Venus Williams took the sports world by storm when she first arrived on the international stage as a teenage tennis phenom. From the outset, the expectations for her were high, and she commenced exceeding them from the get-go. Here are 15 things you might not have known about the global icon. In , Williams's family relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida, because her father, Richard Williams , saw that Venus and her younger sister Serena both showed great promise as tennis players and wanted them to train with Rick Macci.
The famed tennis player-turned-coach, who has worked with Andy Roddick, Jennifer Capriati, and Maria Sharapova, also saw the Williams sisters' enormous potential and agreed to train them. They also refrain from participating in politics. While both Venus and her sister Serena have been private about their religious faith, both still make time to attend services and log their hours for the required door-to-door ministry.
At an age when most children are out playing with their friends, Williams was being featured in Sports Illustrated , giving her national recognition as a rising tennis star.
When asked about her dreams for the future, Williams hoped to play at Wimbledon and fly to Jupiter. As for her tennis technique? The sport of tennis was forever changed on October 31, , when Williams turned pro at 14 years old. As it turned out, she greatly exceeded it. Venus began to change her approach to life after her diagnoses by changing her diet to completely vegan foods, and factoring in more days of rest. Venus Williams is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time regardless of gender.
Venus's talents sometimes get overshadowed due to her sister Serena's dominance, but Venus immensely pushed the boundaries of the sport. In her prime, Venus was consistently ranked top 10 in the world; however, injuries began to hinder her performance as she got older. In , Venus is still ranked internationally, and her athleticism and experience still makes her a top competitor.
Venus was born in Compton, California where she was first introduced to the game of tennis. At the age of 10, Venus's family moved to Florida so Venus and her sister could attend the Rick Macci tennis academy. It was difficult for Venus to strive for a professional career in tennis while also focusing on school. Once Venus turned pro, she stopped attending the Macci academy and her father became her tennis instructor. The family remained in Florida during Venus's early professional career.
In the past five years, Venus has not been very successful in Grand Slam tournaments. Most tennis analysts believed Venus was not going to win any more Grand Slams. However, in , Venus surprised the tennis community by reaching the finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
It was her first time reaching the finals in a Grand Slam tournament since Unfortunately, since , Venus has yet to advance past the round of 32 in any of the four grand slam tournaments. Isha became a lawyer and Lyndrea pursued acting, but both sisters have a passion for singing. She has also met with success off the court as the CEO of two companies she started. Williams was born in Los Angeles in She started playing tennis from a very young age with her four sisters. Her father recognized that both Venus and little sister Serena were outstanding players.
Venus moved with her family to Florida to train at a tennis academy. By the time she was thirteen, major sports companies were offering her sponsorship deals. She turned pro at 14 and nearly beat the world number 2 in her debut tournament. Venus made it to the final at her debut US Open in but lost in straight sets. Venus won her first Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon in and her 16th in This outstanding achievement makes her one of the all-time greats.
In , Williams led and won a campaign for women to receive the same prize money as men at Wimbledon and was backed by the British government. Her successful interior design company and fashion lines also show she is a winner.
In early , she claimed her 46th career singles title by defeating top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki at the ASB Classic. That summer, the veteran star advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon, her strongest showing at the tournament since , before losing to Serena on Centre Court. Williams then powered into the quarterfinals of the U. Open, but again was unable to get past her sister in a tense three-set loss.
The following year at Wimbledon, the year-old Williams became the oldest women's Grand Slam semifinalist since Martina Navratilova in , before suffering a loss to Angelique Kerber. She then successfully teamed up with Serena to win the doubles title, their sixth together at Wimbledon.
The top-seeded sisters had entered the match with a perfect Olympic record as a duo. Having also lost in the first round of singles play, Williams sought to salvage her Olympic experience with a late entry into the mixed-doubles competition.
However, her bid for a fifth overall Olympic gold medal fell short when she and partner Rajeev Ram were upset by Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock in the final.
Williams opened with a run to the Australian Open final, her first final-round appearance since Wimbledon in , before losing a hard-fought match to Serena. Williams was unable to carry that stellar form into , however, as she was upset in the first round of both the Australian and French Opens.
That summer, she lost to Serena in the third round of the U. Open, the earliest matchup between the sisters at a major tournament since the Australian Open.
Williams continues to compete, although her ranking has dropped. At age 39, she was the oldest player to enter the Wimbledon field, and she subsequently lost her only match to the youngest, year-old American Cori Gauff.
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