Serena Williams redefined women's tennis with unmatched power and grace. However, her influence extends far beyond the baseline of the court. For instance, she is a fashion icon, a business leader, and a dedicated mother. Furthermore, her journey involved life-threatening health scares that she fought to overcome. Consequently, she stands as a global symbol of resilience for women everywhere. Finally, let’s explore the life of this tennis queen.
Serena Williams
Serena Williams won the 2017 Australian Open while she was roughly two months pregnant. Remarkably, she did not drop a single set during the entire tournament despite her condition.
She speaks fluent French and often conducts on-court interviews in the language. Additionally, she learned it specifically to connect better with the crowd at the French Open.
Surprisingly, she is a certified nail technician. Therefore, she often performed her own manicures before big matches as a calming pre-game ritual.
She and her sister Venus became the first female African Americans to hold a stake in an NFL franchise. Specifically, they bought a minority share of the Miami Dolphins in 2009.
She boycotted the Indian Wells tournament for 14 long years. Unfortunately, she faced severe racial abuse there in 2001 and refused to return until 2015.
She nearly died after giving birth to her daughter Olympia. Consequently, she suffered a pulmonary embolism and had to spend six weeks in bed recovering.
Serena Williams is a dedicated Jehovah’s Witness. Therefore, she does not celebrate birthdays or holidays like Christmas due to her religious faith.
She is a massive fan of the punk rock band Green Day. In fact, she loves them so much that she once joined them on stage to dance during a concert.
She launched Serena Ventures to invest in early-stage companies.
She holds the record for the highest career prize money in women’s tennis history. Ultimately, she earned over $94 million [€88 million] solely from tournament winnings.
She became the first black female athlete to appear solo on the cover of American Vogue. Uniquely, she appeared on the cover for the famed September issue, which is the most important of the year.
She loves dogs and often brought them on tour with her. For instance, her Yorkshire Terrier named Chip frequently sat in her bag during practice sessions.
She wrote a bilingual children’s book titled The Adventures of Qai Qai. Thus, the story features her daughter’s famous doll exploring a magical world of imagination.
She danced in Beyoncé’s music video for the song Sorry. Reportedly, the singer personally asked her to appear to represent strength and female power.
Before matches, she had a very specific superstition about her socks. Strangely, she would wear the same pair of socks for an entire tournament as long as she kept winning.
