Born September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan, Serena Williams has ruled the tennis courts, along with her older sister Venus, since the late 1990s. At an early age, both sisters were taught the game by their father, Richard Williams. Since turning professional, "Venus and Serena Williams have been credited with raising public awareness of their sport and with bringing the women’s tennis game to a whole new level of power and athleticism."

For Serena, success with her tennis did not come. In '95, she was ranked no. 453 in the world. After much progress, in '97, she shot to no. 304. Then, "after Serena beat Mary Pierce and Monica Seles at the Ameritech Cup in Chicago, she jumped to No. 100 in the world. In July 1998, she won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon with Max Mirnyi, and by August she had improved to No. 21."

In 1999, Serena won her first World Tennis Assoication (WTA) title at the age of 17, while at the Open Gaz de France in Paris. Within that same season, she continued her success by winning five singles titles in 48 matches. In September of that year, "the 17-year-old Serena defeated Hingis in the finals of the U.S. Open, becoming the first African-American woman to capture a Grand Slam singles title since Gibson, who won five Slam events in the late 1950s. In October, Serena beat Venus for the first time, in the finals of the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Germany." Serena finished the 1999 season ranked in the top five in the world.

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