G.O.A.T, Venus, Daughters, Serena Ventures: Everything you always wanted to know about Serena Williams (but never had time to find out) – updated with surgery for neck cyst
Serena Williams is considered the greatest female player in tennis history. Here are the answers to some common questions about the American legend
Serena Williams, Sao Paulo 2024
Image Credit: Zuma / Panoramic
You can follow Serena Williams on Twitter, on Instagram and on Facebook.
Who is Serena Williams?
Serena Williams is a retired professional tennis player. She won 23 Grand Slam singles titles and is considered by many to be the greatest female tennis player of all time.
Did Serena Williams have a recent health scare?
In October 2024, Serena Williams revealed that she underwent a surgical operation to remove a benign branchial cyst in her neck.
The 43-year-old revealed on social media that she discovered the lump in May this year and underwent an MRI that gave her the diagnosis. Doctors initially told her that she did not have to remove it but it kept growing to “the size of a “small grapefruit” and that she eventually decided to remove it. although it was still benign. Williams said she is recovering now and everything went fine with the surgery.
Is Serena Williams a businesswoman?
Serena Williams is very actively involved in the business world through Serena Ventures, the venture capital fund backed and founded in 2017 by the tennis star.
Williams founded Serena Ventures with Alison Rapaport Stilman with a vision to support founders “whose perspectives and innovations level the playing field for women and people of colour”.
In an online video, Williams revealed that she had invested in over 85 companies, of which14 have gone on to become unicorns.
Did Serena Williams have a second baby?
On August 22, 2023, Serena Williams and husband Alexis O’Hanian confirmed that they have become parents to a second daughter, Adira River Ohanian. The couple first became parents to daughter Olympia on September 1, 2017.
Has Serena Williams retired?
Serena Williams is retired. She lost to Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 in the third round of the 2022 US Open.
Prior to the event, she announced that she intends to “evolve” away from tennis into a new life path. In an essay she wrote for Vogue, released on August 9, 2022, she said that her current schedule was about to lead her into retirement, although she did not like using that word directly. She explained that she was exploring other options, including a focus on her venture capital business, and trying to expand her family.
While speaking at the A+E Networks and the History Channel’s “History Talks” series held in Washington, DC in September, Williams said, “I just needed to stop,” as quoted by Vanity Fair. “I always said I wanted to stop when I’m playing really good tennis and winning and beating good players. For me, it’s really about things I want to do spiritually and spending time with my daughter and family. As a super hands-on mom, I can’t tell you how hard it was. I lost so many matches after I had Olympia because it was so hard to be on the court. I feel like I’ve given so much of my life to tennis, my entire life, that it’s time to do something different for me and also work on other things.”
Did Serena Williams play at the 2022 US Open?
Serena Williams did play the 2022 US Open and made a stirring run to the third round. The American defeated Danka Kovinic in the first round and then defeated the second seed Anett Kontaveit 7-6, 2-6, 6-2. In a wild third round contest, Williams was defeated by Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7, 6-1.
Williams also played Toronto and Cincinnati, the two big tune-up events leading up to the US Open, after her first round exit at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
How did Serena Williams fare at Wimbledon in 2022?
After months when it seemed as if she was heading into retirement, Williams sparked a frenzy on social media on June 14, 2022 when she posted a photo on Instagram, showing her wearing grass-court shoes and standing on a grass court, with the caption: “SW and SW19, it’s a date. 2022. See you there. Let’s go”.
Because she left it too late to enter using her protected ranking, Serena needed a wildcard to enter the tournament and later on June 14, the confirmation came from Wimbledon.
Williams lost in the first round, going down to Frenchwoman Harmony Tan 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) in a three-hour plus epic.
What is her nationality and when was Serena born?
Serena Williams was born on September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, USA. Williams is American. She was born in Michigan, but grew up in Compton, California, near Los Angeles.
How many Grand Slam titles does Serena Williams have?
Williams is the active leader in Grand Slam singles titles. She owns 23, including seven at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. She also owns 14 major doubles titles, two major mixed titles and four Olympic gold medals. Her total of 23 is one short of the all-time record held by Margaret Court.
At what age did Serena Williams begin playing tennis?
Williams began playing tennis at the age of five in Compton, California. She was then coached by her father Richard Williams.
When did Serena Williams start her pro career?
Williams began her professional career in 1995 at age 14. The American played her first pro tournament in Quebec City, receiving a wildcard into the qualifying draw. She lost to Annie Miller, ranked 149th in the world.
Williams won her first match on the professional tour against Elena Likhovtseva in Chicago in 1997. She reached the semi-finals after defeating Mary Pierce, ranked 7th in the world, and Monica Seles, ranked 4th in the world. The American won her first career title of her career at the “Open Gaz de France” in Paris in February 1999.
Who is Serena Williams’ coach?
Williams was last coached by Eric Hechtman, who has been working with Venus Williams since 2019.
Williams had earlier been coached by Patrick Mouratoglou since June 2012, a collaboration that began at Wimbledon, after Williams lost in the first round of a Grand Slam, Roland-Garros, for the first time in her career. But amid uncertainty about her career, Mouratoglou announced in April that he would now be working as the full-time coach of Simona Halep, the former world No 1.
With Mouratoglou, Serena Williams has won 10 of her 23 Grand Slams, and the gold medal in singles and doubles at the 2012 London Olympics. Before that, Williams was coached by her father, Richard Williams. With him, she won 13 Grand Slam titles.
Who are her parents?
Williams’ parents are Richard Williams, born February 16 1942, and Oracene Price, born April 3 1952. They married in 1980 and got divorced in 2002.
Who is Serena Williams’ husband?
Williams’ husband is Alexis Ohanian, an American from Armenian descent born April 24 1983, in New York City, New York. He is the co-founder of Reddit. Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian met in Rome in 2015. In September 2017, they had their first child, a girl named Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. and got married on November 16, 2017. Serena gave birth to their second daughter, Adira River Ohanian, in August 2023.
How did Serena Williams meet her husband?
In a recent interview with Drew Barrymore, Serena Williams revealed how she first met her husband, Alexis Ohanian, in a restaurant in Italy and was trying to get rid of him as he came and sat right next to her group even though the entire restaurant was empty.
How many siblings does she have?
Williams has an older sister, Venus Williams, a seven-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1in 2002. The American also has three half-sisters, Yetunde, Lindrea and Isha Price, born from the union between her mother Oracene Price and Yusef Rasheed. In 2003, at age 31, Yetunde Price was murdered in a shooting in Compton, California.
How many children does Serena Williams have?
Williams has two daughters with her husband Alexis Ohanian. The first, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., was born on September 1, 2017.
On August 22, 2023, the couple announced they had a second daughter – Adira River Ohanian.
Why was Serena Williams close to death when she gave birth to her daughter Olympia?
Serena Williams has spoken several times about the complications she experienced after giving birth to daughter Olympia. In an article for ELLE magazine in April 2022, she wrote about having to advocate for herself repeatedly while in hospital, explaining the eventual diagnosis when the medical team acted on her requests: “I had a blood clot in my lungs, and they needed to insert a filter into my veins to break up the clot before it reached my heart.” Including the c-section by which the baby was born, Serena had four surgeries in the space of seven days.
What is the head-to-head between Serena Williams and Venus Williams?
Serena holds a 19-12 lead in the head-to-head between the two sisters. The Williams sisters have met in nine Grand Slam finals, with Serena winning seven of those.
How many titles has Serena Williams won in her career?
Serena Williams has won 73 WTA Tour singles titles in all, including 23 Grand Slams. Her last title came in Auckland in 2020.
She also has 23 doubles titles, 14 of them at the Grand Slams with sister Venus Williams. Only one of her doubles titles (Leipzig in 2002) came without Venus – she partnered Alexandra Stevenson there. Williams has also won two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles.
How much prize money has Serena Williams won in her career?
As per the WTA website, Serena has won over $94.81 million in career prize money, the highest by any female tennis player. Only the Big 3 – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer – have earned more money in the history of tennis than Williams.
