Serena Williams

American professional tennis player Serena Williams is one of the world’s most accomplished athletes and one of the most formidable players to have ever stepped on the court. Achieving her first number one ranking in 2002, she has since spent a total of 319 weeks at the top spot and ranked number one on eight separate occasions. Serena Williams is a born winner: having won 88 percent of her matches across her entire career, she has secured 72 career singles titles, 23 doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles. After winning the 2017 Australian Open, Williams surpassed previous record holder Steffi Graf to reach an incredible Open Era record of 23 grand slam singles titles. That’s three more than Roger Federer. A four-time Olympic gold medallist, she has beaten 20 of the 24 women to have been ranked number one since 1975, including her sister Venus Williams. Often spoken of as one of the greatest female tennis players of all time, Serena is currently the world’s highest paid female athlete, earning $27 million in 2017. Over the course of her illustrious career, Serena has won over $84 million in prize money, more than any other female athlete in history. Along with her sister, Serena has brought a new sense of power and toughness to the sport that has seen it grow in popularity, shining a spotlight on women’s tennis and inspiring generations of athletes across the globe.