Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American professional tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 1 in both singles and doubles. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her World No. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She regained this ranking for the fifth time on November 2, 2009. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002.Williams is the reigning champion in both singles and women's doubles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and in women's doubles at the French Open and the US Open. Her 26 Grand Slam titles places her ninth on the all-time list: 12 in singles, 12 in women's doubles, and 2 in mixed doubles. She is the most recent player, male or female, to have held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously and only the fifth woman in history to do so. Her 12 Grand Slam singles titles ties her with Billie Jean King for sixth on the all-time list.[3] Williams ranks fourth in Grand Slam women's singles titles won during the open era, behind Steffi Graf with 22 titles and Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova with 18 titles each.[3] She has won more Grand Slam titles in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles than any other active female player.
Williams has won two Olympic gold medals in women's doubles.[4]
Williams has won more career prize money than any other female athlete in history.[5]
Williams is the younger sister of former World No. 1 Venus Williams. They have played each other in 23 professional matches since 1998, with Serena winning 13 of these matches as of October 2009. As of July 2009, they have met in eight Grand Slam finals, with Serena winning six times. Between the 2002 French Open and the 2003 Australian Open, they met in all four Grand Slam singles finals, the first time in the open era that the same two players had contested four consecutive Grand Slam finals. The pair have won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles together.
