# data[].attributes.body
Read Serena's Monologue and what she has to say for 7th graders like us!

# data[].attributes.body
Get to know more about Serena! In this video she answers random questions with Vogue and shows more of her personality off court!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
73 Questions With Serena Williams | Vogue

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On the set of her clothing line debut, Serena Williams talks about the most romantic thing a guy has ever done for her, that time she tried body bowling, and the one sport she's actually bad at.

# data[].attributes.body
Watch the highlights of Serena Williams and her sister Venus battle for the Championship title in Wimbledon 2008.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
2008 Wimbledon - Final  Venus Williams vs Serena Williams

# data[].attributes.body
Read an article on how Serena reveals she was pregnant and how she will take a leave for a year in competing in tennis tournaments.

# data[].attributes.body
Listen to Serena give a loving speech to her sister Venus after defeating her in the Australian Open Grand Slam Final in 2017!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Serena Williams - Australian Open 2017 Championship Speech

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Serena Williams Victory Speech after Defeating Venus Williams in the finals of the Australian Open 2017. This is her 23rd Grand Slam.

# data[].attributes.body
See all of Serena Williams' Grand Slams, in photos.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Here are all 23 of Serena Williams' Grand Slam titles, in photos | FOX Sports

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Serena Williams made it 23 Grand Slam titles with her win at the Australian Open in 2017.

# data[].attributes.body
Read a biography of Serena Williams' life and find about the struggles she overcame to reach the top in Tennis History.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get to know professional tennis player Serena Williams on Biography.com. Read about her Grand Slam titles and record-breaking career.

# data[].attributes.body
Check out Serena's Top 9 outfits of 2016. Her style and dresses is something the crowd loves.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Serena Williams beat Yaroslava Shvedova on Monday at the U.S. Open to secure her 308th match victory in a major draw. That's more Grand Slam match wins than any man or woman - Martina Navratilova notched 306, and Roger Federer has won 307. Williams is heading into the quarterfinals to face No. 5-ranked Simona Halep; if the world No. 1 can win the U.S. Open this year, she'll surpass Steffi Graf's 22 Grand Slam titles.

In addition to being decent at tennis, Williams is also a fashion designer. So it's fitting that the outfits she wears to smash records - clothes Nike designs specifically for her, setting her even further apart from the other athletes the company sponsors - would be smashing, too.

But even when you're the G.O.A.T., not all outfits are created equal. So let's take a walk down memory lane and check out Williams' sartorial choices from 2016, ranked "meh" to, in fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad's words, "Queen of Slayville."

9. Italian Open

This is one of Williams' least interesting outfits of the year. No color. No arm sleeves. She did win the tournament, though.

8. Australian Open

Williams wore a very bright yellow crop-top/skirt combo to the Australian Open. The top is very cool, the skirt is great, but that color leaves a lot to be desired (namely that it were a different one).

7. Indian Wells

Williams rocked the same cut as she did at the Australian Open, but in a way better color, at Indian Wells this year. During which, it's important to note, she absolutely shut down CEO Raymond Moore for his idiotic, sexist comments.

6. Miami Open

She wore the same thing in Miami. But it's Miami, which Williams loves, so we're going to rank this higher.

5. HOPMAN CUP

This dress that Williams wore in Australia at the beginning of the year was simple, elegant, and classic. Can't go wrong.

4. French Open

Williams' French Open outfit was similar to what she'd been wearing in Miami, Indian Wells, and Australia, but strips of white were added to the accents around the collar and the sleeves, and the cut is slightly different. The color is the best one she'd worn yet.

Also worth noting that her shoes matched perfectly. Duh.

3. Wimbledon

People absolutely lost their minds over Williams' Wimbledon dress, and it's not hard to see why. Although Nike's outfit for the other female athletes they sponsor was a disaster, Williams' dress was a study in elegance and function. It also looked great as she hoisted the trophy with which she tied Graf's record.

2. OLYMPICS

Williams Olympic outfit was basically her Wimbledon dress, but in navy, with an American flag on the chest. Her shoes were absolute fire, too.

1. U.S. Open

This is probably the most "Serena" outfit Williams has worn all year, and it's perfect. The cut is similar to the dresses she wore at Wimbledon and the Olympics, but there's a flair to it that matches her spirit: the pink accents on the skirt and the matching sleeves do her justice.

But we're not done! There's a "night" version, too, and while the bright pink is still in play, there's subtlety, too: Check out the purple that fades into black.

Details matter.

Serena Williams' fiance has ridiculously cute response to her sleeping woes
4d ago
As tennis debate lingers one women's player has the perfect take on gender equality
2w ago
Venus Williams jokes about wishing Serena could play Wimbledon final for her
2w ago

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Serena Williams' 9 best 2016 tennis outfits, ranked 'meh' to fabulous

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Serena Williams beat Yaroslava Shvedova on Monday at the U.S. Open to secure her 308th match victory in a major draw. That's more Grand Slam match wins than any man or woman - Martina Navratilova notched 306, and Roger Federer has won 307. Williams is heading into the quarterfinals to face No.

# data[].attributes.body
Watch the trailer of Serena and Venus' documentary about how they played tennis as kids and went on to be one of the top Women's Tennis Players in the World. Watch the full documentary on Netflix US.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ever since Venus and Serena Williams started playing in tennis tournaments, they've provoked strong reactions - from awe and admiration to suspicion and resentment. They've been winning championships for over a decade, pushing the limits of longevity in such a demanding sport. How long can they last? In Venus & Serena, we gain unprecedented access into their lives during the most intimidating year of their career. Over the course of 2011, Venus grappled with an energy-sapping autoimmune disease while Serena battled back from a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. Neither Venus nor Serena let their adversities hold them back. They drew their greatest strength from each other. Written by Michelle Major

Taglines:

Discover the truth behind the legends.

Release Date:

28 June 2013 (UK)

Also Known As:

Venus y Serena

Opening Weekend:

$10,981 (USA) (10 May 2013)

Gross:

See full technical specs "

Soundtracks

Straight Outta Compton
Written by Ice Cube (as O'Shea Jackson), M.C. Ren (as Lorenzo Patterson), Eazy-E (as Eric Wright) and Dr. Dre (as Andre Young)
Performed by NWA (as N.W.A.)
Courtesy of Priority Records LLC
Under license from EMI Film & Television Music
See more "

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Directed by Maiken Baird, Michelle Major. With Raul Arevalo, Billie Jean King, John McEnroe, Richard Williams. Ever since Venus and Serena Williams started playing in tennis tournaments, they've provoked strong reactions - from awe and admiration to suspicion and resentment. They've been winning championships for over a decade, pushing the limits of longevity in such a demanding sport.

# data[].attributes.body
Read Serena's biographical sketch, and with the help of my highlights, learn more about Serena Williams easier.

# data[].attributes.body
Read a biographical sketch about how Serena grew up tobe one of the greatest Women's Tennis Players of all Time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Serena Williams has made history. With a win over her older sister Venus in the final of the Australian Open on Jan. 28, Williams holds more Grand Slam titles than any player in the Open era. To win a title, a player must win seven matches over two weeks on the sport's greatest stages and against its most dominant players. Williams, 35, has done so 23 times in 66 Grand Slam appearances and has surpassed Steffi Graf's Open era record of 22. Now that she has reached 23, the buzz turns to Margaret Court's all-era record of 24, and history beckons again.

Such has been the career of Serena Williams, built of milestones upon milestones, as she became the first, the fastest, the winningest. For more than two decades, she has captivated our attention and confounded our ability to easily package her enigmatic personality. She is complicated and contradictory, fierce and shy, intense yet vulnerable. Those who know her best say it's this internal turbulence that has driven her to rise from moments of despair and continue to chase excellence in a sport she has come to define, while pursuing happiness in a life that regularly tests her ability to overcome.

As she continues her historic 2017 season, we offer an oral history, through more than 20 interviews with her friends, family, competitors and coaches, of the lessons, experiences, hardships and successes that have crafted Williams into the greatest competitor the sport of tennis has ever seen.
PART ONE: THE PRODIGY PART TWO: THE BEGINNING OF THE WINNING PART THREE: THE HARD YEARS PART FOUR: THE BREAK PART FIVE: THE ROAD TO 23
PART ONE: THE PRODIGY

Serena Jameka Williams is born in Saginaw, Michigan, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price. It's a Saturday.

Oracene Price (mother): "What I remember about the day Serena was born is that she was a 10 ½-pound baby. But she wasn't a hard delivery, my youngest daughter."

Isha Price (sister): "We didn't know if Serena was going to be a boy or a girl. My sisters and I were at our grandmother's house. We weren't allowed to go to the hospital, and I remember wishing and hoping we had a little brother. I remember the phone call and our grandmother calling us into one room and saying 'You have another baby sister.' I was a little disappointed."

The youngest of five girls, Serena embraces the role of little sis. Growing up, she shares a bedroom and two sets of bunk beds with her siblings -- Lyndrea and Venus on the two lower bunks, and Isha and Yetunde on the upper bunks. Each night, Serena crawls into bed with a different sister. When it comes to her older sisters, Serena always gets her way.

Isha: "We would have these family talent shows, and Serena always had to win. She always sang the same song, 'Greatest Love of All' by Whitney Houston. Even if she sounded like screeching tires, she won. That's what we had to do or she would throw a tantrum and cry. We didn't want to deal with the repercussions of her not winning."

Oracene: "With Serena, everything had to be perfect and she would get frustrated if it wasn't. She always had to win, no matter if it was a talent show, cards, she had to be the winner. She would sit on cards. And they let her do it. They gave it to her, even if she didn't win. I think it affects her to this day, because she hates losing. That's how come it was so inappropriate when they said we were setting matches. Serena is not going to lose for no one."

In 1983, the family moves to Compton, California. After learning that top female tennis players can earn thousands of dollars per tournament, Richard and Oracene begin teaching themselves the game in order to coach their daughters. When Serena is 3 and Venus is 4, they pick up their first rackets, and their parents set to work. Richard eventually leaves his job to coach the girls full time. Serena is a quick study. In 1991, she plays her first junior tournament at the age of 9 and makes it to the final, where she faces Venus.

Isha: "Venus was older and playing tournaments, and Serena wasn't playing tournaments yet. Venus was enrolled in this particular tournament, and Serena wasn't. Unbeknownst to my dad and mom, Serena sent in the application and signed herself up for the tournament. Who does that? You had to pay to sign up, and the tournament directors had to get the money from my parents. She always wanted to be just like Venus; it was that little sister hero-worship thing. Even then, she wanted to compete."

Venus Williams (older sister): "She got tired of watching me play. She wanted to play. Back then, I was bigger and stronger, and in the changeovers during the final, she'd say, 'Venus, let me win a game.' I ignored her. We were supposed to be professional. I ended up winning the tournament, and afterward I said, 'Serena, I think we should switch trophies. I like the silver one better anyway.' She was the little sister, so she had no problem taking my trophy. We still have them in our home in Florida."

Unlike most young players, Serena and Venus play few junior tournaments. Richard chooses instead to hold his daughters out of competition until they are ready to compete on the pro tour. In 1991, they meet with their first high-profile professional coach, Rick Macci, in Compton. A few months later, the family moves to Florida so that Serena and Venus can train with him at Grenelefe Golf & Tennis Resort in Haines City.

Rick Macci (Serena's coach from 1991 to 1995): "Normally if I see kids play, I see them at a national tournament. I'm not going to somebody's house. Richard said, 'The only thing I can guarantee you is you won't get shot.' I had to meet this guy. He's a comedian. I flew to Los Angeles on a Friday night. Richard, Oracene, Venus and Serena came to my hotel room in Compton, and we talked for three hours. I will never forget Venus and Serena: One was sitting on each of Richard's legs looking at me while he grilled me: What do you have for breakfast? Why aren't you married? How many girlfriends? Do you travel with kids? What is your religion? What time do you get up? Are you colorblind? Have you ever taught a black person? When that ended, he said, 'We'll pick you up at 7 a.m. and go to East Hills Country Club.'

"They picked me up in a Volkswagen van. It was shaking back and forth, three months' worth of McDonald's wrappers, clothes, Coke cans, bottles and a spring coming out of the seat. We get to the courts, and it's not a country club. It's a crummy park. There are guys playing basketball, people passed out in the grass, broken glass all over the courts, people drinking beer. Every person we passed called him King Richard. We had to cross the basketball court to get to the tennis courts, and it parted like the Red Sea.

"Usually after five minutes I can tell if there is something special. We're hitting balls, and I'm going, 'These girls aren't that good.' There were arms and hair and legs flying everywhere, beads flying out of their hair. They were improvising, hitting off their back feet. Then I said, 'Let's play some points.' I swear to God, their stock went soaring through the hemisphere. Their footwork got better, their prep got better, they cleaned up their act. What blew me away was their burning desire to run and fight and get to every ball like their hair was on fire. I had never seen two kids try so hard. I had never seen bodies that could move like that. Athletes with their body types went to other sports; they didn't play tennis."

Lyndrea Price (sister): "Their journey was my journey because I had to wake up too. When Venus and Serena left, I left. It was a family effort. We didn't have a hopper, because those were expensive, so I would shuffle the balls with my racket and pick them up. I wasn't playing, but I was out there every day.

"Even as a kid, Serena was built. She was so muscular. She didn't have to do a lot of work to get that physique. It was an anomaly that she was gifted at 3 years old to have that body. I remember thinking, wait 'till they get a load of you."

Freddy Bryant (East Compton Park employee): "We always had to have the courts cleaned and hosed down because Richard stayed on us. He would bring generators, tennis-serving machines, and the girls would work. Mom would sit in the van and read books. She was always reading. When they finished, the girls would come inside and play pingpong and eat the summer lunch we served to the community. One day stands out to me. Serena was out by herself, going from baseline to baseline and Richard was like, 'You wanna quit? You wanna quit? Go sit in the van with your mom.' Serena said, 'No. No.' She didn't give up, and every time she hit the ball, I heard that grunt. She was 10 years old. She was grunting and fighting. I was like, 'Wow. This little girl right here, she's a tiger.'"

Nick Bollettieri (legendary tennis coach, head of the IMG Academy): "I remember Richard Williams coming to my house in Longboat Key with his two daughters and saying they would be bigger than Michael Jordan. They all thought Richard was crazy. But he did something no one else did. He kept them back from tournaments and taught them technique and to go for it. Their daddy said, 'Run for every ball.' And Serena would say, 'Daddy, the ball is out.' And he'd say, 'No ball is out. You have two sets of eyes: your eyes and your brain. By the time your brain registers what your eyes think they see, it's too late. But when you move, you get the ball.'"

Macci : "One day, Venus was out there grinding. Serena wasn't working hard or moving her feet. I said, 'Jameka [Serena's middle name], you have to start moving.' 'What are you going to give me?' she asked. 'I'm tired. I'm thirsty. If you get me a Pepsi and some curly fries and a Snickers bar ... and on the corner, they're selling Green Day T-shirts. If you get me that, I will work 100 percent for the next hour.' This was her maturity. I had an assistant get it all but the shirt, and this girl moved her feet on the court like Spider-Man. For one hour, this girl was on fire. When that hour was up, she said, 'I'm done and I expect that Green Day shirt here at 8 a.m.'"

At age 13, Serena makes her pro debut in the qualifying draw at the Bell Challenge in Quebec, where she loses in less than an hour. She doesn't play a tournament in 1996. At the 1997 Ameritech Cup, she upsets No. 7 Mary Pierce and No. 4 Monica Seles, becoming the lowest-ranked player (No. 304) in the Open era to defeat two top-10 opponents in one tournament. She loses in the semifinal match.

Bollettieri : "From the years I traveled with the Williams family and they came to my camps, the story I most remember is Serena sitting in the shade in my stadium court, head down, so upset. She said, 'Nick, I'm tired of coming in second place.'"

PART TWO: THE BEGINNING OF THE WINNING

Serena and partner Max Mirnyi win mixed doubles at Wimbledon and again two months later at the US Open.

Macci : "In practice, all Serena did was play guys. She beat guys three to four years older than her. It didn't matter who was on the other side of the net. She didn't look at it like this girl is ranked this or that guy is 16. At 11, she told me she thought she was better than John McEnroe. She said, 'Did you ever see his strokes? He has terrible strokes. I can beat him for sure.' It was silly, but she meant it from the heart. And she believed it. A great competitor is borderline cocky and courageous."

Serena, ranked No. 11 in the world, and Venus, No. 4, make their Fed Cup debut. Serena is a last-minute replacement by coach Billie Jean King when Seles pulls out with tendinitis in her right arm. The Williams sisters account for all four wins in the U.S. team's 4-1 victory over Italy, sending them to the final.

Mary Jo Fernandez (former professional tennis player, broadcaster, member of 1999 Fed Cup team): "She was young, a teenager, and that was my first glimpse of her inner strength and confidence. She was for sure the leader. And her sense of humor -- she's funny. She makes fun of herself. She carried this purse everywhere she went. If someone's pantyhose ripped, she pulled out a pair of pantyhose. It became a running joke during the tournament that whatever you needed, Serena had it in that bag."

At only 17, Serena wins her first Grand Slam title at the US Open, becoming the first African-American woman to win a major in the Open era. She jumps to No. 4 in the world rankings. It's a Saturday.

Venus: "I was the older sister, and everyone thought I would win the first major, but she did. I felt motivated. Now I know what to do. Serena showed me what to do. That was crucial in my success in winning big events. It was a turning point in my career. At the time, I didn't think to say that to her, but over time, I've told her, 'If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have done anything.' We have a good laugh about that."

Serena's win in Flushing Meadows lands her on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Hollywood comes calling. In December, she guest-stars on "Hollywood Squares," and then, along with Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Venus, Serena records an episode of "The Simpsons" titled "Tennis the Menace."

Bonnie Pietila (longtime producer and casting director for "The Simpsons"): "Venus and Serena recorded together, and they came to the Fox lot in a big SUV. Serena brought her dog. She was so good. She has voice control. And she can act. There have only been two people who have come in and I've been blown away at how good they were, because they aren't actors: Serena and Peter Frampton. When a nonactor comes in and can be that good, it's a wonderful surprise.

"After Serena and Venus finished recording the episode, it came time for them to sign covers of copies of the script. They each sat down in front of a pile of covers, and the two of them raced each other to see who could sign the fastest. Serena won."

Venus, ranked No. 3, withdraws from her semifinal match at Indian Wells against Serena, No. 10, citing pain from tendinitis in her knee. Serena automatically advances to the final against Kim Clijsters. As Venus and her dad walk to their seats before the match, Richard says they are attacked with racial slurs. When Serena beats Clijsters, fans boo. The sisters vow never return to Indian Wells.

Later that year, the sisters meet again, in the final of the US Open -- the first Williams vs. Williams Grand Slam title match. Serena loses 6-2, 6-4 to big sister Venus.

Pam Shriver (former top-five professional tennis player): "It was the first prime-time US Open final. There had been sensational buildup, and CBS was up against a huge college football game. Venus won and Serena was so angry about losing to her sister. She had a look that was totally different from the look Venus had when she lost. Venus always thought if she had to lose, it might as well be to a family member. But Serena hated it more because it was her sister."

After withdrawing from the 2002 Australian Open with an ankle sprain, Serena goes on a tear. She wins her first clay-court title at the Italian Open, the 2002 French Open, her first Wimbledon title and the US Open. She returns to the Australian Open a year later and wins, completing the Serena Slam by holding all four major titles simultaneously but not in the same calendar year. Incredibly, Serena faces Venus in all four finals matches.

Shriver : "It is the most unlikely thing that has ever happened in our sport -- that siblings would face off against each other in the final of four straight majors; it is a once-in-a-galaxy type of thing. Nowadays you don't get the same rematch in one major final. That Serena won wasn't surprising. She is an all-around better tennis player than Venus. She has better technique, better grit and a more competitive, grinding spirit. Richard forecasted that a long time before there was ever a Serena Slam. It's hard to believe they grew up with the same coaching. They're so different. It's almost like Venus, being the older sister, was the guinea pig on certain shots, and they got the technique better with Serena."

PART THREE: THE HARD YEARS

Serena's oldest sister and assistant, Yetunde Price, is killed in Compton, caught in gang crossfire while in the car with her boyfriend, a gang member. Serena is the first to learn of her sister's death and informs her mother and 'Tunde's children.

Isha: "The thing I hated most about that situation was that Serena was the one who got the call. They had attempted to call us all, but it was late and my phone was off. We relied a lot on each other; it was us holding each other up at a really difficult time. Unless you've experienced that kind of loss, you can't fully describe to somebody else what that feels like, like part of yourself is gone. You have to almost re-learn how to live, how to approach every day."

Shriver: "That news hit her very heavily. Her resilience throughout some major personal setbacks, her parents' divorce [in 2002], her sister's killing, her medical situations, she's had her share of heartbreak as far as relationships -- it's so impressive she's been able to stay on tennis track through such significant personal adversity."

No. 10 Serena loses to No. 15 Maria Sharapova in the Wimbledon final.

Shriver: "Losing to Sharapova made Serena the champion she is today. Losing to her in straight sets was a stinging loss that catapulted Serena, in the big picture, to greater heights. That loss, followed by another to Sharapova at the year-end championships -- the last time Sharapova beat Serena --- was important for Serena. She didn't want to lose in major finals. Her record today in major finals is amazing, only six losses."

After winning her second Australian Open on Jan. 29, Serena spends much of 2005 and 2006 struggling with knee injuries, poor conditioning and depression stemming from her sister's death. She begins searching for life outside of tennis, guest-starring on TV shows and attending movie premieres. In the May 2006 issue of Tennis magazine, Chris Evert pens an open letter to Serena, imploring her to recommit to tennis. Two months later, Serena dips to No. 140 in the rankings.

Chris Evert (former world No. 1 professional tennis player, tennis broadcaster): "I always thought she could be the greatest of all time. But when I wrote that letter, I didn't think she was taking it as seriously as she could. She was losing to players she should have been beating, she wasn't in good shape, she was going to movie premieres, she was distracted. I didn't want her to look back when she retired and think, 'All those years I squandered and I should have been in the best shape, I could have been more focused.' I didn't want her to have regrets. But what I didn't take into consideration was that she was going through a lot in her personal life too."

Serena begins to rekindle her love of tennis and takes her first of several trips to Africa for charity appearances. She decides that if she is going to play, she is going to win. At the 2007 Australian Open, unseeded and ranked No. 81, she astounds the tennis world by beating Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in the final.

Oracene: "Going to Africa changed her life. She came back a totally different person. She fell in love with Africa. That helped her to refocus on her life and her career. Seeing where she came from, how we got to where we are now, seeing the ports where they shipped us off and the life of our people, that really changed her attitude about being a black woman."

Newly determined, Serena begins working with renowned fitness trainer Mackie Shilstone. Serena and Venus win doubles at the 2008 Beijing Olympics under U.S. team coach Zina Garrison. A few weeks later, Serena wins her third US Open title.

Mackie Shilstone (fitness trainer): "I worked with Peyton Manning before his final season. I've worked with thousands of professional athletes, some of the best in the world. I evaluate them all on their mental toughness, and Serena is one of the most mentally tough individual athletes I have ever seen, man or woman, in 30 years of experience."

Serena launches a second clothing line (her first, Aneres, launched in 2003), this time with the Home Shopping Network, and appears on HSN for the first time.

Mindy Grossman (CEO and director, Home Shopping Network; former global VP of apparel at Nike): "When she's on HSN, we take calls from viewers. The number and diversity of people who call in to talk to her is incredible. Normally if someone calls in, they have the product, are buying the product or want to talk about fashion. With Serena, they feel they have a connection with her; they're calling in to talk with someone they know. Everyone who appears on HSN gets a report card every visit. Each time, she wants to do better than the last time, and she wants to know who else is doing well."

Isha: "She is completely invested in her fashion line. It's not just 'show up and smile for the cameras at HSN.' She has to understand what goes into making the clothes, why they chose that fashion. Her days, they're nightmarish in terms of what she has to do in order to execute her life."

Coming off a win at Wimbledon and having won three of her past four majors, Serena makes it to the semifinal of the US Open, where she looks to defend her 2008 title.

In the semifinal, Serena plays Clijsters, at the time an unseeded wild card who had last won the tournament in 2005, and loses the first set 6-4. She bashes her racket on the court, earning her a warning for racket abuse. In the second set, with Clijsters up 6-5 and Serena serving to send the set into a tiebreak, lineswoman Shino Tsurubuchi calls Serena for a foot fault on her second serve. Serena argues the call, threatens the lineswoman by saying, "I swear to God I'm [expletive] going to take this [expletive] ball and shove it down your [expletive] throat," and is assessed a point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, ending the match. Three months later, she is fined $82,500 and placed on a two-year probation. It's the largest fine ever levied against a professional tennis player.

Shriver: "Most every player would say how unlikely it would be for you to be playing a two-and-a-half-hour match and for the only foot fault to be called that late in the match. That would have been Serena's initial anger. Why, at this crucial moment, is this my first foot fault of the night?

"It was a hurtful moment for her on many levels. I don't think her intent was to lose it and say what she said. I just think in the heat of the moment, it's what happened. The publicity from that match and how she reacted was so difficult, so negative, that it didn't help her public popularity.

"In the last year and a half, especially, when Serena has had challenging moments, she has been much more gracious, given the opponent more credit. That doesn't mean she won't get mad and smack her racket and get upset. She still has her moments, but that's normal. But that was her worst moment."

Isha: "I felt like she was being denied an opportunity to make a mistake. We've all said and done things we're not proud of because we're not perfect. But she didn't have the ability to be human. And nobody wants to feel like that, like I can't say anything, I can't do anything. If I'm not swinging a racket, people don't see me as a person. All they see is this sportsperson, and in this moment, as a woman and as a black woman, I'm not supposed to be able to express hurt when I know I'm being cheated. That's taking my voice, taking my humanity. So in that moment, I was most protective of her.

"Everybody was like, 'You've got to apologize to the world because of what you said.' That wasn't coming from [her family]. What we said was, 'Obviously it was a mistake; you absolutely owe the umpire an apology, but that's it. And that should be something private between you and her. Outside of that, whatever you feel you need to do to feel whole and be at peace about what happened, that's what you do. Because that's the only way you can stay true to yourself.'

"What she learned is you have to keep yourself in check and handle your situations with dignity and grace. Sometimes you have to be the bigger person, even on the court, calm down and know that it's just a game and understand the space it should hold in your life. These are all parts of a bigger lesson."

Shilstone: "Some of her outbursts on the court, they have been misconstrued. I was there when the woman called the foot fault. That woman missed completely. People don't think athletes are supposed to be human or have heart. There is no malice with Serena. It's the heat of the battle. Afterwards she apologized, but that is forgotten."

Oracene: "It wasn't just that call. All the years and emotions popped out at once. Balls that were clearly in, that everyone in the stands could see were clearly in. That was her breaking point."

PART FOUR: THE BREAK

Serena beats rival Justine Henin in the Australian Open and wins doubles with Venus. But a nagging knee injury forces her to miss the next four months of tennis. To fill her time, Serena researches schools and enrolls in a 240-hour course at Palm Beach Nail Academy to become a certified nail technician. She says she plans to complete the course in one year while being the school's top student -- and its most fashionable. She practices her new craft by giving Oprah Winfrey a pedicure on air.

Isha: "She's always been obsessed with her nails. And then it became, 'I could do this myself. I'm going to nail school.' She was completely fascinated. I didn't believe her. Then she got injured and couldn't play, and she enrolled herself in nail school. Then these opportunities started coming in. One day, she was like, 'If I do Oprah's nails, will it count for my hours?' Absolutely. Once she mastered it, it was almost like, 'OK, that's done. Finished and check and on to the next thing. What am I curious about now? How do I want to grow now?'"

Four days after winning Wimbledon, Serena is walking out of a restaurant in Munich when she steps on broken glass, lacerating a tendon on the top of her right foot. This begins a bad run of health for Serena: In October, she reinjures the same tendon, forcing her to have season-ending surgery. Then, in January, a pulmonary embolism is detected in her lungs. Serena undergoes emergency treatment in March 2011 to remove a hematoma related to the embolism and is hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Serena says the scary experience is as mentally difficult as the death of her sister. She does not play again until June.

Isha: "Seeing her in the hospital, in the bed, her eyes were closed, she was connected to tubes, and we didn't know the severity of the diagnosis, and I was terrified. This was our baby sister. When we found out everything, it became extremely real. We'd already suffered loss, and it was unfathomable to me that we would get hit like that twice, with the first [sister] and the last. It seemed like it wasn't even possible. We all prayed."

Shilstone: "A couple of months later, we were training in West Palm Beach and she was fit, but she was grabbing her chair. She was wheezing. I realized she was still suffering from the pulmonary embolism. It was the battle of our lives. Before her next match, I told her, 'You've been introduced to death. You can't be worried about the woman on the other side of the net.'"

Away from tennis for nearly a year, Serena returns to the court but struggles to find her game. She loses in the fourth round at Wimbledon and drops to No. 175, her lowest ranking since 1997. Then she loses in the final of the US Open in September. Around this time, the ever-curious Serena begins taking online classes at UMass University Without Walls. Her major is business management, which she later switches to pre-med. On the court, her losing streak continues into 2012: She gets knocked out in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January and in the first round of the French Open in May. It is her first loss in the opening round of a Grand Slam -- and the last straw. Having recently been introduced to French tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou by her friend and fellow pro Grigor Dimitrov, Serena reaches out to Mouratoglou.

Patrick Mouratoglou (Serena's coach since 2012): "A few days after her [French Open] loss, she called and asked if she could come to the academy to practice. Most players leave town after they lose. She said, 'I want to practice because I want to win Wimbledon.' She wanted to get back to winning a Grand Slam and being No. 1. She hadn't won a Grand Slam for two years and was very disappointed. I said yes, and she asked for two hitting partners. She came and hit for 45 minutes. I was there but was not supposed to say anything to her. At the changeover, she sat down, turned to me and said, 'Speak to me.' So I spoke to her. Then she said, 'Can we start now?' And I said, 'Of course.'"

With Mouratoglou, Serena works on her serve placement and tactics, as well as her confidence and conditioning. In April, in another unconventional move for a top player two decades into her career, Serena switches from natural gut to hybrid racket strings. Three months later, she wins Wimbledon for the fifth time. She follows that performance by winning two Olympic gold medals, in singles and doubles, at the London Games.

Mouratoglou: "She fought incredibly at Wimbledon. She is always a fighter but maybe more in that tournament than ever. She was coming to the matches with a plan. Of course, winning Wimbledon made a big difference in terms of her confidence. It's the same for every player ... the more you win, the more you win."

Fernandez: "At the Olympics, she went through the draw without dropping games. I've never seen anything like it. We're used to how great she serves, but it wasn't only her serve. It was her returns, her groundstrokes, her volleys. She beat players like [Victoria] Azarenka and Sharapova without losing games. It was remarkable. It's the best I've seen her play."

Serena, 31 and the oldest female tennis player to be ranked No. 1, wins her fifth US Open. The next day, Serena attends the men's final at Arthur Ashe Stadium with Nike CEO Mark Parker. Serena, a longtime Nike spokeswoman, jokes that she will one day succeed Parker as president of the company.

Mark Parker (president and CEO of Nike): "I joined Serena to watch the men's US Open final between [Rafael] Nadal and [Novak] Djokovic. I asked her what she thought of the match, and she told me she had been taking mental notes on how to improve her own game -- the day after winning the Open. During the [2015 Australian] Open, I texted her and asked what she was doing between matches. I found out she was taking pre-med courses."

Isha: "She loves holistic medicine. It's a real part of her study and what she wants to do. She's actually really good at it. We have this family event we do, and Serena wrapped me. She knows the muscles and the bones. It's almost irritating. It's like, how much can you learn? She wanted to speak French, so she's fluent in French. Whatever she sets her mind to do, she goes after it with so much enthusiasm and commitment until she gets it done. There are so few people in the universe who do that."

PART FIVE: THE ROAD TO 23

Serena meets Sharapova in the Australian Open final for the second time and wins 6-3, 7-6. It is her 16th straight victory over Sharapova. Serena becomes the oldest winner of the Australian Open at 33 years old. It's a Saturday.

Mouratoglou: "At the start of the year, she wanted to win. She was hungry. Journalists ask me always, what are my goals for the start of the year? The goal is to win the four Grand Slams. When I work with someone like Serena, what else can you have?"

Serena returns to Indian Wells after a 13-year boycott of the tournament. A knee injury forces her to withdraw in the semifinals.

Isha: "She talked to my mom and dad and then came to me and said, 'I'm thinking about going back to Indian Wells.' I said, 'Really? Are you ready for that?' It took her to come to a place where she was understanding of who she was and how far she had come, so that Indian Wells didn't matter. You have to get to a place in yourself where, win, lose or draw, I'm doing this for me. I'm not doing it for anybody else. I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do for me at this point in my life. And to watch that process and see the reception she got, it was overwhelming.

"All the years when people were asking, 'Are you coming back?' Saying, 'Come back, please come back.' Now it was not anybody asking her -- but her making the decision. I was extremely proud because I don't know if I could have done it. She taught us all in that moment."

Garrison (former professional tennis player, second African-American woman to make a Grand Slam final, at Wimbledon, 1990): "I think she's learned a lot about forgiveness over the years. What she did last year at [Indian Wells] blew my mind, made me cry. The fact that she's been big enough to humble herself in that way and show forgiveness was a strong statement for the times we live in right now, when young people need to see a leader like that. She said it felt right to her. Forgiveness was a big part of it, and not wanting to dwell on it anymore. That kind of energy brings you down, when you're holding on to old anger. The fact that she got to forgiveness, that can only be done by looking into yourself, deciding to be the best person you can be and making changes within yourself."

After reading Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's bestseller "Lean In," Serena strikes up a friendship with Sandberg and her husband, Dave, in early 2015. When Dave dies of a heart attack in May, Serena reaches out to comfort her friend.

Lyndrea: "Serena is the type of person who will call you to make sure you're OK. She'll call every 10 minutes if she thinks something is wrong. She'll sense this. Sheryl Sandberg lost her husband, and she did this for Sheryl for, like, months on end, every day. In order to help someone else, you have to have been through it. You go through things so you can uplift someone else. And that's what Serena did. I'm most proud of her in those moments. It's not about money, press, fame. It's about human connection."

Serena reaches the semifinal of the French Open. Sick with the flu and down 4-6, 2-3 to No. 23 Timea Bacsinszky, Serena digs deep, wins the next game and doesn't drop another game in the match. She goes on to win the tournament, beating Lucie Safarova in three sets in the final, her 20th Grand Slam victory.

Mouratoglou: "I don't think I've seen a player play being so sick. She would stay the whole day on the sofa and try to go out for a walk for 10 minutes and come back after two minutes. Not being able to sleep and having so much fever throughout most of the tournament, from the second round to the semis, then to play at the highest level, in the sun, and win against the best players in the world was impressive."

Serena beats Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-4 to win Wimbledon for the sixth time and, at 33 years, 289 days, becomes the oldest player to win a Grand Slam singles title. With the win, she earns her second Serena Slam by holding all four major titles at once. She is one win from tying Graf's record of 22 Grand Slam wins and becoming the first woman since Graf in 1988 to complete the calendar-year Grand Slam.

Mouratoglou: "Before winning Wimbledon, she had won two Grand Slams, but it's only two. For her, it's not incredible. But when she won the third, you start to think, 'Now we are getting close to something big.'"

At the Rogers Cup in Toronto, the warm-up to the US Open, Serena loses to Swiss teen Belinda Bencic in the semifinals.

Mouratoglou: "She comes to me the morning after and says, 'We have to go practice; I'm tired of losing.' We were in August. She'd lost three matches ... in a year."

Shilstone: "We do a thing called the Mackie Short Shuttle. It's a series of sprints with recovery time between them, and the sprints and the rest get progressively shorter as the workout goes on, but they go up in number. When we first started, Serena was falling out at different times. Last year before the US Open, she did all 72 sprints for the first time. After the tournament, she said, 'Those doggone sprints, they saved me. I can go forever.'"

Serena advances to the US Open quarterfinals, where she beats sister Venus. Then, in one of the most shocking upsets in tennis history, Serena loses to unseeded Roberta Vinci in the semifinals.

Mouratoglou: "On this morning, I saw that she was in a bad day. She had a lot of pain in her knees and the stress went higher. There was clearly big pressure from the outside. The US Open advertising was about her only. Vinci played the match of her life, and Serena made more mistakes than usual and would not go 100 percent on her shots. She couldn't hit as many winners as usual. The good thing, and it's what I've told her, whether you do this or not, it is not going to change who you are in your career. You've won 21 Grand Slams. You are going to win others. You are going to beat the record of all time."

Roberta Vinci (professional tennis player currently ranked No. 8): "Before the match, I spoke with my coach. He said, 'Don't think that this is your first semifinal in singles. Enjoy the moment.' There are no tactics against Serena. At the beginning, I was nervous. But I think Serena was more nervous than me. She had a lot of pressure. Until the end, I said in my mind, it's impossible that I can win, but try to stay focused every single point. Don't think about Serena."

Garrison: "In the tennis community, that loss to Vinci doesn't take anything away from Serena. I was at the match. I knew the pressure would hit her, I just didn't know how and when. When Steffi did it, she didn't have social media. Serena couldn't get away from it if she wanted to."

Mouratoglou: "For quite a while, she was really down because she felt like she failed. 'I let them down.' She didn't want to see people. Even though she's had more success than anyone, when she fails, it is more painful than for anyone else. Other players lose every week, or out of 30 weeks, they lose 27 or 28 times. She does not. She had to go through this process. She knew she had time, so she wanted to stay away from tennis, so she did."

At New York Fashion Week, Serena presents her fall 2015 collection with Home Shopping Network in front of Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, models Gigi Hadid and Lily Aldridge, and Drake. She announces in October that she'll withdraw from the final tournaments of the season, the WTA Finals and the China Open.

Grossman: "She had just come off a disappointment at the US Open, and she put herself into this show. She cast all the models. She styled and accessorized every outfit, worked with the hair and makeup artists. She chose every piece of music. During the show, she was behind the scenes making sure the models were going out at the right cadence; everybody is put together in the right way. At the end, she came out and took a bow and looked fabulous in one of her creations."

Sports Illustrated names Serena its Sportsperson of the Year, the first solo female to be awarded the honor since middle-distance runner Mary Decker in 1983. Serena is criticized for the magazine's cover image, in which she is wearing a black lacy bodysuit and stilettos and is seated on a golden throne.

Garrison: "Richard and Oracene did a very good job of making all of their girls comfortable within their own skin. Venus and Serena told me that their mom told them every day that they were beautiful, strong women. To hear that every day, and then believe it, is amazing. I've struggled with my weight for years. She tells me, 'Keep going, don't stop.' She's just as encouraging to people around her as she is to the world. I don't think she tries to be a role model to girls, I think she's just true to herself, and that's enough. She doesn't have to prove anything to the doubters anymore."

Oracene: "Other athletes would read things in the press and then couldn't do their jobs. So I made them stay away from press. Nothing negative inside their heads. Once you put fear in your head and get scared and doubt yourself, you can collapse. To be successful, you have to have confidence in who you are and what you stand for and the hell with whatever they say. The girls used to say, 'Mom, why do you say you don't care?' Because I don't care what people think. I know who I am."

At the Australian Open, Serena looks dominant in the first six matches but loses in three sets to No. 6 Angelique Kerber in the final. She follows with a loss to No. 4 Muguruza in the final of the French Open, marking the first back-to-back Grand Slam final losses in her career.

Angelique Kerber (professional tennis player currently ranked No. 2): "It's an honor being on the court with her, and winning against her in Australia was special. She came to me after and was so happy for me that I won my first Grand Slam. This is what is special about her; she was so nice after a really tough match that she lost."

Mouratoglou: "All that period, she played good tennis. But one of the things that makes Serena Serena is her mental toughness, her ability to play unbelievable when it's necessary, and this disappeared. She lost it. During that period, she was playing very good tennis. But this killer instinct, she didn't have it. She was not Serena."

Serena finds Serena, winning Wimbledon for the seventh time and taking her 22nd Grand Slam title, tying Graf's Open-era record.

Mouratoglou: "Two days after the French, she called me. I hung up and turned to my business partner and said, 'Serena's back.' She talked to me in a way that was Serena. The champion's mentality, all the things that make her so special, came back. I don't know why it came back at that time. Maybe the loss at the French was one too many. You never know why it clicks. But it clicked."

A shoulder injury forces Serena to pull out of the Rogers Cup. But nothing, she says, will keep her from playing in the Rio Olympics. Clearly struggling with pain, she loses in the third round of singles and first round of doubles play and returns home to Palm Beach, Florida, to rehab and prepare for the US Open.

Fernandez: "She was a great leader at the Olympics. She walked in the opening ceremony and went to the village a couple of times. She and Venus are big on pin trading, and Serena showed the rookies how to get the most pins. Even though she wasn't 100 percent, she tried her best to get fit and healthy. She didn't want to miss it. I will remember how excited she was to be back at the Olympics."

Mouratoglou: "She was injured. She couldn't serve. She had pain playing. If it was any other tournament, she wouldn't have played. Afterward she took a day off, and we got back to work."

Home in Florida, Serena Snapchats a video of herself performing her version of the routine that won U.S. gymnast Simone Biles all-around gold the day before in Rio.

Mouratoglou: "She had watched gymnastics on TV. She started to do it and then laughed at herself and said, 'Film me.' If I can say something of her character, she is more open to people now. The documentary was the first step. Snapchat is continuing the same. She hasn't changed, but people are getting to know her."

Shilstone: "I only have a week to get her ready, so we do crazy things. I hooked her up to cables that launch her like an F-18 to work on acceleration and deceleration while changing direction. We do standing bike sprints. There's a drill I call the fun 'n' gun that's based on my work with Army Rangers. If you look at the motion of the server, it's the same as the release of a shot put, so I have her shot-put a medicine ball."

Still recovering from her shoulder injury and dealing with a left knee injury suffered in the second round, Serena commits 31 unforced errors and six double faults in a stunning loss to No. 11 Karolina Pliskova in the US Open semifinals. When the world rankings are released four days later, she loses her No. 1 ranking to eventual US Open winner Angelique Kerber, ending her record-tying -- with Steffi Graf -- 186-week streak at No. 1. Two weeks later, she turns 35.

Isha: "My first conversation with Serena after that match was, 'What are you watching on TV?' I went to her room at the hotel, and we all chilled together and it wasn't about tennis. It was about being sisters and hanging out, and that's what we did, all of us. She still took her time, and you knew that's what she was thinking about. But it's not what we talked about.

"When did she start thinking about next season and the Australian Open? The moment she stepped off the court, she was already there."

NOV. 11, 2016

Accompanied by her sisters, mother, niece and nephews, Serena returns to Compton for the first time in years to open the Yetunde Price Resource Center in honor of her late sister. The next day, she and her family return to the East Compton tennis courts where she and Venus learned the game to dedicate newly refurbished courts to the community.

Aja Brown (Mayor of Compton): "The impact her presence has on this city is phenomenal. Her coming back is truly a beacon of light. She and Venus were awesome ambassadors and helped to lift the city in a time when it was really tough to be here. The city was plagued with violence and had so many negative connotations with the name Compton. But when we were able to turn on the TV and see Serena winning, dominating the game of tennis, we all felt uplifted. I was a little girl watching her do things I never thought were possible, so to be able to introduce her today was a great honor."

Isha: "Serena's doing this 30-day challenge, where she wants to do cardio every day for 30 days. This is a person who doesn't enjoy working out. When we got back to the hotel, it was late. Serena was like, 'I've got to work out. I'm committed to these 30 days.' She went to the gym and did her cardio and then was so energized. Her dedication is inspiring. She's helped all of us."

DEC. 30, 2016

In a 14-line poem posted to her page on Reddit, Serena announces her engagement to the website's co-founder Alexis Ohanian, whom she's been dating for a year-and-a-half. On his Facebook page, Ohanian posts the words "She said yes," as well as links to Serena's Reddit post.

Shilstone: "Serena called me and said, 'Guess what, Mackie? I'm engaged!' She knows I don't follow Twitter and all that. And I said, 'Wow, you're getting married! But what are we first? We're warriors.' I was saying to her, 'Keep your head in the game.' I've been around for eight years, so I've seen a lot of people come and go, and this young man is the real deal. He is a genuine, nice man and she is very happy. I told her, 'Serena, now you'll have to set me up on Reddit like you did on Twitter.'"

In swirling windy weather, Serena loses 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to American Madison Brengle in the second round of the ASB Classic in New Zealand, her first tournament since the US Open. After the match, she calls the conditions "my least-favorite I've ever played in" and turns her focus to the Australian Open.

Shilstone: "We've been conferring a lot since the US Open. She took a tremendous amount of time off to contend with injuries. Right now, she has some ring rust, and it's going to take a little time to shake it off. Tennis is all about timing, and right now, she's working on her timing. She needs to get it back, and you do that by playing games. She's a seasoned veteran, so it won't take her long.

"On the first day I met her in New Orleans eight years ago, I asked her, 'Are you at your best?' She said, 'I don't think I've ever been at my best.' If I asked her that question today, I am willing to say she'd tell me the same thing -- because the minute she says, 'Yeah, I'm the best I can be,' it's over."

Isha: "I want to see her win 23 for her. She is her own worst critic, her toughest competition, and she's really hard on herself when she doesn't succeed. I'd like to see her win it as soon as possible, but for her. Not for me, not for anybody else. I want that so badly for her."

Mouratoglou: "It was good thing she lost early. It helped her to regroup and get ready for the Australian Open. Of course, winning would be good, too, but losing was a wake-up call. Not that she was not doing the right things. She prepared well, but she realized that if she is not 100 percent focused in a match, she can lose. Going into Australia, she knew she had to be 100 percent focused in the first two rounds."

At 5:03 a.m. ET, Serena defeats big sister Venus 6-4, 6-4 in Melbourne to win her seventh Australian Open title and capture her 23rd Grand Slam, giving her more Grand Slam titles than any player in the Open era. There is no arguing it any longer: Serena is the greatest.

After the match, Venus addresses the crowd first. She motions toward Serena and says, "That's my little sister, guys. Congratulations, Serena, on No. 23. I have been right there with you. Your win has always been my win. I think you know that I'm enormously proud of you." Serena responds in her speech by saying, "I really would like to take this moment to congratulate Venus. She's an amazing person. There's no way I would be at 23 without her. There's no way I'd be at one without her. There's no way I'd have anything without her. She's my inspiration -- she's the only reason I'm standing here today and the only reason the Williams sisters exist."

Garrison: "I watched. Of course I watched. The match was very emotional. Their speeches were heartfelt and humbling, and I heard them speak like I hadn't in a long time. I've known Serena and Venus since they were 7 and 8, and to watch them grow as women on and off the court, overcome all they have, to play in their 30s the way they are playing, it's amazing. They are making their own rules.

"Being Serena's mentor when she came on tour, she has defied all odds against what people thought she could do. I will never forget Billie Jean King saying to me one day when Serena was young, 'She can be the greatest of all time if she hones it all in.' To watch her wisdom and physical and mental abilities come together to win 23 is exciting. She understands her place in history."

Mouratoglou: "It was very emotional. It's the first time since the start of my career with Serena that I had more stress than usual, the whole day. I felt the weight of the history. I tried to hide it as much as I could to her, but there was much more pressure.

"I don't think playing Venus was a big deal for her. I think the importance of winning the 23rd Slam was much more important than who she plays. She obviously prefers to play someone else but was focused on finding a way to win. She doesn't like to play Venus, but she was happy that Venus was in a final again and back to a great level. There was positive and negative.

"What's next is to establish her own record. Will it be 23, 25, 30? Nobody knows. But I think it's the most exciting journey for someone like Serena, to make her record.

"Of course she is still enjoying the game. Otherwise she would have stopped. She loves to play, but she also loves the idea of winning Grand Slams and exploring foreign territory. The fact that we don't know where we're going next, and how far we're going to go, makes it more exciting than beating any record. She is leaving a trace in history and I want this trace to be as big as possible."
Additional reporting by Lindsay Berra.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Road to 23 -- The story of Serena's path to greatness

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Serena Williams has made history. With a win over her older sister Venus in the final of the Australian Open on Jan. 28, Williams holds more Grand Slam titles than any player in the Open era. To win a title, a player must win seven matches over two weeks on the sport's greatest stages and against its most dominant players.

# data[].attributes.body
Read how Serena supports African education by building schools in Africa and giving scholarships.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Serena Williams Champions The Course Of Building African Schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
International tennis star, Serena Williams has pursued a consistent mission of building schools for black people especially for Africans. She has built...

# data[].attributes.body
Read how Serena shut down haters and how she deals with racism, sexism and body-shaming like a tennis queen.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's bound to happen when you're in the public eye. Athletes, actors, musicians - anyone you could consider a "celebrity" is going to be criticized. Some will say they deserve it because "they put their life out there" or chalk it up to being "the price of fame". But there is a line that gets crossed rather frequently. It's the line between taking criticism for your performance at your job and dealing with body-shaming, sexism, and racism. Serena Williams is no stranger to all of the above.

Serena really needs no introduction. She just won a record-setting 23rd Grand Slam title after all. But as you probably know she is a strong athlete. Physically. Mentally. And when responding to haters, including the media.

1. Back in 2014, Serena made it clear she wouldn't tolerate bullying. When Russian Tennis Federation President, Shamil Tarpischev, referred to her and sister Venus as the "Williams Brothers" along with other racist and sexist remarks she was not laughing. Tarpischev later stated he didn't want to offend anyone with his joke but Serena's response called his remarks out for what they were, saying, "I thought they were, in a way, bullying. I just wasn't very happy with his comments, I think a lot of people weren't happy as well."

2. Why are women always told to smile? *Insert expressionless emoji face here*, please. Apparently, Serena is sick of it too because after being asked in a press conference why she wasn't smiling her response was, "To be perfectly honest with you, I don't want to be here. I just want to be in bed right now and I have to wake up early to practice and I don't want to answer any of these questions. And you keep asking me the same questions. It's not really... You're not making it super enjoyable." Yes, she had just won a match. But not only had she just competed, but she completed against her sister and regardless of the situation she has the right to be tired. The best part of her response was calling out the media for lacking quality questions.

3. It's not necessary to quote Indian Wells CEO. Serena's response speaks for itself. "We, as women, have come a long way. We shouldn't have to drop to our knees at any point. I'm still surprised, especially with me and Venus and all the other women on the tour that's done well. Last year the women's final at the U.S. Open sold out well before the men. I'm sorry, did Roger play in that final or Rafa or any man play in that final that was sold out before the men's final? I think not. So I just feel like in order to make a comment you have to have history and you have to have facts and you have to know things. You have to know everything. I mean, you look at someone like Billie Jean King who opened so many doors for not only women's players but women athletes in general. So I feel like, you know, that is such a disservice to her and every female, not only a female athlete but every woman on this planet that has ever tried to stand up for what they believed in and being proud to be a woman."

4. In 2015 Serena went on Good Morning America and used that platform to call out body-shamers saying, "I've been like this my whole life, and I embrace me and I love how I look. I love that I am a full woman, and I'm strong and I'm powerful and I'm beautiful at the same time. And there's nothing wrong with that." Serena is a powerhouse athlete in incredible shape, so taking on the shamers is just another way to inspire young women.

5. Don't think you're off limits just because you don't consider yourself a journalist. Serena isn't afraid to clap black at haters on her social networks either. In 2015 as she was winning at WIMBLEDON, viewers at home felt the need to comment on her eyebrows. She later posted an Instagram video getting her eyebrows shaped dedicated to her #haters. I guess she had other things like her career and a championship in mind.

6. If Serena made a New Year's Resolution not to back down, she's killing it so far. In January of 2017 (yes, this year) Serena not only called out a reporter for being rude but also asked him to apologize. He did; but in this situation Serena was the definition of, "when they go low, we go high" handling the question with grace, complementing her opponent, and making it clear she wasn't going to let rude questions slide.

7. And of course, when asked her thoughts about being referred to as one of the greatest female athletes of all time, she simply said, "I prefer one of the greatest athletes of all time." Mic drop.

We're with you, Serena.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
7 Times Serena Williams Shut Down Media Haters - the Lala

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's bound to happen when you're in the public eye. Athletes, actors, musicians - anyone you could consider a "celebrity" is going to be criticized. Some will say they deserve it because "they put their life out there" or chalk it up to being "the price of fame".

# data[].attributes.body
Read how Serena Williams feels while she watches her sister play in Wimbledon while she takes a break in tennis while she is on maternity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Serena Williams isn't playing at Wimbledon this year as she prepares for the birth of her first child. However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion is watching from her home in Florida, and said she finds being a viewer far more stressful than being a competitor.

With her older sister, Venus, advancing to Thursday's semifinals, where she'll face Britain's Johanna Konta, Serena hasn't missed a match and is rooting on Venus despite over 4,000 miles and an ocean in between them.

"I'm as calm as a sister can be, which really isn't that calm," Serena said in a telephone interview with espnW on Wednesday. She insisted she doesn't yell at her television while watching. "It's hard to watch her because I know her so well, but she's been playing really well. I'm so proud of her.

"It's more nerve-wracking watching her because when I'm playing, it's all in my hands. It's up to me. But with her, I always want her to win and do great and it's out of my hands."

Serena and Venus talk after every match, and occasionally text before. While Venus is nearing her potential eighth Grand Slam title, Serena won't speculate on her chances.

"Every tennis player knows just to focus on the task at hand," she said. "Don't get ahead of yourself, focus on one match at a time. That's what she's doing and, even though I'm not playing, that's what I'm doing right now for her."

Speaking on behalf of her partnership with Tempur-Pedic -- she has been a customer of the brand for over 10 years -- Serena stressed the importance of staying healthy and of sleep in her life these days. She knows sleep is something she won't be getting a lot of once the baby is born, but cites the need for quality rest as a crucial element of her eventual return to the sport.

With no specific timeline for her return to competitive tennis after the birth of her baby, Serena plans on taking it day by day and just enjoying every moment with her new family. She says raising her baby with the same values her parents instilled in her, and providing him or her with a great life, is her main priority going forward. But of course, another Grand Slam title or two (or five) wouldn't hurt.

She said she feels she has accomplished everything she set out to do in tennis so she's just looking to "have fun and relax" when she does return. She doesn't have any specific goals, and will count everything that happens next as a "bonus." She is quick to point out that she has had the most fun over the past four years, and that has translated to great success on the court -- including eight Grand Slam titles since the start of 2013. In the meantime, she is closely watching her friend Victoria Azarenka, who recently made her return after maternity leave, and knows she'll be counting on her for advice and as somewhat of a blueprint for how to come back.

While Serena admits she misses playing, she said she couldn't be happier about her life these days, and knows she'll be back on the court soon.

"If I see the ladies or the guys playing, I get totally excited and I think, 'I really miss it!' But I don't want to be there, only because I'm doing something I feel is just as important, if not much more important," she said. "I really look forward to coming back. And I'll have time, it will be fun. But until then, I wouldn't trade this for any Grand Slam."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Serena Williams is more nervous watching Venus at Wimbledon than she is playing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Serena Williams isn't playing at Wimbledon this year as she prepares for the birth of her first child. However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion is watching from her home in Florida, and said she finds being a viewer far more stressful than being a competitor.

# data[].attributes.body
Watch Serena Williams in this video talk about her pregnancy and how she's going about off court!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Serena Williams opens up about pregnancy and career at TED conference

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Serena Williams is speaking out for the first time since she revealed she won a grand slam tournament while pregnant earlier this year. The tennis star spoke with "CBS This Morning" co-host Gayle King on stage at this year's TED2017 conference about her pregnancy, love life and career. Dana Jacobson reports.

# data[].attributes.headline
Top 5 of Serena Williams' Matches in Roland Garros

# data[].attributes.subject
Top 5 of Serena Williams' Matches in Roland Garros

# data[].attributes.body
Watch Serena play her tightest, highest and most memorable matches in the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Top 5 Selena Williams' Matches - Roland-Garros

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Top 5 Selena Williams' Matches - Roland Garros. Roland-Garros has selected five of Serena Williams's best ever matches at the French Open. It was no easy task as we were really spoilt for choice! This is our top 5 - and our tribute to Serena.

# data[].attributes.body
Check out Serena's Website on her clothing line called "Aneres." (She has such great taste in fashion, on and off court!)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Serena Williams: Shop the Serena Williams Clothing Line | HSN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Serena Williams, professional tennis player, brings you great pieces for everyday wear. Shop the Serena Williams clothing and accessories line at HSN.com.

# data[].attributes.body
Read how Serena Williams defeated her longtime rival Maria Sharapova and at the same time win the Gold Medal for the United States in the 2012 Olympics in London.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
WIMBLEDON - The American flag flapped right off its pole during the national anthem, yet another reminder why Serena Williams had no right to play the way she did in this wind on Saturday, against such a top opponent. But in the universe of women's tennis, the sun orbits Serena, the moon. She viewed this flag mishap only as another sign of personal gravity.

"The flag was coming to hug me," she said, after pulverizing Maria Sharapova, 6-0, 6-1, to win her first gold medal in singles, matching Steffi Graf's so-called Golden Slam of titles in the four majors and the Summer Games. "It was fluttering toward me trying to wrap its fabric around me."

PHOTOS: DAY 8 AT THE LONDON GAMES

You can't deny her such conceit, because really Williams has worked so hard to become an incredibly dominant star again in the late stages of her career, after recovering from life-threatening health problems. She has now won 17 straight and 34 of her last 35 matches. She has beaten Sharapova eight straight times dating back to 2004, and in this Olympic final she made the poor, pretty Russian appear a rank amateur, utterly out of her league, unable to handle Serena's serves or powerful groundstrokes.

"She's playing incredibly confident tennis," said Sharapova, who happens to have a career Grand Slam of her own, minus the gold medal. "So much power on her shots today, even against the wind."

The match did not exactly begin with proper fanfare for the Wimbledon champ. Williams requested a bathroom timeout before the start of the match, because she had over-hydrated beforehand in order to avoid cramps. She sauntered back out to her chair on the court, sat down and took a sip of water while Sharapova waited impatiently. The crowd jeered.

The animosity did not seem to register, for the player is in her own dream world at the moment. Williams immediately struck three aces in the first game, won the first eight points for a break, and completely overwhelmed the second-ranked player in the world.

This was a final between the two previous Grand Slam winners, but Sharapova's style of Big Babe tennis plays right to Williams' strengths. If you don't change pace on Williams, and you're not quick enough to chase her rockets back, you don't win. The Russian also struggled badly with her serve in the wind - her absurdly high toss never helps - and double-faulted twice. Williams had no such problems, with 10 aces, 24 winners and only seven unforced errors.

"I don't think she did anything wrong," Williams said. "I was just blind today."

Elise Amendola/AP

She had said before this tournament that she already had two doubles medals, so that she didn't really need one in singles. Afterward, she was singing a different tune.

"Deep, deep, deep, deep down inside, I wanted it in singles too," Serena said.

When she won, Williams danced right out there on Centre Court, a very strange dance at that. The crowd didn't quite know what to make of it, because the victory had been so easy, so one-sided, this almost seemed too boastful.

It came from a happy heart, though. Nobody enjoys winning, and hates losing, more than Williams.

"I don't even know where the dance came from, it wasn't planned," she said, demonstrating it again.

Driven by that thrill of victory, more than anything, Williams will head out on the hardcourt trail next and hope her form continues through August and the U.S. Open. She is collecting titles, putting them in her pocket. She decorates her Olympic medals with pins. She keeps a checklist and would like to fill in the few remaining gaps: mixed doubles titles at the French and Australian.

She can win those, if she wants. Williams can win anything and everything, as long as she remains healthy. She is great, and she is greedy.

"I only have three gold medals, Michael Phelps, that guy has 21, maybe 22," she said. "He's an animal."

To each his or her own venue. Phelps owns the Aquatics Centre. Williams owns Centre Court. Given a choice, most would select the latter property for their portfolio.

BRYAN BROTHERS WIN DOUBLES TITLE
Top-seeded Mike and Bob Bryan won a tennis gold medal for the U.S. in doubles on Saturday with a 6-4, 7-6 (2) victory over second-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra of France.

The famed doubles brothers captured their first Olympic gold on an acrobatic match point in the tiebreaker, when Bob Bryan ran toward the baseline to retrieve a smash from Tsonga and managed to return a defensive lob while running backward.

Andy Murray gets another shot at Roger Federer on Centre Court in the gold-medal men's match on Sunday. Federer beat him last month in the Wimbledon final.
Send a Letter to the Editor

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
WIMBLEDON - The American flag flapped right off its pole during the national anthem, yet another reminder why Serena Williams had no right to play the way she did in this wind on Saturday, against such a top opponent. But in the universe of women's tennis, the sun orbits Serena, the moon.

# data[].attributes.body
Read how Serena opened up about her injuries and how it affected her tennis career.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
She cuts an imposing figure on the tennis court, but Serena Williams has been stepping gingerly as she prepares to back up her stellar 2013 season.

The world No. 1 has arrived in Brisbane to begin her preparations for next month's Australian Open, and she is wary of repeating the successive ankle injuries which have marred her last two campaigns Down Under.

The first struck in the Queensland warm-up event two years ago, and then again last January in the opening match in Melbourne -- a factor which contributed to the American's shock fourth-round defeat by then teenager Sloane Stephens.

"I thought about it (at home in Florida during the off season) because I have steps in my room," Williams told reporters on Sunday.

"I thought, 'Gosh, I'm going to tip over these steps. I'm going to tape my ankles extra tight for the next four weeks.'

"If I can get a year without twisting my ankle I think I'll be good to go."

Williams overcame both injuries to end 2012 and 2013 as the dominant force in women's tennis, taking her grand slam haul to 17 titles -- five short of Steffi Graf's record.

Williams' first opponent in Brisbane will be former world No. 9 Andrea Petkovic, who defeated American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4 7-5 in Sunday's opening round.

Only four players beat Williams in 82 matches last season, and the German lost their only previous encounter.

The Brisbane event will also feature world No. 2 Victoria Azarenka, who beat Williams in an exhibition in Thailand on Saturday, and Maria Sharapova -- making her WTA Tour comeback from a shoulder injury that has sidelined the Russian since August.

Caroline Wozniack, another former world No. 1 who is now working with Sharapova's ex-coach Thomas Hogstedt, has been forced to pull out due to her own shoulder problem but expects to be fit for the following tournament in Sydney.

"Everyone, when they play me, they play pretty much amazing, really unbelievable," Williams said.

"I always have to be ready. I can't stop. I love competing. So for me, it's just about motivating myself and trying to reach new goals."

One of those was relaunching her clothes brand Aneres during her postseason break.

"I was interviewing so many people. Corporate Serena was taking over. I'm happy to be here right now," Williams said.

"Now I can do what I do best."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
serena williams reveals ankle fears - cnn.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
She cuts an imposing figure on the tennis court, but Serena Williams has been stepping gingerly as she prepares to back up her stellar 2013 season. The world No. 1 has arrived in Brisbane to begin her preparations for next month's Australian Open, and she is wary of repeating the successive ankle injuries which have marred her last two campaigns Down Under.

# data[].attributes.body
Take a quick look at the summary of Serena's autobiography called "My Life: Queen of the Court."

# data[].attributes.body
Read about Serena's Sponsorships and who she is sponsored by. Find out how her pregnancy is most likely to boost her sponsorship!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
April 19 (Reuters) - A pregnant Serena Williams makes the tennis superstar even more attractive to corporate sponsors, allowing her to extend her reach into maternity wear and motherhood products, sponsorship industry executives said.

Williams on Wednesday confirmed her pregnancy through spokeswoman Kelly Bush Novak after the tennis player posted a picture of herself in a yellow bathing suit on Snapchat social media with the caption "20 weeks."

Williams, 35, is already known around the world for her dominance of women's tennis, but pregnancy would make her even more likeable in the eyes of the wider public, experts in the sponsorship industry said.

"You take an iconic name who's now a brand and you add pregnancy to it, you get a happy story," said Gary Fechter, an attorney at McCarter & English who has represented companies in sponsorship deals. "This just makes her even more valuable."

With almost $29 million in salary and sponsorship earnings, including from Nike Inc and PepsiCo Inc, Williams ranked as the top paid female athlete in the world last year on a list compiled by Forbes magazine. But lower prize money in tennis left her 40th in the overall standings.

However, her earnings from sponsorship deals alone, at $20 million, would rank her far higher on the Forbes list - tied at 20th with fellow tennis player Maria Sharapova.

Williams could add to her earnings by appealing to new audiences, the experts said. Existing sponsors could tell new stories with an expecting superstar athlete, and new corporate sponsors might sign up with the mom-to-be as well.

"This just adds another dimension to Serena the person," said Jim Andrews, senior vice president with IEG, a WPP Plc unit that tracks sponsorship spending.

Lawyer Fechter said there has not been an athlete of Williams' prominence who stepped away while still dominant, but he pointed out that pregnancy only made non-sports celebrity Kim Kardashian more popular.

"This will enhance her likeability and certainly her marketability," Fechter said of Williams.

Industry officials agreed no existing sponsor would ever drop Williams as a spokeswoman because she remains at the top of her sport and any move by a company to distance itself from a pregnant woman would likely be heavily panned by the public.

In addition to Nike and Pepsi, Williams' roster of sponsors includes Wilson Sporting Goods Co, JP Morgan Chase & Co, Apple Inc's headphone company Beats Electronics, International Business Machines Corp and German automaker BMW's Mini brand, according to IEG.

Officials at Nike, JP Morgan, Pepsi and BMW could not be reached to comment.

Existing clients could tap into new markets with a pregnant superstar athlete, industry experts said. Williams could even expand her clothing line marketed on HSN Inc into maternity wear.

"There are a lot of different products and a lot of different brands that will feature families, motherhood, young kids and here's somebody who would be potentially a great working mom if she continues her career," said Doug Shabelman, president of Burns Entertainment, which matches celebrities with corporate sponsors. (Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit, additional reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; editing by Grant McCool)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
computer and electronics retailers (trbc)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
retailers excl food and drug specialists (trbc)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
cyclical consumer goods and services (trbc)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
cyclical consumer goods and services (trbc)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Serena Williams pregnancy likely to boost sponsorship -industry...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
April 19 (Reuters) - A pregnant Serena Williams makes the tennis superstar even more attractive to corporate sponsors, allowing her to extend her reach into maternity wear and motherhood products, sponsorship industry executives said.