Venus Williams: 40 great moments
As Venus Williams turns 40, wtatennis.com looks back at the memorable moments that shaped her remarkable career.
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Venus Williams quickly rose to prominence as she held a 63-0 record on the USTA junior tour before she turned 12.
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She made her Tour debut in November 1994 aged 14 in Oakland. She led by a set and a break against World No.2 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario but was ultimately beaten in the second round.
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03
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In 1995, aged 15, she scored her first Top 20 victory as she overcame World No.18 Amy Frazier in Oakland. It was the first Tour tournament in which she passed the first round.
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04
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Although she lost in the first round of four of the five events she entered in 1996, she progressed to the third round in LA, where she got her first taste of playing a World No.1, who was Stefanie Graf.
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Her big breakthrough came in 1997 as she made the quarterfinals of three Tier 1 events and broke into the Top 100. Continuing her trend of success in California, she beat World No.9 Iva Majoli in Indian Wells.
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06
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It was at the US Open that her star truly ascended as she reached the final in her first appearance. Defeated by Martina Hingis, she was the first debutante since 1978 to go so far.
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The 1998 Australian Open brought a first professional meeting with sister Serena. Venus took the honors before moving through to the quarterfinals of the event, where Lindsay Davenport proved too strong.
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08
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A first major title also arrived in Melbourne as she picked up the mixed doubles crown with Justin Gimelstob.
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09
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Her first singles title followed a matter of weeks later in Oklahoma City. Along the way, she overcame World No.2 Davenport, while Joannette Kruger was dismissed in the final.
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10
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More success quickly followed as she scored the Tier 1 title at Key Biscayne. Notably, she was too strong for World No.1 Martina Hingis in the semifinals. She moved into the Top 10 for the first time after this win.
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The momentum continued for the remainder of the year as she reached the quarterfinals of every major event and also made the final of Rome, propelling her into the Top 5.
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12
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In 1999, she and sister Serena picked up the first of 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together as they won the French Open, winning a thriller against No.2 seeds Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova. The US Open doubles crown followed.
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13
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Team glory would also be achieved as she helped the USA overcome Russia in the Fed Cup final, defeating Elena Likhovtseva in singles then winning in doubles.
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14
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Her efforts on the singles court continued to be impressive. She defended her titles in Oklahoma and Key Biscayne, while she also picked up the crown in Rome as she pieced together a 22-match winning run.
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15
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Despite wrist trouble in 2000, Venus began to find her very best form, winning a first major singles title at Wimbledon as she overcame Hingis, Serena and Lindsay Davenport to lift the trophy.
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16
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A second major followed at the US Open, with Hingis and Davenport again among her victims, while she picked up two gold medals at the Sydney Olympics – singles and doubles, with Serena – amid a 35-match winning streak.
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17
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The momentum continued into 2001, which saw her complete the career Grand Slam in doubles with Serena as they won the Australian Open.
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18
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Venus retained both singles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open, defeating Justine Henin and Serena in the respective finals. She did not drop a set in New York.
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19
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On February 25, 2002, off the back of winning in the Gold Coast, Paris and Antwerp, she rose to the WTA World No.1 ranking, which she held for 11 weeks in total, for the first time.
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20
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Three successive Grand Slam finals followed but in Paris, London and New York, Venus was edged by Serena. At the start of 2003, the pattern continued in Melbourne.
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21
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Venus overcame injury to win Wimbledon in 2005. She won thrillers against Mary Pierce and Maria Sharapova before facing Davenport, rallying from a match point down to win – the first player to recover from that position in 70 years at The Championships.
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22
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Throughout her career, she has been an advocate of equality and in 2006 wrote and essay for The Times that was one of the catalysts to Wimbledon and the French Open agreeing equal prize money.
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23
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Her wrist problems continued to dog her progress but more success at the All England Club followed in 2007. After a slow start, she won her fourth title, with Marion Bartoli beaten in the final.
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24
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At the US Open, she delivered a serve of 129 mph (208 km/h) – the quickest ever recorded in Grand Slam play. She reached the semifinals of that event – the first time she had reached the last four of a major outside Wimbledon since 2003.
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25
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In December 2007, she earned an associate degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. She launched a fashion brand, EleVen, and in 2019 was named as one of Sport Illustrated’s Fashionable 50 Athletes for a second time.
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26
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Returning to Wimbledon as defending champion in 2008, she turned in a dominant performance, winning the title once more, this time without dropping a set. She beat Serena, 7-5, 6-4 in the final.
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27
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The Beijing Olympics provided more doubles joy as she and Serena won the gold medal for a second time.
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28
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Playing some of her best tennis in several years, Venus followed that up with success at the 2008 WTA Tour Championships. She defeated four of the Top 5 to win the title for the first time, doing so unbeaten.
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29
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In Dubai in 2009, she hit an important landmark as she became one of just 12 players to record 40 titles on the WTA Tour and returned to the Top 5 for the first time since 2003.
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30
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By reaching the final at Wimbledon for an eighth time, she won 34 successive sets at the Grand Slam but was edged by Serena in two after losing a tiebreak in the opener.
By reaching the final at Wimbledon for an eighth time, she won 34 successive sets at the Grand Slam but was edged by Serena in two after losing a tiebreak in the opener.
31
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Much of 2010 was dogged by a knee injury, but before this setback, Venus had reached World No.2 once more, had put together a 15-match winning streak and had won in Acapulco.
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32
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Despite her physical issues, she was able to put together a record run of 250 Grand Slam matches without retiring.
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33
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After winning the Wimbledon doubles title with Serena in 2012, she was swiftly back at the All England Club along with her sister to claim a third Olympic gold.
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34
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In August 2015, she received as BSc degree in Business Administration as part of the WTA’s partnership with Indiana University East. She already had several business ventures, including a part-ownership of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.
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35
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The Wuhan Open of 2015 proved to be a memorable event as she clocked up her 700th career win by defeating Julia Goerges and picked up a 47th WTA Tour title. It was her biggest title in more than half a decade.
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By winning the WTA Elite Trophy in 2015, overcoming Karolina Pliskova in the final, Venus moved back into the Top 10 for the first time since 2011, ending the year World No.7.
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37
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Venus holds the distinction of being the only player, male or female, to have won medals for tennis at four Olympics, having won gold in the doubles in Beijing and London, then mixed doubles silver in Rio 2016.
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38
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In 2017, she reached the final of the Australian Open, chalking up a 50th win in Melbourne and setting a record for the longest time between Grand Slam semifinal appearances (20 years).
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39
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Her good form continued in Miami, where she became the oldest player to beat a current World No.1 thanks to her success over Angelique Kerber, and then made the final of Wimbledon.
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40
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During a Fed Cup quarterfinal of 2018 against the Netherlands, Venus clocked up her 1000th professional match and marked the occasion with a victory.
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