championships in addition to the Olympic gold medal.
She became the most successful Grand Slam winner during the Open era in 2017 when she defeated Venus in the Australian Open final without losing a set throughout the competition. It was discovered later that Serena had been pregnant at the time. She discovered this herself a few days prior to the event.
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