Venus Williams

Venus Ebony Star Williams is an American professional tennis player who has held the world No. 1 ranking in both women's singles and doubles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Best known for her achievements in major championships and the Olympics, Williams has won 49 WTA singles titles, including seven majors—five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open—as well as 22 doubles titles, two mixed doubles majors, and four Olympic gold medals.

Williams was born on June 17, 1980, in Lynwood, California, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price. She was home-schooled alongside her younger sister, Serena, and has several maternal and paternal half-siblings. When Williams was three, her family moved to Compton, California. At age eleven, her family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, so she could attend Rick Macci's tennis academy. Williams amassed a 63–0 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour before her father withdrew her from junior events to focus on schoolwork and took over coaching full-time in 1995.

Turning professional on October 31, 1994, at age 14, Williams made her tour debut at the Bank of the West Classic. She made her Grand Slam main draw debut at the 1997 French Open and reached her first major final later that year at the 1997 US Open. In 1998, Williams captured her first WTA singles title at the Cellular South Cup and reached world No. 5. That same year, she won mixed doubles major titles at the Australian Open and French Open with Justin Gimelstob, while also winning her first two women's doubles titles alongside Serena.

In 1999, Williams earned three Tier I titles and won her first major women's doubles title alongside Serena at the French Open, followed by another at the US Open. After missing the start of 2000 due to tendinitis in both wrists, Williams won 35 consecutive singles matches, securing her first major singles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she won gold medals in both singles and doubles. She repeated her Wimbledon and US Open singles victories in 2001 while completing a Career Golden Slam in doubles with Serena.

On February 25, 2002, Williams reached the singles world No. 1 ranking for the first time, becoming the first African-American woman to do so in the Open era. She contested four consecutive major finals between 2002 and 2003, finishing as runner-up to Serena each time. Despite subsequent injury setbacks, she returned to win Wimbledon in 2007 and 2008, achieved the world No. 1 doubles ranking in 2010, and reached two major singles finals in 2017. Credited alongside Serena with bringing enhanced power and athleticism to women's tennis, Williams ranks fourth in all-time career prize money earnings with over $42 million.