When the history of tennis is told, it will not be complete without a mention of Serena Williams. The woman who has been around the sports for as long as many cannot even remember has been a very significant part of the game.
An American, Serena is argued to be the greatest tennis player ever and she has remained at the top of the game as the top in the world for as much as 319 weeks, a record only surpassed by two other women in the past.
Serena Williams Bio
Born Serena Jameka Williamson September 26, 1981, in Michigan, the tennis star was raised together with her sister, Venus as well as her three half-sisters by her parents, Richard Williams and Oracene Price. The girl who would later wow tennis lovers grew up as the youngest child in the family.
At a very young age, Serena and Venus began playing tennis. At the time, Serena was only three years old. The two girls were homeschooled by their mother and father who also doubled as their tennis coach. Growing up, Serena had always wanted to be a tennis champion.
Career
Since even before she began, the young Williams was all fire. Without any patience and wanting to jump into the game, she got into a legal battle when she was only 14 because she was not allowed to make her debut by the World Tennis Association. She would go on to withdraw the lawsuit and 2 years later, make a very good statement about herself on the court.
The coming years would see her rise to be a dominating figure on the court as well as a great influence on a lot of people around the world. She got to make it to the No. 1 spot for the first time in 2002 after defeating her sister, Venus to win her first Wimbledon. The year was great for her as she won 8 singles titles with three Grand Slam titles.
Through the years, Serena has recorded 29 Grand slam final appearances, winning 23 titles. She also appeared in 14 women’s doubles and won all of them with Venus. For mixed doubles, she won 2 of the 4 that she appeared in.
Serena Williams’ Net Worth
Serena has already made a name for herself in the world of sports. While doing this, she has also acquired a lot of wealth for herself. This came in the form of mainly her winnings and endorsement deals. She has also made some money from entertainment with her appearances in TV shows as well as with the sale of her books.
Thanks to these, Serena has a net worth of over $150 million. Nevertheless, she still made it to Forbes’ “100 Highest-Paid Athletes in 2017”. What makes it even more interesting is the fact that she is the only female athlete to make the list which had people who defined sports in the year.
According to the magazine, Williams has a career-winning prize of 84 million. What this means is that she is $50 million richer than any other female tennis player. Apart from the many titles she has won, Serena has had endorsement deals with many companies, products, and brands including Nike, Beats by Dre, JP Morgan Chase, and many others.
With $150 million to her name, Williams has a husband whose net worth is also massive considering the fact that he founded a company that is worth $1.8 billion.
Father and family
Her father and mother suffered a divorce in 2002. Next, her father went on to marry a much younger woman whom he was to later divorce. According to the 75-year-old man, his 38-year-old wife, Lakeisha, stole his social security checks before she left him in 2016 for someone with a criminal past. He also told the court that in an attempt to transfer his properties, she forged his document. The two got married in 2010 and they have a son named Dylan before they divorced in 2017.
Serena Williams’ Husband and Baby
Serena Williams is married to Reddit’s co-founder, Alexis Ohanian. The two have been together since 2015 after they met by chance. Of Armenian-American and German heritage, Alexis is 2 years younger than the tennis legend, but since as it is said, age is just a number, the two had an on-again-off-again relationship but eventually got married in November 2017. The wedding which took place in New Orleans at the Contemporary Arts Center came after they got engaged in December 2016.
Before they exchanged the vows, Serena and Alexis had already had a daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. who was born on September 1, 2016, at West Palm Beach, Florida. Baby Alexis has also got some celebrity status herself, most especially on social media.
Philanthropy
In order to give back, the tennis queen created the Serena Williams Fund which she uses to promote equity in education as well as help those who are victims of senseless violence. Apart from that, she has also founded the Williams Sisters Fund in 2016 alongside her sister, Venus.
Apart from tennis, Williams has also been into entertainment as she has appeared in both TV shows and music videos. She has provided voicing for the Simpsons, Higglytown Heroes, Loonatics Unleashed, Avatar: The Last Airbender, and The Legend of Korra. Serena has also appeared on Drop Dead Diva, ER, Hair Show, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and My Wife and Kids.
She was in Common’s music video, I Want You which also had Kanye West and Alicia Keys, and also in Beyoncé’s Sorry music video.
Height, Weight, and Body Measurements
A very athletic woman who has done a lot of things almost impossible or thought so, Serena is both well built and very beautiful. Here are her body measurements:
Height: 5.9 Inches (175 cm)
Weight: 154 Lbs (70kg)
Bra Size: 36D
Body Measurements: 40-30-44
