Serena Williams
Twenty-three Grand Slam singles titles, the most of any player in the Open era, and a style of play that changed women's tennis.
Compton to the top
Serena and her sister Venus were coached by their father, Richard, on public courts in Compton, California. Serena won her first Grand Slam at the 1999 US Open, aged 17.
The record
- 23 Grand Slam singles titles (1999–2017), the last at the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant.
- Four Olympic gold medals: singles in 2012 and three doubles titles with Venus.
- The "Serena Slam": all four major titles held at once in 2002–03 and again in 2014–15.
How she changed the game
Her serve, the best of her generation, and her power from the baseline raised the physical level of the women's game, while her success brought new fans and players to tennis, especially Black girls in the US.
After tennis
She stepped away after the 2022 US Open, describing it as an "evolution" rather than a retirement, and focuses on family and her venture-capital business.