| Biography of Venus Williams |
Williams turned professional on October 31, 1994. In the second round of her first professional tournament in Oakland, Williams was up a set and a service break against top seed Arantxa Sanchez Vicario before losing the match. That was the only tournament Williams played in 1994. She remained a part time player on the tour during the next two years, playing only three tournaments in 1995 and five tournaments in 1996.
Williams began to play regularly on the tour in 1997. The highlight of her year was playing the U.S. Open for the first time, where she lost in the final to Martina Hingis 6-0, 6-4 after defeating Irina Spirlea in a three-set semifinal famous for "the bump" in which Spirlea and Williams collided during a changeover.
In 1998, Williams teamed with Justin Gimelstob to win the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open and the French Open. Her sister Serena Williams won the other two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles of the year, completing a "Williams Family Mixed Doubles Grand Slam." In singles, Venus won the Grand Slam Cup and the tournaments in Miami and Oklahoma City. She also reached at least the quarterfinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments. She ended the year ranked fifth in the world.
In 1999, Williams won the tournament in Miami, defeating Jana Novotna, Steffi Graf, and her sister Serena in successive matches. Venus also won the tournaments in Hamburg, Rome, New Haven, and Zurich. Venus and Serena teamed to win the doubles titles at the French Open and the U.S. Open, becoming the first sister team to win a Grand Slam doubles title in the 20th century.
In 2000, Williams won the singles title at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and two gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The Williams sisters also won the Wimbledon doubles title for the first time.
Williams successfully defended her Wimbledon and U.S. Open singles titles in 2001. At the U.S. Open, Williams won the tournament without dropping a set, defeating sister Serena in the final 6-2, 6-4. The Williams sisters won the Australian Open doubles title for the first time, completing a career Grand Slam in doubles for the pair. Venus won a total of six singles titles during the year.
Williams opened 2002 by defeating Justine Henin to win the Gold Coast tournament. She then reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, won Paris and Antwerp, and reached the semifinals of Dubai and Miami. Williams won seven singles titles during the year, a career best. In February 2002, Williams became the top ranked player in the world, the first African American player to garner that spot since the computer rankings began in 1975. The Willliams sisters won the Wimbledon doubles title for the second time in 2002.
Beginning with the 2002 French Open and extending through Wimbledon in 2003, Venus reached the final in five Grand Slam singles tournaments, losing all of them to her sister Serena. |
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| Quick Biography |
| Name |
Venus Williams |
| Height |
6' 1 |
| Nationality |
American |
| Famous For |
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| Date of Birth |
17 June 1980, |
| Place of Birth |
Lynwood, California, USA |
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