Venus williams biography imdb american

American tennis player (born 1980)

Venus Ebony Starr Williams^[2] (born June 17, 1980)^[3] is an American inactive professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the U.S. Open.^[4] She is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time.^[5][6][7]

Along with her younger sister, Serena, Venus Williams was coached by her parents Oracene Price and Richard Williams. Turning professional in 1994, she reached her first major final at the 1997 U.S. Open. In 2000 and 2001, Williams claimed the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles, as well as Olympic singles gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She first reached the singles world No. 1 ranking on 25 February 2002, becoming the first African American woman to do so in the Open era, and the second of all time after Althea Gibson.^[8] She reached four consecutive major finals between 2002 and 2003, but lost each time to Serena. She then suffered from injuries, winning just one major title between 2003 and 2006. Williams returned to form starting in 2007, when she won Wimbledon (a feat she repeated the following year). In 2010, she returned to the world No. 2 position in singles, but then suffered again from injuries. Starting in 2014, she again gradually returned to form, culminating in two major final appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017.

Along with her seven singles major titles, Williams has also won 14 women's doubles major titles, all partnering Serena; the pair are unbeaten in Grand Slam doubles finals.^[9] She became the world No. 1 in doubles for the first time on June 7, 2010, alongside Serena, after the pair completed a non-calendar-year Grand Slam at the French Open. The pair also won three Olympic gold medals in women's doubles, in 2000, 2008, and 2012, adding to Venus' singles gold in 2000 and her mixed doubles silver in 2016.^[10] Williams has also won two mixed doubles major titles, both in 1998.

The Williams sisters are credited with ushering in a new era of power and athleticism on the women's professional tennis tour.^[11][12][13] With 49 WTA Tour singles titles, Williams has the most singles titles among active players. With 22 WTA doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles, her combined total of 73 WTA titles is also the most among active players. She is also the only active player to have reached the singles finals of all four majors.^[14] Williams was twice the season prize money leader (in 2001 and 2017), and ranks second behind Serena in all-time career prize money winnings, having earned over US$42 million as of March 2022.^[15]

Early life

Williams was born in Lynwood, California, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price.^[16]

The Williams family moved from Compton, California, to West Palm Beach, Florida, when she was eleven, so that she and her sister Serena could attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci, who took notice of the sisters and who would provide additional coaching. He did not always agree with Williams' father but respected that "he treated his daughters like kids, allowed them to be little girls".^[17] Richard stopped sending his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments when Williams was eleven, since he wanted them to take it slowly and focus on schoolwork. Another motivation was racial, as he had allegedly heard parents of other players disparage the Williams sisters during tournaments. At that time, Williams held a 63–0 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among the under-12 players in Southern California.^[18] In 1995, Richard pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy and took over all coaching.^[19]

Playing style

Williams is an aggressive player, with an all-court game. Due to her assertive playing style, she typically accumulates large numbers of both winners and unforced errors. She possesses powerful groundstrokes on both sides, and is capable of hitting both her forehand and backhand flat, and with topspin. She is also adept at hitting her backhand with slice to slow down rallies and disrupt pace within rallies. Her serve is powerful, allowing her to serve numerous aces in any match. At the peak of her career, her first serve would average 182 km/h (113 mph), and would frequently peak at 199 km/h (124 mph); her serve has slowed since then, averaging 172 km/h (107 mph), and peaking at 189 km/h (117 mph). She possesses effective kick and slice serves, which she deploys as second serves, preventing opponents from scoring free points. Up to 2014, she held the record for the fastest serve on the WTA Tour, recorded at the 2007 U.S. Open, at 208 km/h (129 mph). She likes to approach the net, and finish points quickly. Her height, at 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), provides her with a long arm span, allowing her to reach difficult returns while positioned at the net. She has a repertoire of shots to perform at the net, which leads to many won points.^[20]

Due to her all-court game, Williams can hit winners from any position. An exceptional tactical player with remarkable problem-solving skills, she also plays with sheer power and aggression. She relies on defense infrequently, rarely hitting drop shots and lobs, as her exceptional speed and court coverage allow her to hit with assertive power and strength from frequently defensive positions. Further strengths include her detailed and intricate footwork, and supreme athleticism.^[21]

Professional career

1994–96: Professional Career

Venus Williams turned professional on October 31, 1994, at the age of 14.^[22] In the first round of her first professional tournament, the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, Venus defeated former NCAA singles champion Shaun Stafford. In the second round, Williams was up a set and a service break against world No. 2, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, before losing the match. That was the only tournament Williams played in 1994.

In 1995, Williams played three more events as a wildcard, falling in the first round of the tournaments in Los Angeles and Toronto but reaching the quarterfinals in Oakland, defeating No. 18 Amy Frazier in the second round for her first win over a top-20 ranked player, before losing to Magdalena Maleeva. Williams played five events in 1996, falling in the first round four times but reaching the third round in Los Angeles, before losing to No. 1 Steffi Graf.

1997: Debut Grand Slam singles final

Williams played 15 tour events in 1997, including five Tier I tournaments. She reached the quarterfinals in three of the Tier I events – the State Farm Evert Cup in Compton, California, the European Indoor Championships in Zürich, and the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. In Indian Wells in March, Williams defeated No. 9, Iva Majoli, in the third round for her first win over a player ranked in the top 10. She then lost in the quarterfinals to No. 8, Lindsay Davenport. Her ranking broke into the top 100 on April 14, 1997. She made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open, reaching the second round before losing to Nathalie Tauziat. She then lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Magdalena Grzybowska. During her debut at the U.S. Open, she lost the final to Martina Hingis, after defeating Irina Spîrlea in a semifinal which saw Spîrlea and Williams collide during a changeover when neither would yield as they passed the umpire's chair. Richard Williams, her father, later claimed that this incident was racially motivated.^[23]

1998: First WTA singles title, entering the top 10 and first Grand Slam doubles titles

In her debut at the Australian Open, Williams defeated younger sister Serena Williams in the second round, which was the sisters' first professional meeting. Williams eventually lost in the quarterfinals to No. 3 Davenport.

Three weeks later, Williams defeated No. 2 Davenport for the first time in the semifinals of the Cellular South Cup in Oklahoma City. Williams then defeated Joannette Kruger in the final to win the first singles title of her career. In her first Tier I event of the year, Williams lost in the semifinals of the State Farm Evert Cup in Indian Wells to No. 1 Hingis. The following week, Williams won the Tier I Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida. On March 30, 1998, her ranking broke into the top 10 for the first time, at No. 10.

Williams played only one tournament on clay before the 1998 French Open. At the Italian Open in Rome, she defeated her sister in the quarterfinals and No. 5, Sánchez Vicario, in the semifinals, before losing to No. 1, Hingis, in the final. She lost again to Hingis in the quarterfinals of the French Open. She lost her first match at the Eastbourne International on grass, before losing to No. 3 and eventual champion, Jana Novotná, in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. On July 27, 1998, her ranking rose to No. 5.

Williams played three tournaments during the North American 1998 summer hardcourt season. She reached her fifth final of the year at the Stanford Classic in California, defeating No. 6 Monica Seles in the semifinals before losing to No. 1 Davenport. Patellar tendonitis in her left knee caused her to retire from her quarterfinal match in San Diego while trailing Mary Pierce in the third set. At the U.S. Open, Williams defeated fourth-seeded Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals before losing to second seeded and eventual champion Davenport in the semifinals. 1998 was the first year that Williams reached at least the quarterfinals of all majors.

Williams played four tournaments in the remainder of 1998. She won her third title of the year at the Grand Slam Cup in Munich in September, defeating No. 9 Patty Schnyder in the final. She lost in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt, before losing in the final of the Tier I Swisscom Challenge in Zürich to No. 1 Davenport and the semifinals of the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow to Pierce. She had earned enough points during the year to participate in the year-ending WTA Tour Championships but withdrew from the tournament because of tendonitis in her knee. She finished the year ranked No. 5.

In 1998, Williams teamed with Justin Gimelstob to win the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and the French Open. Her sister Serena Williams won the other two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles that year, completing a "Williams Family Mixed Doubles Grand Slam". Williams won the first two women's doubles titles of her career, in Oklahoma City and Zürich. Both titles came with her sister, becoming only the third pair of sisters to win a WTA tour doubles title.^[24]

1999: Three Tier I titles

Williams started the 1999 tour in Australia, where she lost to No. 10 Steffi Graf in the quarterfinals of the Sydney International and No. 1 Davenport in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. However, she rebounded at the Faber Grand Prix in Hanover, defeating Graf for the first time in the semifinals before losing the final to No. 3 Novotná. Williams then successfully defended her titles in both Oklahoma City and Key Biscayne. At the final in Key Biscayne, where she defeated her sister in three sets in the first final on the WTA Tour to be contested by two sisters.

Williams lost her first match at the Amelia Island Championships in Florida. Three weeks later, however, she won her first title on clay at the WTA Hamburg, defeating Mary Pierce in the final. Williams then won the Tier I Italian Open in Rome, defeating No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and No. 8 Pierce in the final. At the French Open, she extended her winning streak to 22 matches before losing in the fourth round to No. 125, Barbara Schwartz. Williams teamed with Serena Williams to win the women's doubles title at this event, the first Grand Slam title the pair won together.

At Wimbledon, Williams reached the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, losing to eventual runner-up Graf.

Williams rebounded in the summer when she won two Fed Cup matches against Italy and lost in the final of the Stanford Classic to No. 1 Davenport. One week later, Williams defeated Davenport in the semifinals of the San Diego Classic, before losing to No. 2 Hingis in the final. In her last tournament before the U.S. Open, Williams won the New Haven Open in Connecticut, defeating No. 5 Seles in the semifinals and Davenport in the final. On August 30, 1999, her world ranking reached third for the first time. Seeded third at the U.S. Open, Williams lost in the semifinals to No. 1 Hingis in three sets. However, she teamed with singles champion Serena Williams at this event to win their second Grand Slam women's doubles title.

Williams contributed to the victory of the U.S. team over Russia in the Fed Cup final, winning one singles rubber before joining her sister to win the doubles rubber. At the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Williams defeated Hingis in the semifinals before losing to her sister Serena for the first time in the final. Williams won her sixth title of the year at the Tier I event in Zurich, defeating No. 1 Hingis in the final. Four weeks later, she lost to Davenport in the semifinals of the tournament in Philadelphia. Making her debut at the year-ending WTA Championships, Williams lost to Hingis in the semifinals. She finished the year ranked No. 3.

2000: Olympic gold medals and 1st & 2nd major titles

In 2000, Williams missed the first five months of the year with tendinitis in both wrists. She returned to the tour during the European clay court season. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg to Amanda Coetzer and in the third round of the Tier IItalian Open in Rome to Jelena Dokić. Although she had won only two of her four matches before the French Open, she was seeded fourth there. She won her first four matches in Paris without losing a set before losing in the quarterfinals to eighth-seeded and former champion Arantxa Sánchez, in three sets.

Williams then won 35 consecutive singles matches and six tournaments. She won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, defeating No. 1, Martina Hingis, in the quarterfinals, sister Serena in the semifinal and defending champion, Lindsay Davenport, in the final. She also teamed with her sister Serena to win the women's doubles title at this event.

She won three Tier II events during the North American summer hardcourt season, defeating Davenport in the final of the Silicon Valley Classic in Stanford and Monica Seles in the finals of both the San Diego Classic in and the Pilot Pen Tennis championships in New Haven.

At the U.S. Open, Williams defeated No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and No. 2 Davenport in the final. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she defeated Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals, Seles in the semifinals, and Elena Dementieva in the final to win the gold medal. She also won the gold medal in women's doubles with her younger sister Serena. Davenport eventually snapped her winning streak in October in the final of the Linz Open. Williams did not play a tournament the rest of the year because of anemia. She finished the year ranked No. 3 and with six singles titles.

2001: 3rd & 4th major titles

In 2001, Williams reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time, where she lost to No. 1 Hingis. However, Williams teamed with her sister to win the doubles title at the event, completing a Career Golden Slam in women's doubles for the pair.

Williams also reached the semifinals of the Tier I Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, where she controversially defaulted her match with her sister just before the match started. Williams had been suffering from knee tendinitis throughout the tournament and eventually this prevented her from playing. The following day, Williams and her father Richard were booed as they made their way to their seats to watch the final.^[25] Serena Williams was subsequently booed during the final with Kim Clijsters and during the trophy presentation. Due to this, neither Williams sister entered the tournament for 14 years,^[26] with her sister Serena entering in 2015 after appeals for forgiveness from the event and the WTA Tour. Williams rebounded from the Indian Wells 'boycott' controversy to win the next tournament on the tour calendar, the Tier I Key Biscayne Open. She defeated Hingis in the semifinals and No. 4 Jennifer Capriati in the final, after saving eight championship points. Because of this victory, her ranking rose to a career high of No. 2.

During the European clay-court season, Williams won the Tier II tournament in Hamburg but lost in the third round of the Tier I German Open to No. 18 Justine Henin and the first round of the French Open to Barbara Schett. This was only the second time that she had lost in the first round of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Williams then successfully defended her Wimbledon title, defeating third-seeded Davenport in the semifinals and eighth-seeded Henin in three sets in Henin's first Wimbledon final.

During the North American summer hardcourt season, Williams won for the second consecutive year the tournaments in San Diego, defeating Seles in the final, and in New Haven, defeating Davenport in the final. Williams also won the U.S. Open singles title for the second consecutive year, without dropping a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat fifth-seeded Clijsters, followed by a semifinal victory over No. 2 Capriati. She played her sister Serena in the final, which was the first Grand Slam singles final contested by two sisters during the open era. Venus won the match and her fourth Grand Slam singles title. Williams also became only the sixth woman in history to win the singles titles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in consecutive years, the others being Martina Navratilova (twice), Steffi Graf (twice), Althea Gibson, Maureen Connolly Brinker, and Helen Wills Moody (twice).

2002: World No. 1 ranking

Williams began 2002 by winning the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts in Gold Coast, defeating Henin in the final. However, she then lost for the first time in her career to Seles in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Williams then went on to win the Open Gaz de France in Paris when Jelena Dokić withdrew from the final, and the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, defeating Henin in the final. As a result of her strong start to the season, Williams assumed the world No. 1 position for the first time on February 25, dislodging Capriati. Williams was the first African-American woman ever to hold the ranking. She held it for just three weeks before surrendering it back to Capriati.

Williams failed to defend her title in Miami, after losing in the semifinals to her sister Serena. However, she made a strong start to the clay-court season, winning the Amelia Island Championships, defeating Henin in the final. A week after winning that tournament, she once again replaced Capriati as the No. 1, before losing it again to Capriati after three weeks. During those three weeks, Williams had made the final in Hamburg, defeating Hingis in the semifinals, before losing to Clijsters in the final. Seeded second at the French Open, Williams defeated former champion Seles to reach the semifinals for the first time. There, she defeated Clarisa Fernández. In the final, Williams met her sister Serena for a second time in a Grand Slam final, with her sister winning. Williams once again replaced Capriati as the No. 1 as a result of reaching the final.

As the top seed at Wimbledon, Williams defeated Henin in the semifinals to make the final for the third consecutive year. However, there, she lost to her sister Serena. This result meant Serena Williams replaced Venus as the No. 1. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the women's doubles title at the event, their fifth major women's doubles title together.

Williams won the titles in San Diego and New Haven for the third consecutive year, defeating Davenport and Dokic to win the former and defeating Davenport in the final of the latter. At the U.S. Open, Williams defeated Seles in the quarterfinals and Amélie Mauresmo in three sets to make the final. Playing her younger sister Serena for their third consecutive Grand Slam final, her sister won once again. After that, Williams played just four more matches during the season. She reached the semifinals at the year-ending Tour Championships after defeating Seles in the quarterfinals, but she then was forced to retire against Clijsters due to injury. Williams finished the year ranked No. 2 having won seven titles, her best showing in both respects of her career.

2003: Australian Open & Wimbledon finals, injuries

Williams started 2003 by defeating fifth seed Justine Henin to make the final of the Australian Open for the first time. In the final, however, she lost to her sister Serena. This marked the first time in the open era that the same two players had met in four consecutive Grand Slam finals (matched by Rafael Nadal & Novak Djokovic who met in Wimbledon 2011 final through the French Open 2012 final). Venus and Serena Williams teamed to win the women's doubles title at the event, their sixth Grand Slam title in women's doubles.

In February, Williams won the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp for the second consecutive year, defeating Kim Clijsters in the final. However, shortly afterwards, she began to struggle with injury. She reached the final of the clay-court J&S Cup in Warsaw, before being forced to retire against Amélie Mauresmo. She then suffered her earliest exit at a Grand Slam tournament in two years when she lost in the fourth round of the French Open to Vera Zvonareva.

At Wimbledon, Williams was seeded fourth. Williams defeated former champion Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals and Kim Clijsters in the semifinals to advance to her fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, where she lost again to sister Serena.

Wimbledon was Williams's last event of the year as an abdominal injury that occurred during the Clijsters match prevented her from playing again. While she was recovering from the injury, her sister Yetunde Price was murdered.^[27] Williams finished the year ranked No. 11. It was the first time in nearly six years that she had dropped out of the top 10.

2004: Tough losses and further injuries

In 2004, Williams came back to the tour suffering inconsistent results. As the third seed because of a protected ranking, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to Lisa Raymond. She then lost in the quarterfinals of her next three tournaments.

Williams began to find her form at the beginning of the clay-court season. At the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, Williams defeated Conchita Martínez in the final to win her first title in over a year and the second Tier I title on clay of her career. She then won in Warsaw, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, before reaching the final of the Tier I German Open in Berlin. She then withdrew from that match against Mauresmo due to injury. Going into the French Open, Williams had the best clay-court record among the women and was among the favorites to win the title; however, after making the quarterfinals to extend her winning streak on the surface to 19 matches, she lost to eventual champion Anastasia Myskina. Despite her defeat, she re-entered the top 10.

In Wimbledon, Williams lost a controversial second-round match to Croatian Karolina Šprem. The umpire of the match, Ted Watts, awarded Šprem an unearned point in the second-set tiebreak. Upon the conclusion of the match, he was relieved of his duties.^[28] This defeat marked the first time since 1997 that Williams had exited Wimbledon prior to the quarterfinals. After Wimbledon, she reached her fourth final of the year at the Stanford Classic in California, where she was beaten by Lindsay Davenport for the first time since 2000.

As the defending champion at the Athens Olympics, Williams lost in the third round to Mary Pierce. She then won three very close matches against Petra Mandula, Shikha Uberoi and Chanda Rubin to make the fourth round of the U.S. Open where she lost to Davenport, the first time she had ever lost at the U.S. Open prior to the semifinals. Williams completed the year by losing in the quarterfinals of three indoor tournaments in the fall, a period that included defeat in her first meeting with 17-year-old Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova at the Zurich Open. Williams finished the year as No. 9 and did not qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships.

2005: Third Wimbledon title

In 2005, Williams started the year by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Alicia Molik. She then reached the final in Antwerp, defeating Clijsters and Myskina en route. In the final, Williams was a set and a service break up against Mauresmo before eventually losing.

In March, at the Miami Open, she defeated sister Serena in the quarterfinals, the first time she had defeated her since 2001. Venus Williams went on to lose in the semifinals to No. 3 Sharapova. In May, she won her first title in over a year at the clay-courts at the İstanbul Cup, defeating Nicole Vaidišová in the final. However, at the French Open, she lost in the third round to 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva, who subsequently tested positive for steroids and was suspended.

Williams was seeded 14th for the Wimbledon Championships. In the quarterfinals of the tournament, she defeated French Open runner-up Pierce in a second-set tiebreak, winning it 12–10 to make the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in two years. There, she defeated defending champion and second-seeded Sharapova to make the Wimbledon final for the fifth time in six years. Playing top-seeded Davenport in the final, Williams saved a match point with a backhand winner en route to winning. This was her third Wimbledon singles title, her fifth Grand Slam singles title overall and her first since 2001. It was the first time in 70 years that a player had won after being down match point during the women's final at Wimbledon.^[29]

Williams reached her fourth final of the year in Stanford, where she lost to Clijsters. At the U.S. Open, Williams achieved her second consecutive win over sister Serena in the fourth round, but then lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Williams did not qualify for the year-ending Tour Championships because of an injury sustained during the China Open. She finished the year ranked No. 10. It was the first year since 2001 that she had finished a year ranked higher than her sister Serena Williams.

2006: Wrist injury and drop in the rankings

In 2006, Williams was upset in the first round of the Australian Open by Tsvetana Pironkova, which was her earliest loss ever at that tournament. After that loss, she did not play again for three months due to a wrist injury. She returned in late April on clay in Warsaw, where she defeated former No. 1 Hingis in the second round, before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. Williams completed the clay-court season by reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open, where she lost to Nicole Vaidišová.

Williams was the defending champion and one of the favorites to win the singles title at Wimbledon. However, she lost in the third round to 26th-seeded Jelena Janković. After the loss, Williams said that she was having pain in her left wrist, although she admitted that the injury was not the cause of her loss. Williams did not play in the U.S. Open Series or the U.S. Open itself due to the wrist injury. In October, during her first tournament in almost three months, she reinjured her wrist at the Luxembourg Open and lost in the second round to qualifier Agnieszka Radwańska. Williams finished the season as No. 46, her lowest finish since she began to play on the WTA Tour full-time in 1997. It was the second consecutive year she finished higher than her sister Serena, who finished the year at No. 95.

2007: Fourth Wimbledon title

Williams withdrew from the 2007 Australian Open, the second consecutive Grand Slam that she had missed due to her recurring wrist injury. She returned in February at the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, defeating top-seeded Shahar Pe'er in the final, her first singles title since her victory at Wimbledon in 2005.

At the beginning of the clay-court season, Williams reached the semifinals of the Tier I Charleston Open, where she lost to Janković on a third set tiebreak. She also lost to fourth seed Janković in the third round of the French Open, her third consecutive loss to Janković. During her second round win over Ashley Harkleroad, Williams hit a 206 km/h (128 mph) serve, which was the second fastest woman's serve ever recorded and the fastest ever recorded during a main draw match at the time.

Williams was ranked No. 31 going into Wimbledon and was seeded 23rd at the tournament due to her previous results at Wimbledon. Williams was a game away from defeat in her first round match against Alla Kudryavtseva and in her third round match against Akiko Morigami she was two points away from defeat, but she eventually won both 7–5 in the third set. She then advanced to reach her sixth Wimbledon final, after beating Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic in straight sets en route, where she defeated 18th seed Marion Bartoli also in straight sets. Williams thus became only the fourth woman in the open era to win Wimbledon at least four times, along with Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. She also became the lowest-seeded Wimbledon champion in history, breaking the record she herself set in 2005. Williams returned to the top 20 as a result of the win.^[30]

At the U.S. Open, after setting a Grand-Slam record 129 mph (208 km/h) serve in the opening round,^[31] Williams advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal outside of Wimbledon since 2003. However she then lost to eventual champion Justine Henin. The tournament resulted in Williams's ranking moving up to No. 9. Williams then won her third title of the year at the Korea Open in Seoul, defeating Maria Kirilenko in the final, before then losing in the final of the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo to Virginie Razzano. Williams had earned enough points during the year to qualify for the year-ending WTA Championships in Madrid; however, she withdrew because of continuing problems with anemia.^[32]

2008: Fifth Wimbledon title, and Olympic gold in doubles

In 2008, as the eighth seed at the Australian Open, Williams reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. However, she then lost to eventual runner-up Ana Ivanovic. Williams made her first semifinal of the year at the Bangalore Open in India, where she met sister Serena for the first time since 2005 with Serena Williams winning despite Venus Williams holding a match point in the third set tie break.

Williams missed two tournaments at the beginning of the clay-court season due to undisclosed medical problems.^[33] At the French Open, Williams was seeded eighth but was eliminated by 26th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta in the third round.

Williams was the defending champion and seventh-seeded player at Wimbledon. Without dropping a set, she reached her seventh Wimbledon singles final. She then won her fifth Wimbledon singles title, and seventh Grand Slam singles title overall, by beating sister Serena in straight sets. This was the first time since 2003 that Venus and Serena Williams had played each other in a Grand Slam final and was the first time since 2001 that Venus had defeated her in a Grand Slam final. Venus and Serena Williams then teamed to win the women's doubles title, their first Grand Slam doubles title together since 2003.

Williams lost in the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics to Li Na. She did, however, earn a gold medal along with her sister Serena in women's doubles, their second gold medal as a team, having won together at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. At the U.S. Open, Williams was playing some of her best tennis since dominating the circuit in 2003, However, she was defeated in two tiebreaks by Serena Williams (the eventual tournament winner) in a close quarterfinal match, after Williams had led 5–3 in both sets.

At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart in October, Williams defeated a player ranked in the top three for the first time that season by defeating No. 3 Dinara Safina to reach her third semifinal of the year. There, she lost to Janković. A fortnight later, Williams won the Zurich Open, defeating Ivanovic in the semifinals before defeating Pennetta in the final to claim her second title of the year and secure a position in the year-ending 2008 WTA Tour Championships in Doha. There, Williams defeated No. 2 Safina, No. 3 Serena Williams and No. 5 Dementieva in the preliminary round-robin stage. In the semifinals, Williams defeated No. 1 Janković before winning the year-ending tournament for the first time by defeating Vera Zvonareva in the final. She ended the year ranked No. 6 with three titles and a winning percentage of 78 percent.

2009: Four consecutive major doubles titles

As the sixth seed at the 2009 Australian Open, Williams lost in the second round to Carla Suárez Navarro, after holding a match point in the third set. However, she teamed up with her sister Serena to win the women's doubles title at the event, their eighth Grand Slam doubles title together. Williams rebounded in singles play in February at the Premier 5 (formerly Tier I) Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating defending champion and No. 4 Dementieva in the quarterfinals and No. 1 Serena Williams in the semifinals on a third set tiebreak. The latter win meant that Williams led the head-to-head in career matches with her sister for the first time since 2002. Williams went on to defeat Virginie Razzano in the final. This win meant Williams was ranked in the top five for the first time since 2003, while it also marked her 40th professional singles title, only the twelfth player in the Open era to achieve the feat.^[34] Williams won another title the following week at the Abierto Mexicano in Acapulco defeating Pennetta in the final. This was her first title on clay since 2005.

On European clay, Williams reached the semifinals in Rome before losing to No. 1 Safina. This run meant Williams was ranked in the top three for the first time since 2003. Seeded third at the French Open, Williams lost to Ágnes Szávay in the third round, the third consecutive year she had exited at that stage.^[35]

Williams was seeded third at Wimbledon. She advanced to her eighth Wimbledon final, at which point she had won 34 straight sets (held since Wimbledon 2007). In the final, however, she lost the first set tie-break, and from then on lost in two sets to sister Serena. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the doubles tournament for the fourth time.

In Stanford, Williams defeated Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva to advance to the finals, where she would lose to Marion Bartoli. Teaming with her sister, she played doubles and won the title, defeating Monica Niculescu and Chan Yung-jan.

At the U.S. Open, as the third seed, Williams made it to the fourth round, before losing to Kim Clijsters in three sets. Williams then teamed up with Serena Williams to play doubles at the open, where they won the title over defending champions and No. 1s in doubles, Cara Black and Liezel Huber, claiming their third major doubles title in 2009.

Williams's last tournament in 2009 was the year-ending Tour Championships, where she was the defending champion in singles. She was in the maroon group which includes her sister Serena Williams, along with Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova. She lost her first match against Dementieva, and her second match against her sister Serena- both in straight sets, after taking the first set. In her third and final round-robin match, Williams defeated Kuznetsova. Because of Dementieva's loss to Kuznetsova in their round robin match, Williams advanced to the semifinal of the championships. In her semifinal match, she defeated Jelena Janković of Serbia to advance to her second consecutive final in the tournament which she lost to her sister Serena. In doubles, Williams teamed with her sister as the second seeds. However, they lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez in the semifinal. Their doubles record at the end of the year stood at 24–2.

Williams finished 2009 ranked No. 6 in singles (with a winning percentage of 70 percent) and No. 3 in doubles with Serena Williams, in spite of them playing only six events together that year.

2010: No. 2 in singles and No. 1 doubles

Williams played at the Australian Open as the sixth seed. She defeated 17th-seeded Francesca Schiavone in the fourth round. She was two points from defeating 16th-seeded Li Na in the quarterfinals before losing in three sets. In doubles, she teamed with her sister Serena to successfully defend their title, defeating the top-ranked team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the final. She went onto the clay courts at the Mexican Open in Acapulco, where she was the defending champion. She reached the semifinals after recovering from a 1–5 third set deficit to Laura Pous Tió in the quarterfinals. In the final, she defeated first-time finalist Polona Hercog from Slovenia. This was her 43rd career title, the most among active female players.

Her next tournament was the Premier Mandatory Miami Open in Key Biscayne, where she was seeded third. She defeated No. 9, Agnieszka Radwańska, in the quarterfinals and No. 13, Marion Bartoli, in the semifinals to reach her third straight WTA Tour final and fourth Miami Open final. She was defeated by Kim Clijsters in the final in just 58 minutes, ending her 15-match winning streak. By reaching the final, her ranking improved to No. 4 and she crossed the $26 million mark in career prize money, the only player besides Serena Williams to do so.

The knee injury that hampered her during the final of the Miami Open forced her to skip the Fed Cup tie against Russia and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Williams returned to the tour at the Premier 5 Italian Open in Rome. She suffered the worst defeat of her career in the quarterfinals, losing to No. 4 Jelena Janković. Despite this loss, her ranking improved to No. 3 on May 10.

Her next tournament was the Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory tournament. She lost to Aravane Rezaï in the final. In doubles, she teamed with her sister Serena to win the title.

On May 17, her ranking improved to No. 2, behind only Serena. This was the fourth time that the Williams sisters have occupied the top two spots, and the first time since May 2003.

Her next tournament was the French Open, where she played both singles and doubles despite her knee injury. Seeded second in singles, she advanced past the third round at this tournament for the first time since 2006 before losing to Nadia Petrova in the round of 16. She also played doubles with Serena as the top seeds. Their defeat of Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues in the semifinals increased their doubles ranking to No. 1. They then defeated 12th seeded Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik in the final to win their fourth consecutive Grand Slam women's doubles title. By virtue of reaching the No. 1-ranking in doubles on June 7, 2010, Venus and Serena became just the sixth and seventh women to reach the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles following in the footsteps of Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and Kim Clijsters.

Her next tournament was the Wimbledon Championships, where she had reached the final the previous three years. Despite her knee injury, she made it to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Tsvetana Pironkova. Pironkova was ranked No. 82 and had never gone past the second round of a Grand Slam event. As a result, Williams dropped to No. 4. She was the defending champion in doubles with her sister Serena, having won the tournament in the previous two years. However, they lost this time in the quarterfinals to Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva.

Williams then missed all tournaments in the U.S. Open Series because of a left knee injury but still participated at the U.S. Open as the third seed. She won three matches to move into the fourth round. Williams became one of only two women in 2010 (along with Caroline Wozniacki) to reach at least the fourth round at all four Grand Slam singles tournaments. Williams then defeated Pe'er and French Open champion Schiavone en route to her eighth U.S. Open semifinal, against defending champion Clijsters. Williams won the first set of their match and recovered from 5–2 down in the second set but ultimately double-faulted on a key point near the end of the match and lost in three sets. Because of Serena's withdrawal from the U.S. Open, Venus did not participate at the doubles event, where she was the defending champion.

The recovery of her left knee took longer than expected and it forced her to miss the rest of 2010, including the year-ending WTA Championships and Fed Cup final.^[36] Williams ended the year ranked fifth in singles, the first time she ended a year in the top five since 2002, while playing only nine tournaments. She finished the year ranked 11th in doubles.

2011: Sjögren syndrome diagnosis

Williams began the year at the final edition of Hong Kong Tennis Classic exhibition event. She lost both her singles matches against Vera Zvonareva and Li Na, but she helped Team America to win the silver group. At the Australian Open, Williams retired in the second game of her third round match against Andrea Petkovic after sustaining a hip muscle injury in her second round.^[37] This was Williams's first retirement during a match in a Grand Slam tournament since 1994 and thus ended her record of most Grand Slam matches without ever retiring, with 250 consecutive matches.^[38] This was also her first retirement from a match since LA Women's Championships in Los Angeles in 2004, ending her 294 consecutive matches without retiring. The injury forced Williams to pull out of the Fed Cup quarterfinal against Belgium, the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the Mexican Open, where she was the two-time defending champion in both tournaments. She subsequently withdrew from the Miami Open causing her ranking to drop to No. 15. She also missed the clay court season which caused her ranking to drop to No. 29. Her absence from the French Open marked the first Grand Slam tournament since the 2003 U.S. Open where neither of the Williams sisters were competing.

Williams then made her first appearance since the Australian Open in Eastbourne. Unseeded, she lost for the first time in eleven meetings to Daniela Hantuchová in the quarterfinals. She was seeded 23rd at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. She played for nearly three hours in her second round match against Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, winning in three tough sets. She then defeated Spaniard María José Martínez Sánchez in the third round, but was defeated by Bulgarian 32nd seed Tsvetana Pironkova in the fourth round.

Originally scheduled to participate in the 2011 Rogers Cup in Toronto and the 2011 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Williams withdrew due to viral illness.^[39] Her next scheduled tournament was the U.S. Open.^[40] Unseeded at the U.S. Open, Williams defeated Vesna Dolonc in the first round. She was scheduled to meet 22nd seed Sabine Lisicki in the second round, but withdrew before the match began after being diagnosed with Sjögren syndrome, an autoimmune disease which causes fatigue and muscle and joint pain.^[41][42] This was the first time in her career that she did not reach the quarterfinals or better in any of the Grand Slam tournaments in a season. As a result, her ranking dropped to one-hundred and five.

Williams did not play for the rest of the year at a competitive level; she appeared in three exhibitions tournaments in November and early December. She played against sister Serena in Colombia, which she won in straight sets.^[43] The week later, the sisters appeared in Milan, Italy to play exhibition against Italian duo Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta. Williams lost both her singles tie-break matches but won the doubles pairing with her sister.^[44] Williams played her third exhibition tournament in Barbados where she lost to Victoria Azarenka. She ended the year ranked No. 102. This was her first year-end finish ranked outside of the top 50 since 1997.

2012: Comeback and Olympic gold record

Williams was scheduled to play in Auckland in preparation for the Australian Open.^[45] but withdrew from both tournaments due to health problems, announcing that she would return to the WTA tour in February.^[46] This dropped her ranking to No. 135. In February, Williams returned to competition in the doubles match of the Fed Cup World Group II tie between USA and Belarus.^[47] Playing with Liezel Huber, she won the dead-rubber in straight sets.

Williams was granted wildcards to participate in the Miami^[48] and Charleston tournaments.^[49] In the first round of Miami — her first singles match since the 2011 U.S. Open — Williams defeated Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, in straight sets. In the second round, she defeated No. 3 Petra Kvitová, her first top-3 victory since beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009. In the third round, she saved a match point and defeated Aleksandra Wozniak in a three-set tiebreaker that ended a nearly three-hour match. In the round of 16, she bested No. 15 Ana Ivanovic in three sets to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to the eventual champion, Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets. Her run improved her ranking to No. 87. A week later in Charleston, she reached her second consecutive quarterfinal, where she lost in three sets to Samantha Stosur.

Williams was granted wildcards to participate in Madrid and Rome. In Madrid, she lost in the second round to Angelique Kerber, but still improved her ranking to No. 63. A week later in Rome, she reached her third quarterfinal of the four tournaments she had participated in with a straight-sets victory against Samantha Stosur in the third round. She lost in the quarterfinals, in straight sets, to the No. 2, defending and eventual champion, Maria Sharapova.^[50] Her appearance in Rome increased her ranking to No. 52, placing her as the third-ranked American. She lost in the second round of the French Open to Agnieszka Radwańska, in straight sets.

At Wimbledon, Williams was unseeded for the first time since 1997.^[51] She lost to Elena Vesnina in the first round in straight sets.^[52] This was the first time Williams lost in the first round of a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open, and her first opening round loss at Wimbledon since her debut in 1997.^[53] Williams fared better in her return to doubles competition where she played alongside her sister Serena. In just the pair's first tournament since 2010 Wimbledon, the unseeded sisters advanced to the final with victories over fourth-seeds Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova in the second round and top-seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in the semifinals. The Williams sisters claimed their fifth Wimbledon doubles title after defeating sixth-seeds Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká in straight sets in the final, on the same day Serena Williams won her fifth Wimbledon singles title.

Williams's next stop was the 2012 London Olympics. She entered the women's singles and women's doubles events, partnering with sister Serena in doubles. In singles, Williams reached the third round where she lost to Angelique Kerber. In doubles, the unseeded Williams sisters advanced to the final, which was a repeat of their final at Wimbledon against Hlaváčková and Hradecká. The sisters won their third gold medal in doubles after defeating the Czech pair in straight sets. With the win (and her sister Serena's win in the singles event), the Williams sisters claimed the most Olympic gold medals of any other tennis player, male or female.

Next, Williams played at Cincinnati where she received a singles wild card entry. She defeated her first two opponents, Maria Kirilenko and Chanelle Scheepers, in three tight sets before eliinating eighth seed Sara Errani in the third round. In the quarterfinal, she defeated Samantha Stosur, in three sets.^[54] In the semifinal Williams played through a back injury, eventually losing in three sets to Li Na.^[55] Her semifinal run brought her ranking back within the top 50 for the first time in almost a year. At the US Open, Williams lost in a second-round match against Angelique Kerber in three sets, despite having a lead in the third set.

Williams won her 44th WTA career title and her first title in over 2+1⁄2 years at the Luxembourg Open, where she defeated Monica Niculescu in straight sets. Williams also qualified for the WTA Tournament of Champions in Sofia, but withdrew as the tournament clashed with her and her sister Serena's 'Breaking the Mould' tour in Africa.^[56] With her title in Luxembourg, her ranking rose to number 24. She ended the year with this ranking.

2013: Back injury

At the 2013 Hopman Cup, and playing for USA (with John Isner), the first rubber was against South Africa. Williams beat Chanelle Scheepers and, with John Isner, they comfortably defeated the South African pair Scheepers and Kevin Anderson. In USA's second rubber against France, she won both her singles and in mixed doubles defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mathilde Johansson. Next she faced Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain and won in two sets.

From there Williams went onto the Australian Open, seeded 25, after missing it the previous year due to injury. She beat Galina Voskoboeva and Alizé Cornet before losing to the second seed, Maria Sharapova. Her next tournament was Brasil Tennis Cup. She participated the tournament as the top seed. She defeated Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in the first round, Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round and Magdaléna Rybáriková during the quarterfinals. Reaching her first semifinal of the year, she was then defeated by Olga Puchkova in three sets. This tournament allowed Williams to strengthen her position in the top 20. She retired from the Miami Open in the third round due to a lower back injury.

One week after Miami, Williams participated in Charleston as the fifth seed. She reached the semifinals, where she lost to her sister Serena in two sets in the sisters' first meeting since the 2009 WTA Tour Championships