Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American professional tennis player who is currently ranked world No. 5 in the WTA singles rankings. She is generally regarded as one of the all-time greats of women's tennis and, along with younger sister Serena Williams, is credited with ushering in a new era of power and athleticism on the women's professional tennis tour.
Williams has been ranked world No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association on three occasions, for a total of 11 weeks. She first became the world No. 1 on February 25, 2002, the first African American woman to do so in the Open Era. Her seven Grand Slam singles titles puts her in a tie for 12th on the all-time list, and a tie for 8th on the Open Era list, more than any other active female player except her sister Serena. In total she has reached sixteen Grand Slam finals, the most recent being the finals at Wimbledon in 2017. She has also won 14 Grand Slam Women's doubles titles, all with her sister Serena, and the pair are unbeaten in Grand Slam doubles finals;[19] Venus also has two Mixed doubles titles. Her five Wimbledon singles titles ties her with two other women for eighth place on the all-time list, but gives her sole possession of No. 4 on the Open Era List, only trailing Navratilova's 9 titles and Serena's and Graf's 7 titles. From the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2001 US Open, Williams won four of the six Grand Slam singles tournaments held. At the 2017 Wimbledon Championships, Williams extended her record as the all-time leader, male or female, in Grand Slams played, with 75. Williams's run to the 2017 Wimbledon singles final also broke the record for time elapsed between first and most recent grand slam singles finals appearances.
Williams has won four Olympic gold medals, one in singles and three in women's doubles, along with a silver medal in mixed doubles. Venus also holds the record for the most Olympic medals won by a male or female tennis player, shared with Kathleen McKane Godfree. She is the only tennis player to have won a medal at four separate Olympic Games. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Williams became only the second player to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games, after Helen Wills Moody in 1924.
With 49 singles titles, Williams is behind only Serena among active players on the WTA Tour. Her 35-match winning streak from the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2000 Generali Ladies Linz tournament final is the longest since January 1, 2000. She is also one of only three active WTA players to have made the finals of all four Grand Slams, along with Serena and Russian Maria Sharapova.
“He is exaggerating, for sure—130 mph approaches the high end for the likes of Sampras.”
Sports Illustrated writer Ian Thomsen in response to Richard Williams asserting that Venus could hit a 130 mph serve. Her record is 129 mph, the second fastest female speed of all time.
Thomsen, Ian (April 6, 1998), "Changing of the guard". Sports Illustrated. 88 (14):64
About
"This Drastic Diet Change Helped Venus Williams Fight Her Autoimmune Condition", interview with Health (12 January 2017) http://www.health.com/nutrition/venus-williams-raw-vegan-diet.
.jpg){kind=link}