“Ever since I was a little girl, my dream was to be the best tennis player in the world. Luck has nothing to do with being good at the sport. I have spent many, many hours… countless hours… on the court working for my one moment in time, not knowing when it would come but believing that it would.” Serena Williams (From her official website: https://www.serenawilliams.com/#join-my-list)
Regarded as the greatest professional tennis female player of all time, Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an African-American tennis player who has redefined the sport through high-performance, tenacity, skill, discipline and her own unique style. She has inspired girls and women around the world to pursue their dreams and go for the win.
The Women’s Tennis Association ranked Williams as the world’s No. 1 in singles on eight separate occasions between 2002 and 2017. She reached the No. 1 ranking for the first time on July 8, 2002. On her sixth occasion, she held the ranking for 186 consecutive weeks, tying the record set by Steffi Graf for the most consecutive weeks as No. 1 by a female tennis player. In total, she has been No. 1 for 319 weeks, which ranks third in the Open Era among female players behind Graf and Martina Navratilova. On April 19, 2017, she announced a hiatus from tennis until 2018 so that she and husband, Alexis Ohanian, could bring their first baby into the world — a beautiful baby girl named Alexis Olympia.
Serena also strongly believes in giving back. The Serena Williams Fund works to create equity through education and assisting victims of senseless violence. She and her sister, Venus, also created The Williams Sisters Fund in 2016.