Venus Williams

Venus Williams (born June 17, 1980, Lynwood, California, U.S.) is an American tennis player who—along with her younger sister Serena—redefined the sport with her strength and superb athleticism. Venus Williams won seven Grand Slam singles titles: Wimbledon five times (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, and 2008) and the U.S. Open twice (2000 and 2001).

Early life

Williams was the first daughter of Oracene Price and Richard Williams. It was a tight-knit family, which included three half-sisters from her mother’s previous marriage. Her father had become a devoted tennis fan, and he decided to turn Venus and Serena into tennis champions—and that he did. Local tennis coach Larry Ready told ESPN that he remembers seeing the pair of sisters with tennis rackets “sticking up out of their strollers” as their parents played on the court. Venus went on to take her first lessons when she was four years old, with sister Serena close in tow. With their father leading sessions courtside, Venus and Serena practiced daily for hours, sometimes both before and after school.

Though the photos seen by the public today show numerous trophies and hard-fought victories, there was not a promise of that success when the sisters were young. They grew up in Compton, California, and the pair later recalled hearing gunshots as they practiced. In his memoir, Black and White: The Way I See It (2014), Richard Williams wrote that he fought with local gang members in order to access the courts for these practice sessions. In 2017 Venus spoke about these difficulties while attending an event that addressed community violence, among other topics.

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“If a car backfired, we knew to hit the ground, because it sounded very similar to a gun. So between the gunshots and the cars backfiring, we were always hitting the ground. Our dad always had us get back up and practice, though.”

Still, at the same event, Williams said that tennis was a creative outlet for her, one that other children in the community around her may not have had.

Channeling her energy into tennis, Williams quickly excelled. At age 10 she was already able to serve more than 100 miles (161 km) per hour, and she harnessed that power to go undefeated in the United States Tennis Association junior tour. Her family moved to West Palm Beach, Florida, in 1991 for the sisters to train with legendary coach Rick Macci, who offered them free lessons after recognizing their potential. Williams turned professional in 1994 and soon attracted attention for her powerful serves and ground strokes. In 1997 she became the first unseeded U.S. Open women’s finalist in the open era at just 14 years old; she lost to Martina Hingis—but this was only the beginning.

Hitting the sweet spot

In 2000 Williams won the prestigious Wimbledon tournament, defeating the defending champion, three future Hall of Famers, and Serena in her run to claim the title. Months later Venus also won the U.S. Open, and she successfully defended both of her titles the following year; at the 2001 U.S. Open she defeated Serena in what was the first prime time broadcast of a women’s singles final. At the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Venus captured the gold medal in the singles competition and, with Serena, won the doubles event. Venus secured the number one ranking for the first time in February 2002, and during her career she would be the top-ranked player for a total of 11 weeks.

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In 2002 Serena defeated Venus in the finals of the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon, but in 2005 Venus captured the Wimbledon championship. She struggled with injuries and competed in only a few tournaments the following year but went on to win her fourth Wimbledon in 2007. The following year Venus defeated Serena for her fifth career Wimbledon title, placing her fifth all-time in women’s career singles championships at Wimbledon. Also in 2008 the Williams sisters won their second Olympic gold medal in doubles, this time in Beijing. With these wins, Venus became one of the most-decorated tennis players in Olympic history. The following year the sisters met again at the finals of Wimbledon, though this time Serena prevailed.

In the ensuing years, Venus’s play declined, and in 2011 she was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disorder characterized by dryness of the eyes and mouth that can also cause extreme fatigue or chronic pain. At this point, she told Experience Lifemagazine that she was “too sick to continue to play.” However, she focused on recovering and continued to compete. In 2016 she won her 49th tournament. She did not return to a Grand Slam singles final until the 2017 Australian Open, where she lost to Serena. Later that year Venus reached the finals at Wimbledon but was defeated.

Injuries and return to the court

In the ensuing years Williams struggled with her health, and in 2021 she sustained an ankle injury in the Australian Open—the same year she dropped out of the top 100. In 2023 she suffered a painful knee injury during the first round at Wimbledon. Williams lost the match, and later that year she was forced to withdraw from the U.S. Open after tearing her hamstring. She returned for the Miami Open, in March 2024, but lost in the first round. A few months later, she had surgery for uterine fibroids, benign but often painful tumors, which she had for nearly 30 years.

After a 16-month absence, Williams made a return to the court, and a successful one at that. In July 2025 she became the tour’s second-oldest woman to win a singles match when she defeated 23-year-old Peyton Stearns at the D.C. Open. It was also her first singles victory since 2023.

At a press conference after the win, the star affirmed who this renaissance was for:

“I’m not here to prove anything to anyone; if I’ve returned, it’s solely for myself, so I have nothing to prove.”

Although Williams lost in the second round of the tournament, she was not done. The day before that match, it was announced she would play at the Cincinnati Open in August 2025. At that tournament Williams lost in the first round. Just a few weeks later, she returned to the court for the U.S. Open, which she had won twice before. Playing before an enthusiastic crowd, she lost a three-set match in the first round. At a following press conference, Williams was asked about what she proved to herself. She spoke about the importance of being able to play healthy, tearfully noting, “It was nice to be freer.”

Personal life

In 2025 Williams wed actor Andrea Preti.