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60 Interesting Facts About Venus Williams
Last updated on February 27th,
Venus Williams is an American professional tennis player and the sister of Serena Williams. Known for her superb athleticism and strength, she redefined tennis. When she was a kid, she wanted to be an astronaut.
She continued playing the sport while facing injuries and cemented her name in tennis books. With these facts about Venus Williams that cover her childhood, family, tennis career, challenges, rivalries, personal life, and business pursuits, let us learn more about her.
Childhood and Family
1. Former world No.1 player and all-time great Venus Ebony Starr Williams was born on June 17, in Lynwood, California.
She grew up in the tough neighborhood of Compton, south of downtown LA.
2. Her father, Richard Williams, decided that his future daughters would become professional players after watchingVirginia Ruzici play tennis on television and win $20, in prize money during a tournament.
3. In order to learn about tennis, Richard Williams took lessons from a man known only as &#;Old Whisky&#;.
4. &#;King Richard&#;, a biographical film that focused on Richard William&#;s influence on the lives of young Venus and Serena, was released in theaters back in He was played by Will Smith who received an Oscar nomination for the role.
Venus Williams - Biography and Facts - FAMOUS AFRICAN AMERICANS
Brought into the world on June 17, , in Lynwood, California, Venus Midnight Starr Williams was acquainted with tennis by her folks on the public courts of Compton, a region known more for its difficulties than sports offices. Under the direction of her dad, Richard Williams, Venus and her sister Serena prepared with discipline and assurance from an exceptionally youthful age. Her quick climb on the planet rankings was a forerunner to the strength she would show in the years to follow. In , only three years into her expert career, Venus arrived at the last of the US Open, a great accomplishment that declared her appearance on the world stage and set the vibe for an unbelievable career. She has come out on top for seven Huge homerun singles championships, including five Wimbledon titles, making her perhaps of the best player throughout the entire existence of the renowned competition.The film was also nominated for Best Picture.
5.Her mother, Oracene Price, was working as a nurse when she met and married Richard Williams. Price learned how to play tennis to help teach her daughters about the technicalities of the sport. Oracene and Richard divorced in
6. Venus and Serena Williams have several half-sisters and half-brothers. These include Sabrina, Ronner, Reluss, Richard III, and Reneeka from their father&#;s previous marriage, as well as Yetunde, Lyndrea, and Isha from their mother&#;s previous marriage.
7. When Venus was 10 years old, tennis coach Rick Macci saw her and her sister play.
He was so impressed that he offered free instructions at his academy. The family accepted and moved to West Palm Beach, Florida shortly afterwards.
8. Venus held a record in the US Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No.1 for girls under 12 years old in Southern California.
9. When Venus was 11, her father pulled her and Serena out of junior tournaments to avoid burnout which affected other young tennis stars such as Jennifer Capriati.
‘Michael Jackson Could Never Do That’ - Venus and Serena ...: Venus Ebony Starr Williams is an American tennis star with 22 Grand Slam titles (7 Singles, 13 Doubles, 2 Mixed Doubles) and 4 Olympic Gold Medals and is known as one of the best players of her generation. She is the elder sister of Serena Williams who holds 33 Grand Slam titles to her name.
He told them to focus on school, pulled them out of the academy, and coached them himself.
Another reason for the pull-out was the racial discrimination they experienced in the predominantly white sport at the time.
Early Tennis Career
Venus Williams turned pro in when she was only Her first professional tournament was the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, California.
She lost in the second round to eventual champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario.
In April , Venus reached the finals in her US Open debut. This makes her the first unseeded woman to become a finalist in the tournament since However, she lost in the finals match to the veteran Martina Hingis.
was a breakthrough year in which she cracked the Top 10, reached the quarterfinals of all the grand slams she entered, and finished the year as the world&#;s No.5 player.
She also won her first Grand Slam mixed doubles titles with Justin Gimeslob.
In , she went against Serena Williams in the finals of Key Biscayne. It was the first time in the history of the WTA Tour where the finals featured two sisters, and it would become a familiar sight from then on.
Venus won in three sets.
At the Sydney Olympics, Venus Williams won the gold medal in women&#;s singles after beating Sanchez Vicario, Monica Seles, and Elena Dementieva. She also won women&#;s doubles by teaming up with Serena.
In , she finally reached No.1 in the world tennis rankings thanks to Glam Slam wins the year before and a strong start to the season.
This made her the first African-American woman to hold the position in history.
In , Venus and Serena Williams played in the final of the Australian Open. It was the first time in the Open Era where four consecutive grand slams were contested by the same two players.
Mid-career Struggles
Injuries prevented Venus from performing well at several tournaments, sometimes being forced to retire in matches or suffering early exits.
These included knee injuries, abdominal injuries, and wrist injuries. She also had problems with anemia.
When Venus was healthy, she was still able to perform well such as winning the Wimbledon Championships.
She achieved the feat even after being down match point, the first woman in 70 years to do so.
At the French Open, Venus&#; serve sent the ball flying at mph which is the second fastest serve by a woman ever recorded. It is also the fastest recorded in a main draw match at that time.
The same year, she won the Wimbledon for the fourth time against all odds.
Only three other legendary women have done this: Steffi Graf, Billie Jean King, and Martina Navratilova.
In , Venus won another Olympic gold in Beijing in the women&#;s doubles, again with her sister Serena. She also won her fifth Wimbledon title despite ongoing medical issues.
Venus settled for runner-up honors at the Wimbledon but she was able to win Grand Slam doubles titles that year with her sister Serena and went as high as No.5 in the rankings.
The Williams sisters reached No.1 ranking in doubles. Only 5 other women were able to achieve the top rank in both singles and doubles: Martina Navratilova, Martina Hingis, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, Linday Davenport, and Kim Clijsters.
In , Venus Williams was diagnosed with Sjogrens Syndrome.
It is an autoimmune disease that affects the kidneys, lungs, and nervous system. It causes fatigue, muscle pain, and dryness.
The illness affected her game. Following the diagnosis, Venus temporarily stopped playing at competitive events but appeared in exhibition matches.
Her ranking dropped to No. at the end of
Late Resurgence
By early , Venus was back on tour after receiving treatment.
She was not as dominant in singles matches but managed to win another Wimbledon doubles title with her sister. The pair also won their third Olympic gold medal in London.
It was a tough with a recurring back injury forcing her to withdraw from several tournaments.
Although she had some good games, she was not able to perform well enough to win a title.
The title drought was broken in when she won the Dubai Tennis Championships. She also cracked the Top 20 in singles for the first time since , before the medical issues appeared.
The resurgence continued with an Olympic silver medal in mixed doubles at Rio This makes her the only female player, aside from Kathleen McKane Godfree, to get medals in all three tennis events.
When Venus beat Angelique Kerber in the Miami Open quarterfinals, she became the oldest player to win over the current world No This win and other performances propelled her back to the Top 5.
Venus received a wildcard entry into Wimbledon where she won her first-round match.
It was her 90th Grand Slam appearance &#; the most of any tennis player.
Rivalries
Venus and Serena Williams have gone head-to-head in 31 professional matches since Venus won 12 of those, two being Grand Slam tournament finals.
Early in her career, Venus was often compared to the former No.1 Martina Hingis who had a vastly different style of play.
Razzies Born on June 17, , and September 26, , the youngest of five sisters, Venus and Serena Williams were not much more than toddlers when their father, entrepreneur Richard Williams, set in motion what was to become a sporting juggernaut. He started teaching a four-year-old Venus on a court in Los Angeles' notoriously rough East Compton park, but in , disgusted by the behaviour of fanatical parents on the junior tennis circuit, tried to persuade his eight-year-old daughter to quit. She refused, and a year later, gave up a promising track career - despite having clocked up an incredible 5. In Richard uprooted his family to enroll both Venus and Serena in Rick Macci's Delray Beach Tennis Academy in Florida, where they trained, "six hours a day, six days a week for four years". Their early dedication paid off when the sisters turned professional.Hingis leads their match-up
Williams also had a rivalry with Lindsay Davenport who is ahead in their matches. However, Venus has beaten her every time in Grand Slam finals. Their match at the Wimbledon broke the record for the longest final match in the event&#;s history.
Personal Life
The 31 year old Yetunde Price, Venus&#; half-sister, adviser, and personal assistant, was unfortunately shot dead in their neighborhood of Compton in not far from the tennis courts where the sisters practiced as kids.
Following the diagnosis of Sjogren&#;s syndrome, Venus switched to a vegan diet and lowered her sugar and calorie intake as part of her recovery efforts.
Venus has dated a few men including golfer Hank Kuehne from to , Cuban model Elio Pis from to , and publishing heir Nicholas Hammond from to
Venus pursued fashion design at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.
She received her associate degree on December 13, at age
She also went on to receive a Bachelor&#;s degree in business administration from Indiana University East in This was made possible by the school&#;s agreement with the Women&#;s Tennis Association to let players go on tour while they complete their online courses.
Venus Williams is a Jehovah&#;s Witness. She and her sisters converted in the s following their mother&#;s footsteps.
Other famous people of this faith are the singers Selena, Prince, and Michael Jackson.
Venus was involved in a car accident in in which a year-old man died. After reviewing surveillance videos, it was determined that the cause was a third vehicle that cut off Venus&#; car and triggered the collision.
Venus Williams fought for equality along with pioneers like Billie Jean King and Chris Evert.
Her essay in The Times of London was instrumental in garnering support from British politicians, leading to equal pay at Wimbledon and the French Open.
Venus was the first beneficiary of the equalized prize money after winning the Wimbledon. She was given the same amount as the male champion, Roger Federer.
The fight for equality was explored in the documentary &#;Venus VS.&#;, the first episode of the series &#;Nine for IX&#; which is about women in sports as told by female filmmakers.
Business and Marketing
Venus Williams runs her own interior design firm, V Starr Interiors. Among its noteworthy projects are the athletes&#; village apartments for New York&#;s bid to host the Olympics and the set of the Tavis Smiley Show on PBS.
Venus partnered with the retailer Steve & Barry to create her own clothing line. Branded as &#;EleVen&#;, it features activewear that is both comfortable and fashionable.
The line was modeled by athletes in the NY Fashion Week.
Venus and Serena Williams became minority owners of the American football team Miami Dolphins in They are the first African-American women own an NFL franchise.
Venus Williams began consultations with nutritionists to optimize her diet for recovery from her autoimmune disease.
After testing countless protein shake recipes, she started her own plant-based protein company Happy Viking.
In , she partnered with online mattress retailer GhostBed to make a collection of performance mattress featuring her designs. In the future, this will become a complete line of sleep solutions, as well as a home furnishings collection.
10 Interesting Facts about Her
Venus Williams is the only tennis player to reach the Olympic finals in five different occasions. These were tallied in Sydney , Athens , Beijing , London , and Rio
Her total career prize money from tournaments so far is $42,, which puts her at second place in the all-time list behind her sister Serena Williams and just ahead of third place Maria Sharapova.
She has amassed a total of 7 Grand Slam titles with 5 of these being Wimbledon Championships and 2 of them being US Opens.
Biography video for kids Venus Williams is an American professional tennis player and the sister of Serena Williams. Known for her superb athleticism and strength, she redefined tennis. When she was a kid, she wanted to be an astronaut. She continued playing the sport while facing injuries and cemented her name in tennis books. With these facts about Venus Williams that cover her childhood, family, tennis career, challenges, rivalries, personal life, and business pursuits, let us learn more about her.Her total career titles stand at 49 for singles events and 22 for doubles.
Her career record for singles is wins and losses for a winning percentage of %. As for doubles, she racked up wins and 37 losses for a winning percentage of %. For mixed doubles, she had 28 wins and 8 losses.
Venus was coached by former pro David Witt from to The Williams sisters met him in Florida while practicing in He became their hitting partner and eventually a coach.
After a poor season, Venus parted ways with Witt. She is currently coached by Eric Hechtman.
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