American tennis players Serena Williams, and her sister Venus Williams , Serbian player Jelena Jankovic dressed themselves in the Indian traditional way – ‘Saree’, during a function on the eve of the WTA Bangalore Open Championship 2008 in Bangalore March 2, 2008.
The Williams sisters are two professional American tennis players: Venus Williams born 1980, seven-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), and Serena Williams born 1981, thirteen-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), both of whom were coached from an early age by their father Richard Williams. There is a noted professional rivalry between them – between the 2001 US Open and the 2009 Wimbledon tournaments, they have met in eight Grand Slam singles finals. They remain very close, often watching each other’s matches in support, even after one of them has been knocked out of a tournament.
Both sisters had the honor of being ranked by the Women’s Tennis Association at the World No. 1 position. In 2002, after the French Open, Venus Williams and Serena Williams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. During the 2010 French Open, they became the Number 1 team in Doubles, in addition to holding the top two positions in Singles tennis as well.
Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women’s Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on November 2, 2009.[2] She is the only female player to have won over $35 million in prize money.[citation needed]
Her 27 Grand Slam titles places her ninth on the all-time list: 13 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. She was also the first woman, along with older sister Venus Williams, to hold all four Grand Slam doubles titles simultaneously since Martina Hingis did so in 1998. Her 13 Grand Slam singles titles is sixth on the all-time list.
Williams ranks fourth in Grand Slam women’s singles titles won during the open era, behind Steffi Graf (22 titles) and Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova (18 titles each). She has won more Major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles than any other active player, male or female.
Williams has won two Olympic gold medals in women’s doubles. She has won more career prize money than any other female athlete in history.[5] Serena has played older sister Venus in 23 professional matches since 1998, with Serena winning 13 of these matches. They have met in eight Grand Slam finals, with Serena winning six times. Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, which was 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. She is the first player, male or female, to win 5 Australian Open singles titles during the open era.
Venus Williams
Venus Ebony Starr Williams, is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 58 as of June 25, 2012 in singles. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association on three separate occasions. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on February 25, 2002, becoming the second black woman (the first being Evonne Goolagong Cawley in 1976) to achieve this feat during the Open Era. She has become an icon for African-American athletes.
Her 21 Grand Slam titles ties her for twelfth on the all time list and is more than any other active female player except for her younger sister Serena Williams. Venus Williams‘ titles consist of: seven in singles, twelve in women’s doubles, and two in mixed doubles. Her seven Grand Slam singles titles also place her with four other women for twelfth place on the all-time list, whereas five Wimbledon singles titles tie her with two other women for eighth place on the all-time list. Venus Williams is one of only three women in the open era to have won five or more Wimbledon singles titles. Between the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2001 US Open, Williams won four of the six Grand Slam singles tournaments held. She is one of only five women in the open era to win 200 or more main draw Grand Slam singles matches.
Williams has won three Olympic gold medals, one in singles and two in women’s doubles. She has won more Olympic gold medals than any other female tennis player. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Williams became only the second player to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games, after Helen Wills Moody in 1924.
With 43 career singles titles, Williams leads active players on the WTA Tour. Her 35-match winning streak from the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2000 Generali Ladies Linz tournament final is the longest winning streak since January 1, 2000. She is also one of only three active WTA players to have made the finals of all four Grand Slams, the other players being her sister Serena Williams and Russian Maria Sharapova.
Venus Williams has played against her sister Serena Williams in 23 professional matches since 1998, with Serena winning 13 of the 23 matches. They have played against each other in eight Grand Slam singles finals, with Serena winning six times. Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they opposed each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, the first time ever in the open era that the same two players played against each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, let alone sisters. On the doubles side, the pair have won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles playing alongside each other.
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