Name: Venus Williams
DOB: June 17, 1980
Country: USA
Birth Place: Lynwood, California
Height: 6' 1
Turn pro: 1994
Plays: Right-handed, two handed-backhand
Racquet: Wilson K Factor KBlade Team
Venus Williams has been familiar with the sport of tennis since she was 4 ½ years old. Her father Richard would take her out to the neighborhood courts regularly, and soon Venus fell in love with the game. She loved it so much that she would cry if her father tried to stop her from playing for as long as she wanted to. On October 31, 1994, Venus turned pro and immediately shook the tennis world by defeating the 58th ranked WTA player, Shaun Shafford. Then, she performed exceptionally well against the 2nd ranked WTA player Arantxa Sanchez with a 6/3, 3/0 score. However, Venus limited her time devoted to the WTA tour because her father did not wish to overwhelm her life early on. Venus continued to set aside time for studies and in 1997, she received her diploma. This describes only her first year on the WTA Tour.
Venus’s success continued in the year 1997, starting with two major events.
- At Indian Wells:
Venus qualified for the tournament as a wildcard, ranked at number 211.
The timeline of the tournament is as followsà
1. Won two matches, which then qualified her for the main draw
2. Won against the 9th ranked player Iva Majoli ( a Top 10 Player ), thus reaching the quarterfinals.
3. Arriving at the quarterfinals, Venus held up an impressive match against 8th ranked player Lindsey Davenport (the Tournament’s Champion), playing until a third-set tie break, with the score being: 6/4, 5/7, and 7/6.
After her success at Indian Wells, Venus went up 101 spots to be ranked No. 110, which was no doubt a spectacular improvement. At the same tournament, Venus also qualified for the doubles as a part of a wildcard team with her sister Serena. They were able to reach the doubles quarterfinal, defeating the 8th ranked team of Conchita Martinez and Patricia Tarabini.
- At Lipton:
Venus defeated 28th ranked player Jennifer Capriati (Score: 7-6, 3-6, 6-2) after she was losing by 1-5 in the first set. After reaching the third round, Venus eventually lost against the champion Martina Hingis with the score 6-4/6-2, despite Venus’s initial lead.
Thereafter, Venus had her share of ups and downs in the summer tournaments. She was defeated by Nathalie Tauziat at Eastbourne, by Martina Hingis with a score record of 6/2 and 6/1 at San Diego, by Anke Huber by 7/6, 6/4 at L.A., and by Natalie Dechy at the first round in Toronto. However, Venus also had a number of notable victories: She won 6/3, 6/4 against 8th seed Anke Huber and 7/5, 7/5 against Sandrine Testud. Her match against 11th ranked Irina Spirlea was no doubt Venus’s most dramatic win. The score record of 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 7-6 (9-7) was enough to lead Venus to victory. At the Ashe Stadium, Venus was able to gain two match points and continue on with the game. However, it should be noted that the first match point was indeed a “lucky” shot. Soon after, Venus became the first woman to reach a U.S. Open singles final without a “seed” title.
Venus did not disappoint in the following years. At Sydney, she managed to beat the No.1 WTA player Martina Hingis, reaching the final. At the Australian Open, she reached the quarterfinals to defeat Lindsay Davenport in the record time of 18 minutes. At Oklahoma City, Venus rushed to her first singles title with a score record of 6/7, 6/2, 6/3, in addition to her first doubles title with her sister Serena. Venus redeemed herself at the 1998 Lipton, where she defeated once champion Martina Hingis in the semifinals. Not only did she win against Hingis, but she also won the champion title, successfully achieving her first major title in the WTA Tour. The year 2000 was one of the best years of Venus’s career – she won two grand slams in a row, both the Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. In addition, she boasted a winning streak of 26 consecutive matches. These achievements allowed her to be a part of the Top Players in History Club, which was then followed up by her amazing performance in the 2000 Sydney Olympics where she won both the singles and doubles titles.