Name: Serena Williams
DOB: September 26, 1981
Place of Birth: Saginaw, Michigan
Country: USA
Height: 5' 10
Turn pro: 1995
Plays: right-handed, two-handed backhand
Racquet: Wilson K Factor KBlade Team
Serena Williams is unquestionably one of the most successful tennis players of our time. With her older sister Venus, Serena was ushered into the sport of tennis due to the urging of her father Richard, once the owner of a security company. Richard Williams had discovered the enormous salaries of tennis players, and thus he planned to train his daughters to have the same fortune. After learning tennis with the help of instructional videos, Richard swiftly took them to the courts. His efforts were not wasted – both Venus and Serena grew up to be on the top of the women tennis leagues and even to be ranked number one. Serena in particular won eight Grand Slams in the singles category and also the Australian Open. Additionally, she succeeded in winning a gold medal in the women’s doubles category with her sister Venus. In the international scene, Serena surprised many when she signed a whopping 40 million dollar contract with Reebok, a well known sports brand company. At the time, it was one of the highest endorsement contracts in women’s sports of all time. Serena then launched her career as an actress – she starred in such T.V. programs as The Simpsons (2001), Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (2004), and ER (2005). In the reality T.V. series Fast Cars & Superstars (2007), Serena became a stockcar driver to compete against other participants like John Elway and Laird Hamilton.