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Venus Williams
Country	United States
Residence	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, U.S.
Date of birth	June 17, 1980 (1980-06-17) (age 28)
Place of birth	Lynwood, California, U.S.
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	160 lb (73 kg)
Turned pro	October 31, 1994
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money	US$21,921,346 (3rd all-time among women's tennis players)
Singles
Career record:	515–121 (81.0%)
Career titles:	39
Highest ranking:	No. 1 (February 25, 2002)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open	F (2003)
French Open	F (2002)
Wimbledon	W (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008)
US Open	W (2000, 2001)
Major tournaments
WTA Championships	W (2008)
Olympic Games	Gold medal (2000)
Doubles
Career record:	107–20 (84.3%)
Career titles:	12
Highest ranking:	No. 5 (October 11, 1999)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (2001, 2003)
French Open	W (1999)
Wimbledon	W (2000, 2002, 2008)
US Open	W (1999)
Major doubles tournaments
Olympic Games	Gold medal (2000, 2008)
Infobox last updated on: November 10, 2008.

Olympic medal record
Women's Tennis
Gold	2000 Sydney	Singles
Gold	2000 Sydney	Doubles
Gold	2008 Beijing	Doubles

Venus Williams (born June 17, 1980) is a former World No. 1 American tennis player and the current two time defending Wimbledon Singles Champion and the reigning Doubles Champion. She is currently ranked World No. 6.

A 14 year veteran on tour, Venus Williams has won 39 career WTA Tour titles, which includes 16 Grand Slam titles - seven in singles, seven in women's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. She has won Olympic gold more times than any male or female in tennis history. She has three gold medals: one in singles, and two in doubles. Williams is also the reigning WTA Tour Championships champion. She is the older sister of another former women's World No. 1 tennis player, Serena Williams. Venus Williams is the best grass court player of her generation having won 5 Wimbledon Singles titles since 2000 and three doubles titles. She is only behind Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova as the most successful Wimbledon Singles Champions in history. Venus Williams is widely considered as one of the few players in history who has changed the face and level of play of her generation. Along with Steffi Graf, Martina Navratilova, and Monica Seles who have also changed the level of the Women's game of their respective generations. Venus Williams is also a four-time Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award winner and two-time Women's Tennis Association (WTA) player of the year.

Contents 1 Playing style 2 Career 2.1 1994–1999 2.2 2000 2.3 2001 2.4 2002 2.5 2003 2.6 2004 2.7 2005 2.8 2006 2.9 2007 2.10 2008 2.11 2009 3 Record against other top players 4 Fight for equal prize money 5 Personal life 5.1 Entrepreneur 6 Grand Slam finals 6.1 Singles (13) 6.1.1 Wins (7) 6.1.2 Runner-ups (6) 6.2 Women's doubles 6.2.1 Wins (7) 6.3 Mixed doubles 6.3.1 Wins (2) 6.3.2 Runner-up (1) 7 Titles (51) 7.1 Singles (39) 7.2 Doubles (12) 8 Singles runner-ups (22) 9 Singles performance timeline 10 Women's doubles performance timeline 11 WTA Tour career earnings 12 Results against Serena Williams 13 See also 14 References 15 External links

Playing style

Williams is one of the most powerful baseliners on tour, equipped with an attacking all-court game. Also Venus' game is adapted to grass where she feels most comfortable. Across her career Venus has developed into a skillful volleyer and effectively utilizes her long 'wingspan' (1,85m) and relative quickness around the net. Venus stated during an interview at the 2008 Australian Open that she was working to improve her volley. Venus also has great court coverage using her long reach to play balls that most players wouldn't be able to reach and is capable of hitting outright winners from a defensive position.¹

Although Venus has the most powerful and feared serve on the Women's Tour, she has an extremely elegant and graceful service action. During the 2008 Zurich final Venus hit an astounding four consecutive aces, one measuring 130 mph, and holds the record for the fastest serve by a woman. Venus also holds the record for the fastest serve in a WTA main draw event; at the 2008 Wimbledon (final), 2007 US Open (first round match) and 2007 French Open (second round match); where she struck powerful 129 mph serves. At Wimbledon 2008 Venus' average first serve speed was 115 mph in the 1/4 final, a remarkable 116 mph in the semi-final and 111 mph in the final - rather faster average speeds than any woman (including her sister, Serena Williams) records (data from IBM/Wimbledon). To put this into further perspective, the top men's seed (and world no.1) at the tournament, Roger Federer, registered average first serve speeds of 119 mph (1/4 final), 117 mph (semi-final) and 117 mph (final) in his last three matches at the tournament. This kind of confluence in men's and women's service speeds is unusual in professional tennis, and sets Venus Williams apart from her contemporaries in the women's game. To further illustrate the difference, the no.1 seed at the tournament, Ana Ivanović, recorded an average first serve speed of 98 mph (fastest serve 108 mph) in her last match at the tournament. The no.3 seed at the tournament; Maria Sharapova, recorded an average first serve speed of 104 mph (fastest serve 111 mph) in her last match. Also during a match at Wimbledon 2007, Williams' average first serve speed was 115 mph while tennis pro Rafael Nadal's average first serve speed was 113 mph on the same day.

Venus Williams has always been a explosive hitter of the ball off the ground but her backhand is the more consistently reliable of her groundstrokes. Venus' backhand is equally effective down-the-line or crosscourt (frequently for a set-up approach shot). Venus' forehand does occasionally break down under pressure. However, it is still the more powerful of her groundstrokes, and a stroke that yields many winners, from a variety of court positions. Additionally, it is one the most powerful forehands in the women's game, frequently struck in the 85 - 90 mph range. In the 2008 Wimbledon women's final, Venus struck a forehand winner measured at 94 mph (IBM/Wimbledon). Only a few women (notably Ana Ivanović, Serena Williams and the now-retired Justine Henin) hit to these speeds off the ground. Venus's forehand drive-volley (a shot that she popularized at the top of the sport) is the most decisive and devastating in the game.^{citation needed}

Career

1994–1999

Already well-known in tennis circles at age 14, Williams turned professional on October 31, 1994. In the second round of her first professional tournament in Oakland, Williams was up a set and a service break against top seed Arantxa Sánchez Vicario before losing the match. That was the only tournament Williams played in 1994. In 1995 Venus played three more events as a wild card, falling in the first round at Los Angeles and Toronto but reaching first Quarterfinals at Oakland where she defeated No.18 Amy Frazier en route for her first Top 20 win. Williams played five more events, falling 1r four times but reaching in the third round at Los Angeles, losing to No.1 Steffi Graf 64 64.

Williams began to play regularly on the tour in 1997. Williams reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open and the Tier I events in Zürich and Moscow. During her debut at the US Open, she lost in the final to Martina Hingis 6–0, 6–4 after defeating Irina Spîrlea in a semifinal famous for "the bump" in which Spîrlea and Williams collided during a changeover. Richard Williams, her father, later claimed that this incident was racially motivated. ²

In 1998, Williams teamed with Justin Gimelstob to win the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and the French Open. Her sister Serena Williams won the other two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles that year, completing a "Williams Family Mixed Doubles Grand Slam." At the mere age of 18 Venus Williams' 1998 season was the start of a decade of sensational tennis. She began the year ranked outside the top 20, but ended the season ranked in the top 5. Venus won her first three Tour singles titles at Oklahoma City (defeating Lindsay Davenport en route), Miami (defeating No.1 Martina Hingis in the Semifinals and Anna Kournikova in the final) and the Grand Slam Cup. Venus also finished runner-up four times, in first event of the season at Sydney (defeated Martina Hingis en route for first win over a reigning No.1; lost to Sánchez-Vicario), Rome (defeated sister Serena Williams en route; lost to Hingis) Stanford (defeated Monica Seles in their first meeting in SF; lost to Davenport) and Zürich (lost to Davenport). Another highlight of Williams' 1998 season was that she reached the Quarterfinals or better at all four majors. Williams served an 127mph ace on match point against Mary Pierce in Zürich, which would be the fastest serve on Tour for nearly 10 years. Venus won her first two doubles titles, at Oklahoma City and Zürich. Both titles came w/sister Serena Williams, becoming only the third pair of sisters to win a Tour doubles title together. Williams also won her first two major titles in mixed doubles, at Australian Open and Roland Garros both with Justin Gimelstob. Serena Williams would win Wimbledon and the US Open (both w/ Max Mirnyi, completing a family mixed doubles Grand Slam. Williams suffered from patella tendonitis in left knee in April, which later forced retirement from San Diego Semifinals and withdrawal from Tour Championships

In 1999, Williams again won the Lipton International players Championships, defeating Jana Novotná, Steffi Graf, and her sister Serena in successive matches. Williams also won the Hamburg tournament, the Italian Open in Rome, the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Zurich tournament. Venus and Serena teamed to win the doubles titles at the French Open and the US Open, becoming the first sister team to win a Grand Slam doubles title in the 20th century. Venus also went 2–1 (1–1 in singles and 1–0 in doubles with Serena) in the United States' 4–1 win over Russia in the final of the Fed Cup, giving the U.S. its 16th title.

2000

Williams missed the first four months of the year with tendonitis in both wrists.. At the French Open, Williams lost to Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals.

Williams then won 35 consecutive singles matches and five tournaments. She won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, defeating World No. 1 Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals, sister Serena in the semifinals, and defending champion Lindsay Davenport in the final. She won three Tier II events during the North American summer hard court season, defeating Davenport in the final of Stanford, California and Monica Seles in the finals of both San Diego and New Haven, Connecticut. At the US Open, Williams defeated still-World No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 2 Davenport in the final. At the Olympic games in Sydney, Williams defeated Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals, Seles in the semifinals, and Elena Dementieva in the final to win the gold medal. Her winning streak was eventually snapped in October by Davenport in the final of the tournament in Linz. Williams did not play a tournament the rest of the year because of anemia.

In women's doubles, Williams teamed with her sister Serena to capture the Wimbledon doubles title for the first time and the Olympic gold medal. Williams became only the second player to win the women's singles and doubles titles at the same Olympic games.³

2001

Williams reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time, where she lost to World No. 1 Martina Hingis 6–1, 6–1. She also reached the semifinals of the Tier I Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, where she defaulted her match with sister Serena. She won, however, the next tournament on the tour calendar, the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, defeating Hingis in the semifinals and World No. 4 Jennifer Capriati in the final.

During the European clay court season, Williams won the Tier II tournament in Hamburg but lost in the third round of the Tier I Qatar Telecom German Open to Justine Henin and the first round of the French Open to Barbara Schett.

Williams then successfully defended her Wimbledon title, defeating third-seeded Lindsay Davenport in the semifinals and eighth-seeded Henin in the final.

During the summer hard court season in North America, Williams won the tournaments in San Diego and New Haven, Connecticut for the second consecutive year. She defeated Monica Seles in the San Diego final and Davenport in the New Haven final. Williams also won the US Open singles title for the second consecutive year, without dropping a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat fifth-seeded Kim Clijsters, followed by a semifinal victory over World No. 2 Capriati and a defeat of World No. 10 Serena Williams in the final. Venus was only the third woman in history to win the singles titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open in consecutive years, the others being Martina Navaratilova and Steffi Graf.^{citation needed}

In women's doubles, Venus and Serena Williams won the Australian Open title for the first time and became only the fifth team to complete a career Grand Slam in that event.

2002

Williams began the year in Australia by defeating Justine Henin to win the Gold Coast tournament and losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to World No. 10 Monica Seles 6–7(4), 6–2, 6–3.

Williams then won the tournaments in Paris and Antwerp and reached the semifinals of the tournaments in Dubai and Key Biscayne, Florida.

On clay, Williams beat Henin in the final of the Amelia Island, Florida tournament before traveling to Europe for two clay court tournaments. In Hamburg, Williams defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in a three-set quarterfinal and World No. 4 Martina Hingis in the semifinals before losing to World No. 3 Kim Clijsters in the final. At the French Open, Williams defeated Seles in the quarterfinals before sister Serena defeated Venus in the final.

Williams then reached the Wimbledon singles final for the third consecutive year after defeating World No. 6 Henin in the semifinals. In the second consecutive all-Williams Grand Slam singles final, Serena defeated Venus in straight sets.

During the summer hard court season in North America, Williams won the tournaments in San Diego and New Haven, Connecticut for the third consecutive year. She defeated World No. 5 Jelena Dokić in the San Diego final and Lindsay Davenport in the New Haven final. She also won the tournament in Stanford, California, defeating World No. 5 Kim Clijsters in the final. At the US Open, Williams defeated sixth-seeded Seles in the quarterfinals and Amélie Mauresmo in the semifinals before losing to sister Serena for the third consecutive time in the final of a Grand Slam event.

Williams won seven singles titles during the year, a career best. In February, Williams became the World No. 1, the first African-American player to garner that spot since the computer rankings began in 1975.⁴

In women's doubles, the Williams sisters won the Wimbledon title for the second time.

2003

Williams started the year by losing to her sister Serena in three sets in the Australian Open final. Williams then won the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium for the second consecutive year, defeating Daniela Hantuchová and Kim Clijsters in consecutive matches.

During a semifinal match against Clijsters at Wimbledon, Williams suffered an abdominal injury that required medical attention during the match. Williams lost the first set and was behind early in the second set before rain delayed the match. Once play resumed, Williams won the match 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, advancing to her fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, where she lost to her sister Serena 4–6, 6–4, 6–2. Following Wimbledon, both Venus and Serena suffered injuries that kept them out of competition for the last half of the year.

On the morning of September 14, 2003, Venus's older half sister, Yetunde Price, was murdered in the Compton, California area.⁵

2004

Williams came back to the tour and experienced inconsistent results. As the third seeded player because of a protected ranking, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to Lisa Raymond. After quarterfinal losses in Tokyo, Dubai, and Miami, Williams won the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, defeating Conchita Martínez in the final. At the Tier II tournament in Warsaw, Williams defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. The following week, Williams reached the final of the Tier I tournament in Berlin but was forced to retire from her match against Amélie Mauresmo. Going into the French Open, Williams had the best clay court record among the women and was among the favorites to win the title; however, she lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Anastasia Myskina 6–3, 6–4.

At Wimbledon, Williams lost a controversial second round match to Croatian Karolina Å prem. The umpire of the match, Ted Watts, awarded Å prem an unearned point in the second set tiebreak. Upon the conclusion of the match, he was relieved of his duties.⁶

Williams was the third seed at the hardcourt tournament in Stanford, where she lost the final to top seeded Lindsay Davenport in a third set tiebreak. At the tournament in Los Angeles the following week, Williams lost again to Davenport, this time in the semifinals. Williams was leading 5–1 in the first set when she suffered an injury and lost the last six games of the set. She then retired from the match.

During the Olympic Games in Athens, Williams failed to defend the gold medal she won at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney as she lost to Mary Pierce of France in the third round 6-4, 6-4.

In the fourth round of the US Open, Williams lost to Davenport for the third consecutive time. Williams ended her year by losing in the quarterfinals of three consecutive tournaments in Moscow, Zurich, and Philadelphia.

2005

Williams started the year by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Alicia Molik. She then reached the final at the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium, where she was attempting to win the tournament for the third time in four years. She defeated Kim Clijsters in the quarterfinals, Anastasia Myskina in the semifinals, and was up a set and a break in the final against Amélie Mauresmo before losing the match. Williams then lost in the first round in Dubai.

At the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, Venus defeated her sister Serena in the quarterfinals before losing to Maria Sharapova. This was the first time since the 2001 US Open that Venus had defeated Serena.

Williams then reached the quarterfinals at Amelia Island, where she lost to top seeded Lindsay Davenport. In her next tournament in Charleston, Williams lost in the third round. She then won a Tier III title in Istanbul, defeating second seeded Nicole Vaidišová in the final.

At the French Open, Williams lost in the third round to 15-year old Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva, who subsequently failed a doping test and was suspended from the tour for two years.

At Wimbledon, Williams defeated defending champion Maria Sharapova in a semifinal 7–6(2), 6–1, breaking Sharapova's serve four times. (Sharapova had lost only one service game to that point.) This marked the sixth consecutive year that at least one of the Williams sisters had reached the final, and it was Venus's fifth appearance in the Wimbledon final in the past 6 years. In the longest Wimbledon final in history, Williams was down match point at 6–4, 6–7(4), 5–4 (40–30) before coming back to defeat top seeded Davenport. This was Williams's third Wimbledon singles title, and this was the first time in 70 years that a player had won after being down match point during the women's final.^{citation needed} In addition, Williams was the lowest-ranked (World No. 16) and lowest-seeded (14th) champion in tournament history.^{citation needed}

Playing for the fifth consecutive week, including Fed Cup, Williams reached the final of the Stanford tournament after defeating Patty Schnyder in a semifinal 2–6, 7–6, 6–2. Visibly exhausted, Williams lost the final to Kim Clijsters.

At the 2005 US Open, Williams reached the quarterfinals. In the fourth round, Venus defeated her sister Serena for the second consecutive time. In the quarterfinals, Williams lost to Clijsters 4–6, 7–5, 6–1, who went on to win the tournament.

Williams did not qualify for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships because of an injury sustained during the tournament in Philadelphia.

In 2005, TENNIS Magazine ranked her 25th on its list of the 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.⁷

2006

Williams was upset in the first round of the Australian Open by Tszvetana Pironkova 2–6, 6–0, 9–7, which was her earliest loss at that tournament.

Williams was out of action from January 16 until April 30 because of injuries. After defeating Martina Hingis in the second round, she reached the quarterfinals of the J&S Cup in Warsaw, losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova. She then lost to Hingis in a semifinal of the Italian Open, after defeating Jelena Janković and Patty Schnyder in earlier rounds. Williams ended her clay court season with a French Open quarterfinal loss to Nicole Vaidišová 6–7, 6–1, 6–3.

Williams was one of the favorites to win the singles title at Wimbledon. She defeated fellow American Lisa Raymond in the second round after Williams was two points from defeat. Williams then lost in the third round to 26th-seeded Janković 7–6(8), 4–6, 6–4. After the loss, Williams said that she was having pain in her left wrist, although she admitted that the injury was not the cause of her loss.

Williams did not play in the US Open series or the US Open itself due to a recurring wrist injury. During her first tournament in almost three months, she reinjured her wrist in Luxembourg and lost in the second round to qualifier Agnieszka Radwańska after defeating Ana Ivanović in the first round.

2007

Williams started the year by withdrawing from the Australian Open because of a recurring wrist injury. This was the second consecutive Grand Slam event that Williams had missed due to injury.

Williams then won the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, defeating top-seeded Shahar Pe'er of Israel in the final. This was her first tournament since October 2006 and her 34th career singles title.

Williams's next tournament was the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, where she lost in the third round to top seeded Maria Sharapova 2–6, 6–2, 7–5. However, her ranking rose seven places to World No. 32.

She then moved onto clay, playing at the Tier II Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida. She beat fourth seeded Patty Schnyder before falling in the quarterfinals to the eighth seed and eventual champion Tatiana Golovin 6–2, 6–3. Her next tournament was the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, where she lost in the semifinals to Jelena Janković. Despite the loss, her ranking rose to World No. 22.

Williams played Fed Cup with her sister Serena for the first time in four years, in a home tie against Belgium on hard courts in Delray Beach, Florida, beating the young Belgian team 5–0. Williams defeated Kirsten Flipkens 7–5, 6–2 and Yanina Wickmayer 6–1, 6–2.

Williams then traveled to Europe to prepare for the French Open. At the J&S Cup in Warsaw, Williams lost in the quarterfinals to Svetlana Kuznetsova 3–6, 6–3, 6–4. Two weeks later, Williams played the Istanbul Cup, defeating Tatiana Poutchek in the first round before losing to French hard hitter Aravane Rezaï in the second round 6–4, 6–4.⁸ This was Williams's first defeat in a Tier III event on the WTA Tour. At the French Open, Williams lost her third round match with Janković 6–4, 4–6, 6–1. During her second round win over Ashley Harkleroad, Williams hit a 206 km/h (128.8 mph) serve, which is the second fastest woman's serve ever recorded and the fastest ever recorded during a main draw match.

At Wimbledon in a first round match on Court 2, Williams was within two points of defeat against Alla Kudryavtseva before winning. In the third round, Akiko Morigami served for the match in the third set before Williams regrouped and won the match 6–2, 3–6, 7–5. In her fourth round match, Williams defeated second-seeded Sharapova 6–1, 6–3. In the quarterfinals, Williams defeated fifth-seeded Kuznetsova 6–3, 6–4 to reach her sixth career Wimbledon semifinal, where she defeated sixth-seeded Ana Ivanović 6–2, 6–4. In the final, Williams defeated Marion Bartoli 6–4, 6–1. Seeded 23rd and ranked World No. 31, Williams broke her own record set in 2005 as the lowest seeded and lowest ranked Wimbledon singles champion.^{citation needed} During the award ceremony, she said that her sister Serena inspired her to win.⁹ With her fourth Wimbledon title, Williams joined Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova, and Steffi Graf as the only women to who have won at least four Wimbledon singles titles during the open era.¹⁰ The win also bettered her ranking to World No. 17, her first return to the top 20 in a year.

Williams then played for the U.S. in its Fed Cup semifinal tie against Russia. Williams won both her singles matches over Nadia Petrova and Anna Chakvetadze; however, the U.S. lost the tie when Williams and Lisa Raymond were defeated in the deciding doubles match.¹¹

At the Tier I Acura Classic in San Diego, Williams lost her quarterfinal match to Chakvetadze 6–7, 7–6, 6–2 after Williams double faulted while holding a match point in the second set. Nevertheless, her ranking increased to World No. 14.

At the US Open, after setting a Grand-Slam record 129 mph serve in the opening round,¹² Williams defeated Janković in the quarterfinals 4–6, 6–1, 7–6(4) before losing to the eventual champion, Justine Henin, in a semifinal 7–6, 6–4. Both players had health issues during the match. In the second set, Williams was treated for a stomach ache and dizziness. In the post match interview, Williams stated, "I just was feeling dizzy, a little sick to the stomach. Was just having some energy problems. I'm not really sure what's wrong with me. But, you know, credit to her for playing well."¹³ The tournament resulted in Williams's ranking moving up to World No. 9. With sister Serena at World No. 7, it was the first time the sisters were in the top 10 together since September 2005.

Williams then played three tournaments in Asia. Williams won her 36th career singles title at the Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul, South Korea, defeating fourth-seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko in the final. Despite having a heavily strapped leg, Williams then played in the AIG Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, where she lost to Virginie Razzano in the final 4–6, 7–6(7), 6–4 after holding three match points. At the PTT Bangkok Open, Williams lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Flavia Pennetta 6–4, 7–6(8).

Despite officially qualifying for the WTA Tour Championships, Williams withdrew because of continuing problems with anemia.¹⁴ She was replaced by Sharapova, who subsequently reached the final.

2008

This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (November 2008)

Williams began the year at an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong, defeating Maria Sharapova in the final 6–4, 6–3.¹⁵ She also won the doubles tournament with Caroline Wozniacki.

Williams was the eighth-seed at the Australian Open. Playing in the quarterfinals at this tournament for the first time since 2003, Williams lost to fourth-seeded Ana Ivanović 7–6(3), 6–4. When asked after the match about whether the quarterfinal losses by both Williams sisters at the Australian Open marked their decline, she replied that she had heard the same talk "every single year. Serena and I, we don't have anything to prove. The way we're playing still maintains what other women are doing in tennis. We still set a very high standard. I don't get too caught up in what the next person thinks."¹⁶ Playing with her sister Serena in the women's doubles event at the Australian Open, they defeated the second-seeded team of Katarina Srebotnik and Ai Sugiyama in the second round but lost in the quarterfinals to the seventh-seeded team and 2006 Australian Open champions Zi Yan and Jie Zheng.

At the Tier I Qatar Total Open in Doha, Williams was upset in the third round by 18 year old Dominika Cibulková of Slovakia. Williams also played the doubles tournament in Doha as a wild card team with Wozniacki. Their first round win marked the first time that Venus had won an official WTA tour women's doubles match without sister Serena.¹⁷ In the second round, Williams and Wozniacki lost to the fourth-seeded Taipei pair of Yung-Jan Chan and Chia-Jung Chuang. According to the WTA Tour, it was the first doubles match Venus had ever played without an American partner, having had played with Serena, Chanda Rubin, Corina Morariu, and Lisa Raymond in the past. It also marked that Venus had only played with five different partners.

At the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, Tennessee, Williams was the top seeded player but lost to Petra Kvitová in the first round 2–6, 6–4, 6–3 after Williams had led 2–0 in the third set.

At the Tier II Canara Bank Bangalore (India) Open, Venus and her sister Serena lost in the doubles quarterfinals to third-seeded and eventual tournament winners Shuai Peng and Tiantian Sun. In singles, Venus lost to Serena, the eventual tournament champion, in the semifinals 6–3, 3–6, 7–6(4) on Serena's second match point after Serena had saved a match point while trailing 6–5 in the third set.

At the Tier I Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, Williams lost in the quarterfinals to Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-4, 6-4.

On April 9, 2008, Williams announced that she will be away from the tour indefinitely but refused to explain other than to say, "I've just been having some issues that I need to resolve, so I'm working on that at the moment and I'm hoping to be back playing as soon as possible. I'm not going to get any further into it, but of course I love the sport."¹⁸ The following day, Williams's agent, Carlos Fleming, said, "This is not a hiatus. This is not a break from the tour. This was a limited window where she could get these [medical] evaluations before the three major tournaments and Olympics this summer", adding "Venus has assured me that there's no serious medical problem."¹⁹

Williams returned to the tour at the Tier I Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome, where she lost in the quarterfinals to fourth-seeded Jelena Janković 5–7, 6–2, 6–3 .

At the French Open, Williams was seeded eighth but was eliminated by 26th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta in the third round 7-5, 6-3.

Williams was the defending champion and seventh-seeded player at Wimbledon. Without dropping a set, she reached her seventh Wimbledon singles final after defeating fifth-seeded Elena Dementieva in the semifinals 6–1, 7–6(3). Venus then won her fifth Wimbledon singles title, beating her sister Serena in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. This was the first time since 2003 that Venus and Serena had played each other in a Grand Slam final and was the first time since 2001 that Venus had won a Grand Slam final against Serena. Venus and Serena then teamed to win the women's doubles title without dropping a set the entire tournament, defeating Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the final 6-2, 6-2. The Williams sisters have won all seven Grand Slam women's doubles finals they have played.

Williams was on the Philadelphia Freedoms team in World Team Tennis in July. She won six of the nine singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles matches she played. Williams then withdrew from the East West Bank Classic in Los Angeles and the Rogers Cup in Montreal because of an injury to her right knee.

At the Olympic Games in Beijing, Williams was seeded seventh but lost to unseeded Li Na in the quarterfinals 7–5, 7–5. She did, however, earn a gold medal (with her sister Serena) in women's doubles, defeating the Spanish team of Virginia Ruano Pascual and Anabel Medina Garrigues 6-2, 6-0 in the final. It was their second gold medal as a team, having won together in Sydney, Australia in 2000.

Williams was seeded seventh at the US Open and lost to her fourth-seeded sister Serena in the quarterfinals 7–6(6), 7–6(7). Venus led 5–3 in both sets and failed to convert on two set points in the first set and eight set points in the second set.

Seeded sixth at the tournament Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany, she has advanced to the semi-finals, defeating in-form Russian Dinara Safina in straight sets in the quarter-finals. In semifinals she lost to second-seeded Jelena Janković (Serbia) in a controversial three set match 6-7, 7-5, 6-2.

At the Kremlin Cup, Williams was seeded sixth but was defeated in the first round by Flavia Pennetta 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

At the Zurich Open, Williams defeated Ana Ivanović in a 3 set semi-final thriller, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to meet Flavia Pennetta in the final. Venus overcame her previous three consecutive losses to Flavia to win the Zurich Open 7-6(1), 6-2 and claim her second title of the year and securing a position in the Sony Ericcson Season Championships.

In the WTA Tour Championships Venus was the 7th seed. In round robin matches, Venus first defeated Dinara Safina 7-5, 6-3, followed by a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Elena Dementieva and a 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 win over sister Serena Williams to qualify and top her group for the semi finals. Venus faced Jelena Janković in the semifinals, winning 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 and went on to win the tournament for the first time with a 6-7, 6-0, 6-2 win over 8th seeded Vera Zvonareva, finishing the year with her 39th WTA tour title.

Venus was No. 6 in the world on the year-end rankings and third on the all time prize money list.

2009

Venus is due to play in the JB Group Classic, an exhibition tournament in Hong Kong from January 7-10, followed by the Australian Open from January 19-February 1, with no current commitments to WTA Tour events.

Record against other top players

As of 12 November 2008, Williams win-loss record against certain players who have been ranked World No. 10 or higher is as follows:²⁰

Fight for equal prize money

Despite years of protesting by tennis pioneer Billie Jean King and others, in 2005 the French Open and Wimbledon still refused to pay women's and men's players equally through all rounds. In 2005, Williams met with officials from both tournaments, arguing that female tennis players should be paid as much as males.²¹ Although WTA tour President Larry Scott commented that she left "a very meaningful impression", Williams's demands were rejected.

The turning point was an essay published in the The Times on the eve of Wimbledon in 2006. In it, Williams accused Wimbledon of being on the "wrong side of history", writing:

I feel so strongly that Wimbledon's stance devalues the principle of meritocracy and diminishes the years of hard work that women on the tour have put into becoming professional tennis players.

I believe that athletes — especially female athletes in the world's leading sport for women — should serve as role models. The message I like to convey to women and girls across the globe is that there is no glass ceiling. My fear is that Wimbledon is loudly and clearly sending the opposite message....

Wimbledon has argued that women's tennis is worth less for a variety of reasons; it says, for example, that because men play a best of five sets game they work harder for their prize money.

This argument just doesn’t make sense; first of all, women players would be happy to play five sets matches in grand slam tournaments....

Secondly, tennis is unique in the world of professional sports. No other sport has men and women competing for a grand slam championship on the same stage, at the same time. So in the eyes of the general public the men's and women's games have the same value.

Third, ... we enjoy huge and equal celebrity and are paid for the value we deliver to broadcasters and spectators, not the amount of time we spend on the stage. And, for the record, the ladies’ final at Wimbledon in 2005 lasted 45 minutes longer than the men's....

Wimbledon has justified treating women as second class because we do more for the tournament. The argument goes that the top women — who are more likely also to play doubles matches than their male peers — earn more than the top men if you count singles, doubles and mixed doubles prize money. So the more we support the tournament, the more unequally we should be treated! But doubles and mixed doubles are separate events from the singles competition. Is Wimbledon suggesting that, if the top women withdrew from the doubles events, that then we would deserve equal prize money in singles? And how then does the All England Club explain why the pot of women's doubles prize money is nearly £130,000 smaller than the men's doubles prize money?

I intend to keep doing everything I can until Billie Jean's original dream of equality is made real. It's a shame that the name of the greatest tournament in tennis, an event that should be a positive symbol for the sport, is tarnished.²¹

In response, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and members of Parliament publicly endorsed Williams's arguments.²² Later that year, the Women's Tennis Association and UNESCO teamed for a campaign to promote gender equality in sports, asking Williams to lead the campaign.²³ Under enormous pressure, Wimbledon announced in February 2007 that it would award equal prize money to all competitors in all rounds, and the French Open followed suit a day later.²⁴ In the aftermath, the Chicago Sun-Times cited Williams as "the single factor" that "changed the minds of the boys" and a leader whose "willingness to take a public stand separates her not only from most of her female peers, but also from our most celebrated male athletes."²⁵ Williams herself commented, "Somewhere in the world a little girl is dreaming of holding a giant trophy in her hands and being viewed as an equal to boys who have similar dreams."²⁶

Venus herself became the first woman to benefit from the equalization of prize money at Wimbledon, as she won the 2007 tournament and was awarded the same amount as the male winner Roger Federer.

Personal life

In 2003, Venus and Serena Williams' older sister Yetunde Price, 31, was shot dead near the courts on which the sisters once practiced. Price was the Williams sisters' personal assistant. The Williams family issued this statement shortly after the death: "We are extremely shocked, saddened and devastated by the shooting death of our beloved Yetunde. She was our nucleus and our rock. She was a personal assistant, confidante, and adviser to her sisters, and her death leaves a void that can never be filled. Our grief is overwhelming, and this is the saddest day of our lives."²⁷

Williams' long time boyfriend, pro golfer Hank Kuehne, has been a visible presence since Wimbledon 2007, holding her hand during long rain delays and clapping support from the players' box along with her parents and younger sister Serena. "He's a great guy", Williams said. "He understands competition. He's very supportive. I love having him here and everyone else in the box, too."²⁸

Williams professes to be a devout Jehovah's Witness.²⁹

On December 13, 2007, Williams received her associate degree in Fashion Design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale with Cum Laude honors and a 3.5 GPA.³⁰

Entrepreneur

Williams is the chief executive officer of her interior design firm "V Starr Interiors" located in Jupiter, Florida. Williams's company designed the set of the "Tavis Smiley Show" on PBS, the Olympic athletes' apartments as part of the U.S. bid package for New York City to host the 2012 Olympic Games, and residences and businesses in the Palm Beach, Florida area.³¹

In 2007, Williams teamed with retailer Steve & Barry's to launch her own fashion line EleVen. "I love fashion and the idea that I am using my design education to actually create clothing and footwear that I will wear on and off the tennis court is a dream come true for me. The vision has been to create a collection that will allow women to enjoy an active lifestyle while remaining fashionable at the same time. I'm thrilled with everything we've created to launch EleVen."³²³³

In 2001, Williams was named one of the 30 most powerful women in America by the Ladies Home Journal.³⁴

Grand Slam finals

Singles (13)

Wins (7)

Year	Championship	Opponent in final	Score in final
2000	Wimbledon	Lindsay Davenport	6–3, 7–6(3)
2000	US Open	Lindsay Davenport	6–4, 7–5
2001	Wimbledon (2nd)	Justine Henin	6–1, 3–6, 6–0
2001	US Open (2nd)	Serena Williams	6–2, 6–4
2005	Wimbledon (3rd)	Lindsay Davenport	4–6, 7–6(4), 9–7
2007	Wimbledon (4th)	Marion Bartoli	6–4, 6–1
2008	Wimbledon (5th)	Serena Williams	7–5, 6–4

Runner-ups (6)

Year	Championship	Opponent in final	Score in final
1997	US Open	Martina Hingis	6–0, 6–4
2002	French Open	Serena Williams	7–5, 6–3
2002	Wimbledon	Serena Williams	7–6(4), 6–3
2002	US Open (2nd)	Serena Williams	6–4, 6–3
2003	Australian Open	Serena Williams	7–6(4), 3–6, 6–4
2003	Wimbledon (2nd)	Serena Williams	4–6, 6–4, 6–2

Women's doubles

Wins (7)

Year	Championship	Partnering	Opponents in final	Score in final
1999	French Open	Serena Williams	Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova	6–3, 6–7, 8–6
1999	US Open	Serena Williams	Chanda Rubin Sandrine Testud	4–6, 6–1, 6–4
2000	Wimbledon	Serena Williams	Julie Halard Ai Sugiyama	6–3, 6–2
2001	Australian Open	Serena Williams	Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu	6–3, 4–6, 6–4
2002	Wimbledon (2nd)	Serena Williams