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The 2000s in America

Williams, Serena

by Gina Kuchta

Identification: American tennis player, entrepreneur, and philanthropist

Born: September 26, 1981; Saginaw, Michigan

Williams is one of the most influential African American women in the United States. While dominating the sport of women’s tennis throughout the 2000s, she founded her own clothing company, and established a charitable foundation that helps children and families around the world.

Serena Williams won a gold medal in the women’s singles and doubles events at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, teaming with her sister Venus in the doubles match. In 2002, Williams won the French Open, the US Open, and Wimbledon, defeating Venus in the final round of each. That year, the Associated Press named Serena Williams its Female Athlete of the Year, and Best Sports Woman in the World. She won her first Australian Open in 2003, becoming one of five women in tennis history to win all four grand-slam tournaments. She ranked number one for fifty-seven consecutive weeks from 2002–2003, and was named Female Athlete of the Year and Female Tennis Player of the Year at the annual ESPY Awards in 2003. Two years later, Williams again won the Australian Open. Injuries plagued her in 2006, but the following year, she won the Australian Open and the Sony Ericsson Open. In 2008, Williams regained the number one position for four weeks, and won the US Open for the third time. The following year, she won her fourth Australian Open and her third Wimbledon.

In addition to her success on the court, Williams is also an actor, author, and entrepreneur. In 2001, she appeared in the movie My Wife and Kid. The next year, she was named one of People’s 25 Most Intriguing People, and she was recognized in Essence magazine as one of the 50 Most Inspiring African Americans. In June 2004, Williams started a clothing company, Aneres. In 2009, she published a memoir, On the Line. That same year, Williams opened a secondary school in Kenya for children whose parents could not afford to send them to school.

Throughout her career, Williams has also faced adversity. In 2003, Williams’s sister Yetunde Price was murdered in Los Angeles, California. During the final match of the US Open in 2009, Williams lost her temper with a lineswoman, and the US Tennis Association fined her $10,000. Two months later, Williams was fined an additional $82,500 and was placed on probation for two years.

Impact

Williams’s success has inspired countless young women to pursue tennis. Her foundation strives to help children and families who have been victimized by violent crimes and to assist underprivileged children around the world.

Further Reading

1 

Christopher, Matt. On the Court with Venus and Serena Williams. New York: Little, 2002. Print.

2 

Williams, Serena, and Daniel Paisner. On the Line. New York: Grand Central, 2009. Print.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Kuchta, Gina. "Williams, Serena." The 2000s in America, edited by Craig Belanger, Salem Press, 2013. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=2000_0401.
APA 7th
Kuchta, G. (2013). Williams, Serena. In C. Belanger (Ed.), The 2000s in America. Salem Press.
CMOS 17th
Kuchta, Gina. "Williams, Serena." Edited by Craig Belanger. The 2000s in America. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2013. Accessed September 18, 2025. online.salempress.com.