Serena Williams: Serena Williams is the number one player in the world. Serena Williams possesses the best weapon in women's tennis history: her serve. When you combine it with her overall power game and unwavering drive, you have the most dominant women's player in history. Before Williams, there was Billie Jean King.
Billie Jean King: The most talented player in the history of the game, Billie Jean King revolutionized women's tennis by adding weight to its already heavy artillery. She was a master at using the net to her advantage and had an ability to win big matches when it mattered most. Her courage and determination helped establish women as equal partners with men on the court.
Martina Navratilova: One of the greatest players of all time, Martina Navratilova came out of retirement in 1995 to compete in the Australian Open. At the age of 37, she won the tournament defeating Monica Seles in the final. Since then, she has been named the no. 1 woman in the world eight times.
Maria Sharapova: A five-time Grand Slam winner, Maria Sharapova is considered by many to be the greatest female hitter of all time. From a young age, she showed an innate talent for the sport; however, it wasn't until 2004 that she finally decided to turn professional.
Serena Williams is still reigning supreme on the tennis court after more than 15 years in the game. She has won 23 Grand Slam championships (three times each), 72 Women's Tennis Association trophies, and four Olympic gold medals. It's difficult to deny that she is the best of all time.
In addition to her accolades on the court, Williams is one of the most successful athletes in history, having earned over $20 million since turning pro at age 17. Her endorsements include Nike, CoverGirl, Gucci, and YSL.
She has also been named the greatest female tennis player of all time by several organizations including the International Tennis Federation, Tennis Channel, and ESPN.
Williams made her professional debut in 1997 at the age of 17 in Atlanta during a tournament held near where she lived in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. She went on to win her first major championship two years later at the Australian Open. Since then, she has never lost a match at this event!
Her record is even better on French soil where she has won six titles including the last five in a row. No other player has been able to beat Serena more than twice at the French Open.
She finally dropped a set at the US Open last year when she was beaten by Angelique Kerber in the semifinals.
Venus Williams, like her younger sister Serena, has a tremendous serve in her arsenal. Venus is one of the tallest female tennis players, standing at 6'1"; unsurprisingly, her first serve is one of her most powerful weapons. She averages 120 miles per hour with her first serve.
The second serve is much less effective, as it stands at 80mph on average. That means that only 20% of Venus's first serves get returned by her opponents. She also uses her height well on both wings of the court to attack volleys and return winners.
When it comes to clay courts, she is even more impressive, hitting over 150 miles per hour with her first serve and returning almost everything. On hard courts, she can reach speeds up to 180 miles per hour with her first serve, which is still very fast. But because of its high speed, only few servers are returned by her opponent.
Overall, Venus is one of the greatest servers in tennis history and has won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. In 2004, she became the first woman to win the Golden Slam (which includes all four major trophies in tennis) since Monica Seles in 1990.
Before 2004, the record for the longest time span without losing a match was 21 years and 10 months, held by Margaret Court. After beating Court in the final, Venus now holds this record too.
Serena Williams Williams' career has been filled with honors. She was formerly rated No. 1 in women's singles tennis. She has a whopping 23 Grand Slam singles trophies to her name. In addition, Serena has four Olympic gold medals and one silver.
Williams started playing tennis at the age of 3 because of her family. Her father played baseball and her mother played basketball. They would play games after dinner together every night for an hour while she listened to music they chose together. By the time she was 10 years old, she was traveling around the country with her family as a pro tennis player.
During her teenage years, Serena focused on sports other than tennis. She played basketball and spent time with her friends. But when it came time to return to the court, she told her parents that she wanted to become a professional tennis player like them. So they helped her get trained by some of the best coaches out there and in 2001, at the age of 17, she made her official debut at the Australian Open. Since then, she hasn't stopped winning titles nor has she slowed down in any way during matches or practice sessions.
Today, Serena is still considered one of the best players in the world. She's won more than $20 million in prize money during her career.
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