Mention the name Williams and the first relation many have in their minds today is Serena. It is difficult not to love the soft spoken yet one of the most aggressive on court players the world has ever seen.
The 33-year-old has a whooping 21 grand slam titles in her trophy case, the second highest in the Open era. Only Steffi Graf of Germany has more, but, mark this, if Serena wins the US Open this year, the two will be tied at 22. That would make this year one of the best in her career as she will have won all major titles in one season. She also has four Olympic gold medals to her name -- one in women's singles and the other three she shares with her sister, Venus, in the doubles, an all time high. In the women's doubles, the duo are unbeaten in Grand Slam tournament Finals.
An article in Rolling Stone by Stephen Rodrick makes the bold statement, "She runs women's tennis like Kim Jong-Un runs North Korea: ruthlessly, with spare moments of comedy, indolence, and the occasional appearance of a split personality." The world Number 1 is also said to be worth an estimated $145 million, all from tennis and the endorsements that come with it.
As of now Serena needs one more victory to become the first tennis player since Steffi Graf in 1988 to win all four major tournaments in a single season. She is the defending US Open champion and has an unbeaten streak of 32 matches in all major tournaments. Serena is a player who is used to the pressure that comes with being on top of the world, but at the same time agrees that she is feeling the pressure this time. She says, "I mean, of course it's there. I'm not a robot or anything."
Serena faces her sister Venus this week in a match that will decide who goes to the semi-finals of the U.S. Open, and as Serena says, "At least there will be a Williams in the semis." This would be a match one would dub as "Straight Outta Compton" as the two were raised in Compton, Calif. It will be great to see what Serena has in store for the world as her career goes on.
Outside the court, Serena continues to be an inspiration to many. She is a humanitarian and believes in equal access of education for all. A good example is, she partnered with Hewlett Packard to build secondary schools in Kenya.
Beats by Dre. made a short film about Serena's journey that features shots from her past to present.
Serena is surely here to stay and is arguably the best women's tennis player that the world has seen.
