Serena Williams

Serena Williams married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in November 2017. They have two daughters, Alexis Olympia Ohanian, born in September 2017, and Adira River Ohanian, born in 2023.

The birth of Olympia involved an emergency cesarean section, blood clots in Williams's lungs, and a large abdominal hematoma caused by hemorrhaging. Williams later spoke publicly about the experience, contributing to discussion of the disproportionate risks faced by Black women during pregnancy and after childbirth.

Williams was raised in Compton, California, after her family moved from Saginaw, Michigan. Her father, Richard Williams, taught Serena and Venus tennis using books and videos, while their mother, Oracene Price, also supported their development. Serena began intensive training at about three years old on public courts near the family home.

By 1991, Williams ranked first in the 10-and-under division of the junior United States Tennis Association tour. The family later moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where Serena and Venus trained with coach Rick Macci. Williams made her professional debut at a qualifying event in Quebec City in 1995, at age 14, and rose to No. 99 in the world rankings by the end of 1997.

Williams won her first major singles title at the 1999 U.S. Open, defeating Martina Hingis in the final at age 17. She and Venus also won the doubles event at that tournament, beginning a partnership that ultimately produced 14 Grand Slam doubles titles.

In 2002, Williams won the French Open, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open, defeating Venus in the final of each tournament. She won her first Australian Open in 2003, completing a career Grand Slam and holding all four major singles titles simultaneously. Williams called that achievement the “Serena Slam.”

Williams became world No. 1 in July 2002 and held the position for 319 weeks across her career, including a 186-week consecutive reign that tied Steffi Graf's record. Her major singles total eventually reached 23, comprising seven Australian Open titles, seven Wimbledon titles, six U.S. Open titles, and three French Open titles.

At the 2012 London Olympics, Williams won the singles gold medal and joined Graf as one of the women to complete a career Golden Slam. She also won Olympic doubles gold medals with Venus in 2000, 2008, and 2012. Together, the sisters won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles and became the winningest doubles team in Olympic history.

Williams's 2013 season included an 78-4 record and 11 titles, including the French Open and U.S. Open. In 2015, she completed a second Serena Slam by holding all four major singles titles from the 2014 U.S. Open through the 2015 Wimbledon. She surpassed Graf's Open Era record at the 2017 Australian Open, defeating Venus in the final while pregnant with her first child.

Williams underwent knee surgery in 2003 and later faced injuries and a decline in form that saw her ranking fall to No. 139. She returned to championship form by winning the 2008 U.S. Open, then reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking in 2009 after victories at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

In 2011, a blood clot in one of her lungs kept Williams away from tennis for several months. She returned to win Wimbledon and Olympic singles gold in 2012, followed by major victories at the 2012 U.S. Open, the 2013 French Open and U.S. Open, the 2014 U.S. Open, and the 2015 Australian and French Opens.

Williams stepped away from professional tennis after the 2022 U.S. Open, where she won her first two matches before losing to Ajla Tomljanović in the third round. She had earlier reached the finals of Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2018 and 2019, and won the 2020 ASB Classic in Auckland, her first singles title in nearly three years.

Williams returned to professional competition in 2026 after several years away from the sport. Her first appearance came in doubles at the Queen's Club Championships, where she partnered with Canadian player Victoria Mboko. They won their opening match before withdrawing from the next round because Mboko was injured.

Williams then entered the Wimbledon singles draw as a wild card. She lost her opening match in three sets and withdrew from the doubles event with Venus after suffering a knee injury.

Williams founded the venture capital firm Serena Ventures in 2014 and established the fashion line S by Serena during the following decade. She founded the makeup brand WYN Beauty in 2024 and was a host of the Met Gala in 2019. In 2012, she became the first Black female athlete to appear on the cover of Vogue.

Her philanthropic work has included serving as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, founding the Serena Williams Foundation, and helping establish the Yetunde Price Resource Center in Compton with Venus in 2018. The center was named for their half sister and provides mental health support and other services to victims of violence and the local community. Williams also helped open two secondary schools in Kenya.

Williams wrote the autobiography On the Line with Daniel Paisner and co-authored books with Venus, including How to Play Tennis and Venus & Serena: Serving from the Hip. She appeared in the HBO docuseries Being Serena and in films including Ocean’s Eight and Glass Onion. In 2025, she appeared during Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl LIX halftime performance and was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People.