Serena Williams has contributions not only to the Women's Tennis Association but also to other social organizations around the world. 1. A Brief Bio of Williams Serena Williams was born in the town of Saginaw, Michigan, on September 26, 1981, to her parents Richard and Oracene Williams (5). Williams is the youngest of five girls: Venus, Yetunde, Isha, and Lyndrea. Williams started playing tennis at age four. Then soon after, in 1991, she moved to Florida and joined the “Rick Macci Academy” (5). After being the academy, Williams’s dad scaled back on her tennis, but what was ahead was something that they never really saw coming (5). In September of 1995, after starting to become serious in tennis again, she became a professional tennis player …show more content…
Williams won her first major championship in 1999 and completed her first career Grand Slam in 2003 (6). Serena Williams overall has won twenty-three Grand Slam titles, after beating her sister Venus 6-4, 6-4 (6). Williams barely skimmed by Steff Graf’s record of twenty-two Grand Slams and captured the world number one ranking (6). Williams lost her winning streak when she suffered a loss to Karolina Pliskova, in the semi-finals match of the U.S. Open(6). Twenty-four years after Williams turns pro, she went from the ranking 304 to 99 in the world (6). In 1995, when Serena turned pro, she signed a twelve million dollar shoe deal with Puma (6). After working with Puma, Williams decided to start a fashion line called “Aneres” (6). Williams fashion line is reportedly worth seventy-eight million dollars. After the success of her clothing line, it got even better, because some of her clothes even appeared on the cover of Vogue (6). Shortly after her fashion line came out in 2002, Serena was called “One of the Country’s 50 Most Inspiring African-Americans” …show more content…
Seeking to give educational opportunities for impoverished youth around the world, the tennis star formed the “Serena Williams Foundation” and built schools in Africa (6). In 2008, Williams launched the “Serena Williams Secondary School”, in Matooni, Kenya, and people of all ages have benefited from it (8). The “Serena Williams Foundation” has 2 main goals; create equality through education, and to assist victims of senseless violence (8). The Williams sisters have also created the “Williams Sisters Fund” in 2016 so that they could work together (8). In addition to the “Serena Williams Foundation”, the “Williams Sisters Fund”, and the “Serena Williams Secondary School”, Williams also launched the “Yetunde Price Resource Center” (8). The “Yetunde Price Resource Center” provides individuals comprehensive resource, referral, and case management services to the families affected by community violence