Serena Williams: Queen of the Court

Sep 26, 1981: Serena Jameka Williams born in Saginaw, Michigan, to Richard and Oracene Williams
   
1983: Family move to Compton, California. Determined his daughters will succeed, Richard Williams (right) teaches Serena and sister Venus to play tennis

1991: Sisters move to Florida to join tennis academy of acclaimed coach Rick Macci

Serena in action in 1992
    
1991-94: Despite limited experience on junior tour, Serena is ranked No.1 among under-10 players in Florida

1995: WTA debut in Quebec. Loses in qualifying round, winning just two games

1997: Beats both Mary Pierce and Monica Seles in Chicago en route to first semi-final. Finishes season in Top 100

1998: Grand Slam debut at Australian Open. Faces Venus in 2nd round in first of 31 head-to-head matches – Serena leads 19-12

1999: Wins first Grand Slam title at U.S Open, beating Martina Hingis. Victory makes her first black woman to win major since Althea Gibson in 1958

2000: Sisters team up to win Wimbledon doubles title and gold medal at Sydney Olympics – feat repeated in 2008 and 2012

2001: Suffers defeat to Venus in U.S. Open final – first of nine major finals between them

2002-03: Powers to victory at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and U.S Open before securing Australian Open to land “Serena Slam”, beating Venus in all four finals

2003: Oldest sister, Yetunde Price, is murdered in Compton

2004-06: Struggles with injuries and poor conditioning – dips to No.140 in world rankings

2007: Unseeded at Australian Open, Serena astounds tennis world by expertly dismantling Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-2 in final

2008: Returns to World No.1. Claims third U.S Open crown

2009: Blasts line judge who calls foot fault in U.S. Open semi-final. Serena loses match and is fined record $82,500

2010-12: Fourth Wimbledon title. Suffers season-ending tendon injury, and later needs emergency treatment for blood clot. Patrick Mouratoglou appointed as coach to revive career

2012: Wins gold medal in singles at London Olympics to become first tennis player to clinch Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles

2013: Adds titles at Roland Garros and U.S. Open

2014: Equals Chris Evert (below right) in taking sixth U.S. Open title without dropping a set

2015: Sixth Wimbledon trophy secures second “Serena Slam”. At 33 years, 289 days, she is oldest woman to win major title
  
2017: Captures 23rd major title, at eight weeks pregnant, to overhaul Steffi Graf’s (left) record of most Grand Slam titles in Open Era
     
Sep 2017: Gives birth to daughter Olympia, before marrying Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian

2018-19: Reaches four further finals but falls short of equalling Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 major singles titles

2020: Auckland title is her first since return from maternity leave

2021: Plays 1,000th WTA match
       
Aug 2022: Signals upcoming retirement in Vogue Magazine, saying she will be “evolving away” from tennis – U.S. Open likely to be her final tournament
   
  
Sources: ESPN, CNN, AP, WTA
Pictures: Getty Images
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