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The following biography
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Venus Ebone Starr Williams (born June 17,
1980) is a former World No. 1 tennis champion, born in Lynwood,
California. She is the daughter of Richard and Oracene Williams and the
older sister of another tennis champion, Serena Williams.
****
Country USA
Residence Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA
Date of birth June 17, 1980
Place of birth Lynwood, California, USA
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 72.5 kg (160 lb.)
Turned Pro 1994
Plays Right; Two-handed backhand
Career Prize Money $16,287,774
Singles
Career record: 424-99
Career titles: 33
Highest ranking: No. 1 (February 25, 2002)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open F (2003)
French Open F (2002)
Wimbledon W (2000, 2001, 2005)
U.S. Open W (2000, 2001)
Doubles
Career record: 89-16
Career titles: 10
Highest ranking: No. 5 (October 11, 1999)
****
Early
Career
Venus turned professional on October 31, 1994;
however she did not play regularly on the tour until 1997. In 1997, while
playing the U.S. Open for the first time, Venus reached the final where she lost
6-0, 6-4 to Martina Hingis. Over the next several years, Venus went on to win
many important championships, including two gold medals at the Sydney Summer
Olympics in 2000, the 1999 French Open doubles (with sister Serena as her
partner), and five other doubles and two mixed doubles grand slams. In 2000, she
won the Wimbledon championship and the U.S. Open in singles and successfully
defended both grand slam titles in 2001. In 2002 and 2003, Venus reached five
major finals but lost all of them to her sister Serena.
When Venus and Serena won the 1998 French Open
doubles title, they became the first pair of sisters to win a doubles title in
the 20th century.
2003
In 2003, Williams faced her sister Serena Williams
at the 2003 Wimbledon finals despite suffering a severe abdominal injury that
required medical attention during the match. Venus eventually lost to her sister
Serena, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Venus' older sister, Yetunde Price, was murdered in
the Compton, California area on the morning of September 14, 2003. The era of
domination by the Williams sisters began to close out after the murder.
Following Wimbledon in 2003, both Venus and Serena suffered injuries that kept
them out of the last half of the 2003 season.
2004
Upon their return in 2004, the Williams sisters
failed to recapture their previous best, including Venus's controversial defeat
in a second round loss to Croatian Karolina Sprem at Wimbledon. The referee of
the match, Ted Watts, awarded Sprem an unearned point in the deciding tiebreak.
Upon the conclusion of the match, he was quickly relieved of his duties.
2005
Venus' 2005 season began similarly patchy, with one
Tier III title (Istanbul) and a series of unusual losses. However, media
attention and public interest in both of the Williams sisters continued with
their fashion and interior design companies as well as their reality TV series.
At the 2005 French Open, Venus lost in the third
round to 15-year old Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva. Karatantcheva subsequently
failed a doping test, resulting in her being suspended from the sport for two
years.
The following month, Venus reached the 2005
Wimbledon finals without dropping a set. She defeated the defending champion
Maria Sharapova in the semifinals in straight sets. She decisively broke
Sharapova's serve four times (Sharapova had lost only one service game in
reaching the semifinal). This marked the sixth consecutive year that at least
one of the Williams sisters reached the final.
In the longest Wimbledon final in history, Venus
overcame a match point (at 4-6, 7-6 (4), 4-5, 30-40) against her to triumph over
top seed Lindsay Davenport 4-6, 7-6(4), 9-7 to claim her third Wimbledon title.
This was the first time in 70 years that a player had won after facing match
point during the women's championship. In addition, Williams, as the 14th seed
in the draw, was the lowest seed to win the ladies' title in Wimbledon history.
In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put her in 25th place in
its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.
2006
On January 16, 2006, Williams had a surprising loss
in her first round match at the Australian Open, losing 2-6, 6-0, 9-7 to
Tszvetana Pironkova. It was her earliest loss at the Australian Open.
Venus was out of action from January 16th until
April 30th due to injuries. She reached the quarterfinals at the J&S Cup in
Warsaw, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova, and also made the semifinals in Rome,
defeating Jankovic and Schnyder on the way, but eventually falling to Martina
Hingis. Venus reached the quarterfinals of the 2006 French Open where she lost
to the rising teenager, Nicole Vaidisova 6-7, 6-1, 6-3.
She then competed in the 2006 Wimbledon where she
was touted as one of the favorites. She survived a scare against fellow American
Lisa Raymond in the 2nd round where she was two points away from defeat and then
unexpectedly lost in the 3rd round to the 26th seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia in
three sets (7-6(8), 4-6, 6-4). Her current ranking is #31. She announced on
August 25 that she would not be playing in the 2006 US Open due to a recurring
wrist injury.
She and her sister Serena continue to support each
other and are often in the crowds at each others' matches.
Off
Court Career
Venus is a businesswoman and CEO of her interior
design firm "V Starr Interiors" located in Jupiter, Florida. Williams' company
garnered prominence by designing the set of the "Tavis Smiley Show" on PBS,
designed the Olympic athletes' apartments as a part of the US bid package for
New York to host the 2012 games, and designed residences and businesses in the
Palm Beach, Florida area.
Cultural References
Welsh Indie band Super Furry Animals have a track
on their 2003 album Phantom Power called Venus and Serena dedicated to the
sisters.
In the single "Signs" by Snoop Dogg and Justin
Timberlake there is a reference to the sisters as: "Just like Venus and Serena,
in the Wimbledon arena."
David Foster Wallace mentions Venus by name, twice,
in the opening chapter of his 1996 novel Infinite Jest.
Grand
Slam singles finals
Wins (5)
Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
2000 Wimbledon Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 7-6
2000 U.S. Open Lindsay Davenport 6-4, 7-5
2001 Wimbledon (2) Justine Henin 6-1, 3-6, 6-0
2001 U.S. Open (2) Serena Williams 6-2, 6-4
2005 Wimbledon (3) Lindsay Davenport 4-6, 7-6, 9-7
Runner-ups (6)
Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1997 U.S. Open Martina Hingis 6-0, 6-4
2002 French Open Serena Williams 7-5, 6-3
2002 Wimbledon Serena Williams 7-6, 6-3
2002 U.S. Open Serena Williams 6-4, 6-3
2003 Australian Open Serena Williams 7-6, 3-6, 6-4
2003 Wimbledon Serena Williams 4-6, 6-4, 6-2
Titles (45)
Singles (33)
Legend
Grand Slam (5)
WTA Championships (0)
Olympic Gold (1)
Tier I Event (6)
WTA Tour (23)
Titles by Surface
Hard (20)
Clay (7)
Grass (3)
Carpet (3)
No.
Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 1998-02-23 Oklahoma City, USA Hard Joannette
Kruger (South Africa) 6-3, 6-2
2. 1998-03-16 Key Biscayne, USA Hard Anna
Kournikova (Russia) 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
3. 1998-09-28 Munich, Germany (Grand Slam Cup) Hard
Patty Schnyder (Switzerland) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
4. 1999-02-22 Oklahoma City, USA Hard Amanda
Coetzer (South Africa) 6-4, 6-0
5. 1999-03-15 Key Biscayne, USA Hard Serena
Williams (USA) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
6. 1999-04-26 Hamburg, Germany Clay Mary Pierce
(France) 6-0, 6-3
7. 1999-05-03 Rome, Italy Clay Mary Pierce (France)
6-4, 6-2
8. 1999-08-23 New Haven, USA Hard Lindsay Davenport
(USA) 6-2, 7-5
9. 1999-10-11 Zurich, Switzerland Hard Martina
Hingis (Switzerland) 6-3 6-4
10. 2000-06-26 Wimbledon, London, Great Britain
Grass Lindsay Davenport (USA) 6-3, 7-6(3)
11. 2000-07-24 Stanford, USA Hard Lindsay Davenport
(USA) 6-1, 6-4
12. 2000-07-31 San Diego, USA Hard Monica Seles
(USA) 6-0, 6-7(3), 6-3
13. 2000-08-21 New Haven, USA Hard Monica Seles
(USA) 6-2, 6-4
14. 2000-08-28 US Open, New York, USA Hard Lindsay
Davenport (USA) 6-4, 7-5
15. 2000-09-18 The Olympics, Sydney, Australia Hard
Elena Dementieva (Russia) 6-2, 6-4
16. 2001-03-19 Miami, USA Hard Jennifer Capriati
(USA) 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4)
17. 2001-04-30 Hamburg, Germany Clay Meghann
Shaughnessy (USA) 6-3, 6-3
18. 2001-06-25 Wimbledon, London, Great Britain
Grass Justine Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) 6-1, 3-6, 6-0
19. 2001-07-30 San Diego, USA Hard Monica Seles
(USA) 6-2, 6-3
20. 2001-08-20 New Haven, USA Hard Lindsay
Davenport (USA) 7-6(6), 6-4
21. 2001-08-27 US Open, New York, USA Hard Serena
Williams (USA) 6-2, 6-4
22. 2001-12-31 Gold Coast, Australia Hard Justine
Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) 7-5, 6-2
23. 2002-02-04 Paris, France Carpet Jelena Dokic
(Serbia & Montenegro) walkover
24. 2002-02-11 Antwerp, Belgium Carpet Justine
Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
25. 2002-04-08 Amelia Island Clay Justine
Henin-Hardenne (Belgium) 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5)
26. 2002-07-22 Stanford, USA Hard Kim Clijsters
(Belgium) 6-3, 6-3
27. 2002-07-29 San Diego, USA Hard Jelena Dokic
(Serbia & Montenegro) 6-2, 6-2
28. 2002-08-19 New Haven Hard Lindsay Davenport
(USA) 7-5, 6-0
29. 2003-02-10 Antwerp, Belgium Carpet Kim
Clijsters (Belgium) 6-2, 6-4
30. 2004-04-12 Charleston, USA Clay Conchita
Martinez (Spain) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1
31. 2004-04-26 Warsaw, Poland Clay Svetlana
Kuznetsova (Russia) 6-1, 6-4
32. 2005-05-15 Istanbul, Turkey Clay Nicole
Vaidišová (Czech Republic) 6-3, 6-2
33. 2005-06-21 Wimbledon, London, Great Britain
Grass Lindsay Davenport (USA) 4-6, 7-6(4), 9-7
Singles
Finalist (21)
Grand slam events in boldface.
1997: U.S. Open (lost to M. Hingis)
1998: Sydney (lost to A. Sanchez-Vicario)
1998: Rome (lost to M. Hingis)
1998: Stanford (lost to L. Davenport)
1998: Zurich (lost to M. Hingis)
1999: Hannover (lost to Jana Novotna)
1999: Stanford (lost to L. Davenport)
1999: San Diego (lost to M. Hingis)
1999: Munich (lost to S. Williams)
2000: Linz (lost to L. Davenport)
2002: Hamburg (lost to K. Clijsters)
2002: French Open (lost to S. Williams)
2002: Wimbledon (lost to S. Williams)
2002: U.S. Open (lost to S. Williams)
2003: Australian Open (lost to S. Williams)
2003: Warsaw (lost to A. Mauresmo)
2003: Wimbledon (lost to S. Williams)
2004: Berlin (lost to A. Mauresmo)
2004: Stanford (lost to L. Davenport)
2005: Antwerp (lost to A. Mauresmo)
2005: Stanford (lost to K. Clijsters)
Performance timeline
To prevent confusion and double counting,
information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's
participation in the tournament has concluded. This table is current through the
2006 U.S. Open (September 10, 2006).
|
Tournament |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
Career |
|
Australian Open |
A |
A |
A |
A |
QF |
QF |
A |
SF |
QF |
F |
3R |
4R |
1R |
0 / 8 |
|
French Open |
A |
A |
A |
2R |
QF |
4R |
QF |
1R |
F |
4R |
QF |
3R |
QF |
0 / 10 |
|
Wimbledon |
A |
A |
A |
1R |
QF |
QF |
W |
W |
F |
F |
2R |
W |
3R |
3 / 10 |
|
US Open |
A |
A |
A |
F |
SF |
SF |
W |
W |
F |
A |
4R |
QF |
A |
2 / 8 |
|
Grand Slam Win-Loss |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
7-3 |
17-4 |
16-4 |
18-1 |
19-2 |
22-4 |
15-3 |
10-4 |
16-3 |
6-3 |
146-31 |
|
Yearly GS Championships /
Total Played |
0 / 0 |
0 / 0 |
0 / 0 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 4 |
0 / 4 |
2 / 3 |
2 / 4 |
0 / 4 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 4 |
1 / 4 |
0 / 3 |
5 / 36 |
|
WTA Tour Championships |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
SF |
A |
A |
SF |
A |
A |
A |
|
0 / 2 |
|
Tokyo |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
QF |
A |
A |
0 / 1 |
|
Indian Wells |
A |
A |
1R |
QF |
SF |
A |
A |
SF |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
0 / 4 |
|
Miami |
A |
A |
A |
3R |
W |
W |
A |
W |
SF |
4R |
QF |
SF |
A |
3 / 8 |
|
Charleston |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
W |
3R |
A |
1 / 2 |
|
Berlin |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
3R |
A |
A |
F |
A |
A |
0 / 2 |
|
Rome |
A |
A |
A |
A |
F |
W |
3R |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
SF |
1 / 4 |
|
San Diego1 |
A |
A |
1R |
2R |
QF |
F |
W |
W |
W |
A |
A |
A |
A |
3 / 7 |
|
Montreal/Toronto |
A |
1R |
A |
1R |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
0 / 2 |
|
Moscow |
A |
A |
A |
QF |
SF |
A |
A |
A |
2R |
A |
QF |
A |
|
0 / 4 |
|
Zurich |
A |
A |
A |
QF |
F |
W |
A |
A |
A |
A |
QF |
A |
|
1 / 4 |
|
Tournaments played |
1 |
3 |
5 |
14 |
16 |
18 |
10 |
12 |
16 |
6 |
16 |
12 |
5 |
134 |
|
Finals reached |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
6 |
10 |
7 |
6 |
11 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
0 |
53 |
|
Tournaments Won |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
6 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
33 |
|
Hardcourt Win-Loss |
0-0 |
0-2 |
7-3 |
18-7 |
35-7 |
35-6 |
25-0 |
32-2 |
33-4 |
8-2 |
21-9 |
15-5 |
0-1 |
229-48 |
|
Clay Win-Loss |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-1 |
4-2 |
9-2 |
12-2 |
6-3 |
5-2 |
14-2 |
6-2 |
17-1 |
9-3 |
10-3 |
92-23 |
|
Grass Win-Loss |
0-0 |
0-0 |
0-0 |
4-2 |
4-2 |
4-1 |
7-0 |
7-0 |
6-1 |
6-1 |
1-1 |
7-0 |
2-1 |
48-9 |
|
Carpet Win-Loss |
1-1 |
2-1 |
0-1 |
6-3 |
5-2 |
7-3 |
3-1 |
2-1 |
9-2 |
4-0 |
3-1 |
3-1 |
0-0 |
45-17 |
|
Overall Win-Loss |
1-1 |
2-3 |
7-5 |
32-14 |
53-13 |
58-12 |
41-4 |
46-5 |
62-9 |
24-5 |
42-12 |
34-9 |
12-5 |
414-972 |
|
Year End Ranking |
- |
204 |
204 |
22 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
11 |
9 |
10 |
|
N/A |
A = did not participate in the tournament
1 The San Diego tournament achieved Tier I status
only in 2004.
2 If Fed Cup (10-2) participation is included,
overall win-loss record stands at 424-99.
Doubles
(10)
Grand slam events in boldface. Doubles partner
sister Serena Williams.
1998: Oklahoma City
1998: Zurich
1999: Hannover
1999: French Open
1999: U.S. Open
2000: Wimbledon
2000: Summer Olympics-Sydney
2001: Australian Open
2002: Wimbledon
2003: Australian Open
Mixed
Doubles (2)
Mixed Doubles partner, fellow American Justin
Gimelstob.
1998: Australian Open
1998: French Open (Defeated sister Serena & partner
Luis Lobo of Argentina in Final)
* * * *
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Date Article Copied:
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