Serena Williams was born in 1981 in Lynwood California. She, along with her older sister Venus, are taking the tennis world by storm. In her young career, she already has 2 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, 2 Grand Slam doubles titles, and as of 1999, has her first Grand Slam Singles Title. It was the U.S. Open, and she almost got the opportunity to face her sister in the finals, but Venus lost in the Semis. Serena then defeated #1 seeded Martina Hingis for the Victory.
Ranked 6th in the world among female tennis professionals by 1999, Serena had become one of the sport's most exciting and closely watched young players. With her older sister Venus she formed half of a tennis-prodigy pair that had been making headlines from an early age. As an African American in a historically white- and European-dominated sport, she found herself in the spotlight and under scrutiny. Their father Richard, an unorthodox career-builder whose methods stirred comment and controversy, coached Serena and Venus Williams.
Serena's early training took place on public tennis courts in and around Compton, where they remember having to duck gunfire. Despite this difficult beginning, though, her skills developed rapidly. By 1999 Serena's world ranking had risen as high as number 21, and both Serena and Venus Williams were bona-fide celebrities.
Although known for antagonizing her fellow players, Serena's brash confidence, charisma, and impressive physical appearance made her attractive to the advertising departments of major corporations, and she signed a deal worth roughly $12 million with the Puma sporting-goods concern. In 1999, Serena won the U.S. Open after performing outstandingly throughout the tournament. She is the first African American woman to claim a Grand Slam singles title since Althea Gibson in 1958.
