Tennis is a sport that people don’t focus on as much as football, or basketball. None the less, tennis is still very much just as competitive as any other sport. Serena Williams was a tennis player from 1995 to 2022. Williams accomplished many things and many milestones throughout her career, all the way up until she announced her retirement in September of 2022.
Serena Williams was born September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan. Her parents are Richard Williams and Oracene Price, she has six siblings. Williams started practicing tennis at the age of four. Her father was the one who helped her practice and taught her most of the things she knows about tennis today. She moved to Compton, California with her family when she was still young, and was home schooled by her father. Williams was home schooled from elementary school to high school. She wanted to pursue her passion for tennis rigorously while receiving an education that was tailored to her needs.
Williams turned professional in 1995 at the age of 14. She played in her first pro tournament in Quebec City, receiving a wild card into the qualifying draw. She lost to Annie Miller, ranked 149th in the world. Williams won her first match while attending the professional tour, against Elena Likhovtseva in Chicago in 1997. She reached the semi finals after defeating Mary Pierce, ranked 7th in the world, and Monica Seles, ranked 4th in the world. Serena won her first career title of her career at the “Open Gate de France” in Paris in February 1999. 
From all her wins and losses, Serena has played 432 career matches. 367 of those matches played were her wins. Serena holds 23 Grand Slam singles titles, her sister Venus holds 7 titles. Serena is considered to be one of the best women’s tennis player’s, and has revolutionized women’s tennis since the 1900s. You can guess the shock and sadness people felt when she announced her retirement from the one sport that she excelled in and played it in a way that changed the way of women’s sports.
In September of 2022, Serena did what she never thought she’d have to do. She says in a Vogue, “Every time I think about not playing tennis anymore I start to tear up and there’s this lump in my throat.”. She also goes on to say things along the lines of, “I never wanted to have to choose my family or tennis, I just didn’t think it was fair”. Serena was devastated to retire but at the same time she was excited for other female tennis players to have their moment to shine. Playing tennis to the extent Serena did, and the other major female players who play, takes a big toll on your body. Serena said in the article,” Your body will tell you when things get too much for you, and you have to just trust your body because it knows you best”.
