After spending the early part of her career somewhat in the shadow of her older sister Venus, Serena Williams has gone on to establish herself as one of the true all-time greats of tennis. She has won 23 major singles titles, the most by any player, male or female, in the sport’s Open Era. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranked her number one in the world for singles on eight occasions between 2002 and 2017. The sixth time it happened, she held the number one spot for 186 consecutive weeks, a world record that she holds jointly with German great Steffi Graf.
It is hard to quantify that kind of success. But Williams has also won 39 Grand Slam titles in singles and doubles. That is the highest total among currently active players, as well as being joint-third in the all-time list and second in the Open Era. She held all four Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously on two separate occasions, in 2002/03 and 2014/15. She also held all four Grand Slam women’s doubles titles (in partnership with her sister Venus) in 2009/10.
What is perhaps more striking than that success, though, is the way that Williams has risen to achieve it. Born in Michigan in 1981, she grew up in Compton, Los Angeles, to where her family moved when she was young. She started playing tennis at the age of four, with her father coaching her. He also coached Venus, and home schooled the sisters.
When Williams was nine, she moved with her family to West Palm Beach in Florida. There, she attended Rick Macci’s tennis academy. Her father eventually pulled Williams out of the academy, though, and took responsibility for her coaching himself from that point onwards.
When it comes to her style of play, Williams is a strong baseline performer who likes to dominate rallies. Much of this dominance is generated by the power of her serve. She is also known for the quality of her service returns, and the power she generates in both forehand and backhand ground strokes. Her aggressive style of play is often considered risky, but the power of her serve, which many observers consider the greatest serve of all time in women’s tennis, mitigates this risk.
So, Williams is clearly one of the all-time greats in her sport. Learning how to play the game from her would be a privilege. Let’s take a closer look next at just what is in the Serena Williams Masterclass course on tennis.