Serena Williams
Serena Jameka Williams was born September 26, 1981, in Saginaw, Michigan, and learned tennis on the public courts of Compton, California, coached by her father Richard alongside her sister Venus. She turned professional at 14 and won her first Grand Slam at 17. Over 27 years, she amassed 23 Grand Slam singles titles — the most in the Open Era — 319 weeks at World No. 1, $94.8 million in prize money (most ever for a woman athlete), and a legacy that transcends sport into business, motherhood, and advocacy.
serenawilliams.comSerena Williams on greatness, pressure, motherhood, and evolution
Serena's most powerful growth content doesn't come from motivational seminars — it comes from her interviews, her speeches on court, her HBO documentary, and the conversations she's had about pressure, loss, motherhood, and what it costs to be the greatest.
Speeches, farewells, and defining moments
Start here for the moments that defined her public voice: her 2022 US Open farewell speech, the Gayle King interview at TED, and the on-court moments where she spoke from the heart.
Pause and orient: Her farewell speech at the 2022 US Open — thanking her parents and sister, holding back tears — is one of the most watched and most emotionally resonant moments in sports history.
Motherhood, health, and evolving
These conversations reveal the Serena beyond the court: pregnancy, emergency C-section, Black maternal health, venture capital, and the decision to evolve.
The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up.
The Greatest of All Time — and What It Cost
Serena Jameka Williams was born September 26, 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan, and raised on the public tennis courts of Compton, California — not the country clubs and academies that produce most champions. Her father Richard, who learned tennis from instructional videos, coached Serena and her older sister Venus from age four. She turned professional at 14. At 17, she won her first Grand Slam at the 1999 US Open, defeating Martina Hingis. Over the next 27 years, she amassed 23 Grand Slam singles titles — the most in the Open Era, male or female — including seven Australian Opens, seven Wimbledons, six US Opens, and three French Opens. She won 73 WTA singles titles. She held the World No. 1 ranking for 319 weeks. She is the only player in history, male or female, to complete three Career Golden Slams. Her career prize money of $94.8 million makes her the highest-earning woman athlete of all time.
But the numbers don’t tell the real story. The real story is that Serena Williams dominated tennis while the tennis world spent decades telling her she didn’t belong. She was too strong, too loud, too Black, too much. She won anyway. She won the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant, then nearly died after giving birth to daughter Alexis Olympia via emergency C-section — a pulmonary embolism, multiple surgeries, and having her pain dismissed by medical staff. That experience transformed her into one of the most powerful voices in Black maternal health advocacy. In 2022, she announced her evolution away from tennis in a Vogue essay: “I am evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.” Her final US Open match was an epic three-hour battle where she defeated the World No. 2 and fell in the third round — and then delivered one of the most emotional farewell speeches in sports history.
Off the court: Serena Ventures, her venture capital firm, raised a $111 million fund and has invested in 14+ unicorns with a mission to back founders from underrepresented backgrounds. She co-hosts the podcast Stockton Street with Venus — named after the street where it all started. Her HBO documentary Being Serena chronicled her pregnancy, marriage to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, and return to the tour. In 2026, she returned to Wimbledon in doubles with Venus. Through all of it, the lesson stays the same: dominance is a practice. Evolution is a choice. You get to decide when the story changes.
Where to Go From Here
Pair Serena Williams with LeBron James for the longevity-and-excellence parallel across sports, Viola Davis for the worth-and-excellence story from a different arena, and Allyson Felix for the motherhood-and-advocacy dimension. Serena is also linked from the Great Athletes hub. Browse the full Body & Health library.
Self Growth Videos curates the world’s best self-improvement content into guided paths. Explore High Achievement — Women or the full teacher library.
Key Ideas from Serena Williams
Dominance is a practice
Serena didn't just win — she redefined what winning looked like. Her career is a study in sustained excellence across decades, surfaces, opponents, and eras.
Evolve on your own terms
Her 2022 retirement announcement wasn't a defeat — it was a deliberate pivot. She framed it as evolution, not ending, and she meant it.
Speak for the next woman
Her advocacy for Black maternal health came directly from her own near-death experience after childbirth. She uses her platform to change systems, not just tell her story.
Books by Serena Williams
On the Line
From Compton to 11 Grand Slams (as of writing): the training, the rivalry with Venus, the shooting death of her sister Yetunde, body image, depression, and the making of a champion.
The Adventures of Qai Qai
A heartwarming story about a little girl learning to believe in herself with the help of her doll. Named after Serena's daughter's real-life doll.
Serena Williams resources
Start with her memoir, her venture firm, and her most important conversations.
Serena Williams FAQ
Quick answers for readers discovering Serena Williams through Self Growth Videos.
What is Serena Williams best known for?
She is best known as the greatest tennis player of all time — 23 Grand Slam singles titles (most in the Open Era), 319 weeks at World No. 1, $94.8 million in career prize money, and Olympic gold medals. Beyond tennis, she is a venture capitalist, fashion designer, author, and advocate for Black maternal health.
When and why did Serena Williams retire from tennis?
Serena announced her evolution away from tennis in a Vogue essay in August 2022, writing 'I am evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.' She played her final tournament at the 2022 US Open, delivering an emotional farewell speech thanking her parents and sister Venus.
What is Serena Ventures?
Serena Ventures is her early-stage venture capital firm, which raised a $111 million debut fund in 2022. It has invested in over 14 companies that reached unicorn status ($1B+ valuation) including MasterClass and Impossible Foods, with a stated mission to back founders from underrepresented backgrounds.
