CONTENTS Her Serene Highness 4 Early Life 6 Overcoming Obstacles 18 Role Model 24 What’s Next 28 Glossary 30 Find Out More 31 Index 32 Words that are defined in the glossary are in bold type the first time they appear in the text
Her Serene Highness Hailed as the best female tennis player ever American athlete Serena Williams is a powerful force on the courts Her strength as an athlete and unwavering confidence draw excited crowds to her matches Many give Serena credit for the growth in the popularity of tennis since her professional debut nearly three decades ago Queen of the Courts Serena is an aggressive tennis player with perfect technique Her career is beyond impressive She has earned a whopping 23 Grand Slam singles victories more than any other player on the women’s professional tour today Only former tennis greats Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova have been ranked longer as the number one player in the world Serena’s serve which has been clocked at around 120 miles per hour 193 km h is regarded as the fastest-ever in women’s tennis history 4
Family Dynasty A fierce passion for tennis runs in Serena’s family Her older sister Venus is also a professional tennis player and is equally regarded as one of the greatest players in women’s tennis Serena and Venus have teamed up to win many doubles titles including three Olympic gold medals in women’s doubles In 2002 the Williams sisters together held the highest world rankings in tennis with Serena ranked at No 1 and Venus at No 2 Super Serve Serena is known for her killer serve Every serve she tosses into the air looks exactly the same so her opponents have no idea where she is aiming By the time she hits the ball it’s too late for an opponent to react When Serena and Venus team up in women’s doubles tournaments they are a powerhouse pair They have won a record 22 titles together 5
