Name : Venus
Williams
Birth Name : Venus Ebony Starr Williams
Date of Birth : June 17, 1980
Place of Birth : Lynwood, California, USA
Profession : Tennis Player
Sex : Female
Height : 6' 2" (1.89 m)
Residence : Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Father : Richard Williams
Mother : Oracene (also called Brandy)
Sister : Yetunde Price, Lyndrea Williams, Serena Williams
Plays : Right-handed
Venus Williams Detailed CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
2007
* Won Wimbledon by defeating Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-1 .
* At the WTA Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, Williams won by
defeating Shahar Peer of Israel 6-1, 6-1.
2005
* Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium - She lost to Amelie
Mauresmo in final.
* At the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, Venus defeated her sister Serena in
the quarterfinals before losing to Maria Sharapova.
* At Wimbledon, Williams defeated Davenport which is the longest
Wimbledon singles final in history.
* Stanford tournament - Williams lost the final to Clijsters.
2004
* Won the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina,
defeating Conchita Martinez in the final.
2003
* Won the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium, defeating Daniela
Hantuchova and Kim Clijsters in consecutive matches.
2002
* After losing in the first round of the French Open the year before,
reached the final at Roland Garros where she lost her sister Serena 7-5,
6-3. The sisters performance in Paris made them the No. 1 (Venus) and
No. 2 (Serena) players in the world -- a first for siblings.
* Won the final of the Open Gaz de France on a walkover from Jelena
Dokic.
* Lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to Monica Seles.
* Became the bane of Justine Henin's existence in three finals by
winning each: Gold Coast, Antwerp and Amelia Island.
2001
* Defended her title at New Haven by beating Justine Henin, Jennifer
Capriati and Lindsay Davenport the week before the U.S. Open.
* Successfully defended her Wimbledon title by defeating Belgian
teenager Justine Henin 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 and predicted that Wimbledon would
be a great place for her for years to come.
* Won in Hamburg by defeating Meghann Shaughnessy, 6-3, 6-0 and in San
Diego by defeating Monica Seles, 6-2, 6-3.
* In the Ericsson Open final, came from behind to defeat Jennifer
Capriati in a dramatic tiebreak in the final set, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
* Venus showed up at the Australian Open looking rusty on the court and
in a new outfit that drew more attention at times than her playing.
Venus fell to Martina Hingis 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals as Hingis
managed to beat the two Williams sisters back-to-back for the first
time. The sisters got some revenge as Hingis and doubles partner Monica
Seles lost to them in the doubles semifinal. The Williamses went on to
win the doubles Grand Slam trophy, but both expressed disappointment in
their singles performance.
* Won ESPY award for Outstanding Women's Tennis Performer.
2000
* Won her first Grand Slam at Wimbledon by defeating Lindsay Davenport,
6-3, 7-6 (3) in the final after defeating her sister, Serena, in the
semifinal. Davenport faced her again in the U.S. Open final and fell in
straight sets, 6-4, 7-5 giving Venus her second Slam.
* At the Sydney Olympics, she was the first woman to win a gold in
singles and doubles (with sister Serena) since 1924.
* Went on a 32-match win streak and won three other titles: Bank of the
West Classic, Acura Tennis Classic, Pilot Pen. She also made the finals
of the Generali Ladies Open, but this time Davenport was ready for her
as Venus fell 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
1999
* Defended Lipton title, defeating younger sister Serena in the final to
become the first sisters to meet in a WTA Tour final. En route to the
final, she beat No. 4 Jana Novotna and No. 7 Steffi Graf, ending Graf's
21-match Lipton winning streak.
* Earned her career first clay court singles title at Hamburg, including
wins over Top 10 players Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario in the semifinals and
Mary Pierce in the final.
* Won second clay court title in two weeks -- extending her red-clay
winning streak to nine -- over Mary Pierce at the Italian Open.
* Through the Australian Open, reached at least the quarterfinals at six
Grand Slam tournaments out of eight career Grand Slam appearances, a
more consistent start than all nine Grand Slam winners currently playing
(Davenport, Graf, Hingis, Majoli, Martinez, Novotna, Pierce, Sanchez-Vicario,
Seles).
* Finalist at Hannover, including a three-set semifinal win over Steffi
Graf where Williams served 12 aces, including one on match point, for
her first win over Graf.
* Won in Oklahoma City on February 28, the same day her sister, Serena,
won the Paris Indoors, and they became the first sisters in professional
tennis history to win singles titles in the same week.
* On April 5 she and sister Serena became the first sisters to be ranked
in the Top 10 simultaneously since April 22, 1991 (Manuela and Katerina
Maleeva).
* By winning the French Open doubles title with her sister Serena,
became the first sisters to win a Grand Slam crown together in the 20th
century.
* In her Fed Cup debut, led the United States over Italy in the
semifinals by winning both her singles matches and the doubles with
sister Serena.
1998
* Through the U.S. Open, only two of her 10 losses in 1998 came to
players ranked outside the Top 5.
* Made the semifinals of the U.S. Open, losing to eventual champ Lindsay
Davenport. Also advanced to the quarters at the Australian Open, French
Open and Wimbledon.
* Clocked a women's world record 127 mph serve in the quarterfinals of
the Swisscom Challenge.
* Won the Grand Slam Cup by defeating Patty Schnyder 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
* Won her second career singles title by beating Anna Kournikova in an
all-teen final at the Lipton Championships.
* Won her first singles title by topping South Africa's Joannette Kruger
6-3, 6-2 in the finals of the IGA Tennis Classic. Her WTA ranking jumped
to No. 12.
* The only unseeded player to reach the quarterfinals of 1998 Australian
Open; won her second-round match over sister Serena; fell in
quarterfinals in three sets to second seed Lindsay Davenport.
1997
* The bright young star in American tennis began the year ranked No. 211
in the world, but climbed up to No. 64.
* She reached the quarterfinals of two tournaments.
1996
* At the Bausch & Lomb Championships, her serve was recorded at 108 mph,
the ninth-fastest serve recorded on the tour that year.
* Went 7-5 in her 12 matches after playing only seven matches since her
professional debut in 1994.
1994
* Nearly upset Arantxa Sanchez Vicario in her professional debut at the
Bank of the West Classic in Oakland. Williams held a 6-3, 3-0 lead over
Sanchez Vicario, then ranked No. 2, but she couldn't hold on.
* Went 7-5 in her 12 matches after playing only seven matches since her
professional debut in 1994.
Personal
* Won her first singles title, the IGA Tennis Classic, on March 1,
1998.
* Managed and coached by her father, Richard.
* Younger sister Serena is also a rising star on the women's tour.