1995–1998: Professional debut Williams' parents initially wanted their daughter to wait until she was 16 to participate in professional tournaments. In 1995, just after turning 14, Williams planned to make her professional debut as a
wild-card entry in the
Bank of the West Classic in
Oakland, California, but was denied due to age-eligibility restrictions. She subsequently filed an antitrust lawsuit against the
WTA, but withdrew it at her parents' request. where she used a wild-card entry to circumvent age-eligibility rules. After not playing in 1996, Williams won her first
main-draw match at the
Ameritech Cup Chicago in November 1997. Ranked No.304, she upset No.7
Mary Pierce and No.4
Monica Seles, recording her first career wins against top10 players and becoming the lowest-ranked player in the
Open Era to defeat two top-10 opponents in one tournament. She ultimately lost in the semifinals to No.5
Lindsay Davenport. Her run in Chicago propelled Williams into the Top 100 for the first time in her career, and she finished 1997 ranked No.99 in the world. At the 1998
Sydney International, Williams defeated No.3 Davenport in the quarterfinals, before losing to
Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals. Williams' first main draw of a
Grand Slam tournament was at the
Australian Open, where she defeated sixth-seeded
Irina Spîrlea in the first round, before losing to Venus in the second round in the sisters' first professional face-off. Williams reached six other quarterfinals during the year, but lost all of them, including her first match against No.1-ranked
Martina Hingis. She lost in the fourth round of the
French Open to Vicario, and in the third round of the
US Open to Spîrlea. She withdrew from
Wimbledon two games into a match after straining a calf muscle. After losing the
French Open mixed doubles final to Venus and
Justin Gimelstob, Williams won the mixed doubles titles at
Wimbledon and the
US Open with
Max Mirnyi. Williams won her first professional title in non-mixed doubles at the
U.S. National Indoor Championships in Oklahoma City with Venus, which made them the third pair of sisters to win a WTA title. Williams finished the year ranked No.20 in singles, the fastest achievement of that milestone in women's history.
1999: First major and becoming a top-5 player In February 1999, Williams won her first professional singles title when she defeated
Amélie Mauresmo in the final of the
Open Gaz de France in Paris. In March, Williams won her first WTA 1000 event at the
Evert Cup in California, defeating
Steffi Graf in the final. At the
Miami Masters, Williams had her 16-match winning streak ended by her sister in the first all-sister singles final in WTA history. In the
doubles event at the French Open, she and Venus won the title after defeating Hingis and
Anna Kournikova in the final. Williams missed
Wimbledon in 1999 due to injury. When she returned to the tour two months later, she made her
Fed Cup debut, defeating
Rita Grande to send the United States to the final. The Williams sisters also won the
doubles event at this tournament, making Serena the fifth woman in the Open Era to win both singles and doubles at the same major event. Soon afterwards, she missed the
French Open due to injury. She recovered and played at the
Wimbledon Championships, where she lost to Venus in the semifinals; however, the pair won the doubles title. Her defense of the
US Open title ended when she lost in the quarterfinals to Davenport. Williams and her sister won the gold medal in doubles at the
Sydney Olympics that September, and Williams ended the year by winning the
Toyota Princess Cup and finishing at No.6. However, she and Venus won the
doubles event at the Australian Open, becoming only the fifth doubles team in history to win all four Grand Slam women's doubles titles during their career, completing a "Career Grand Slam". Williams' next event was the
Pacific Life Open in
Indian Wells, where she defeated Clijsters in the final. During the tournament, Richard Williams stated that racist comments were made to him by spectators. As a result, both Serena and Venus pledged to boycott the event, even though it was a mandatory stop on the
WTA tour; Serena's boycott lasted until 2015. Williams claimed her second title of the year at the
Rogers Cup, defeating
Jennifer Capriati in the final. In September, Williams lost to her sister in the final of the US Open, which was the first Grand Slam tournament final played by two sisters during the
Open Era. Williams finished 2001 at No.6 for the second straight year. After recovering, Williams won her first title of the year in
Scottsdale, Arizona, defeating No.2 Capriati, in the final. She then won the
Miami Masters for the first time after beating No.3 Hingis in the quarterfinals, No.2 Venus in the semifinals, and No.1 Capriati in the final, becoming only the second player in the Open Era to defeat the world's top 3 ranked players at the same event. In May, Williams won her first
clay-court title at the
Italian Open, which raised her ranking to a new high of No.3. She then claimed her first French Open title, which elevated her to No.2, second only to Venus. During the summer, Williams won
Wimbledon for the first time, defeating Venus in the final. The victory propelled her to No.1, making her the third African American woman to hold the top ranking. The Williams sisters also won the doubles event at the tournament. At the US Open, Williams reached the final where, for the third Grand Slam in a row, she defeated her sister to win the title. Williams won two consecutive singles titles in the fall, defeating Clijsters to win the Toyota Princess Cup in Tokyo, and
Anastasia Myskina to win the
Sparkassen Cup in Leipzig. She reached the final at the
Home Depot Championships in Los Angeles, where she lost to Clijsters in straight sets. Williams finished 2002 with a 56–5 win/lose record, eight singles titles, and the No.1 ranking. Her three consecutive Grand Slam titles in 2002 made her only the third player in history to win the "
Surface Slam" after
Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. At the
2003 Australian Open, Williams faced Venus for the fourth consecutive Grand Slam tournament final. She defeated her sister and became the sixth woman in the Open Era to complete a Career Grand Slam, alongside Graf, Navratilova,
Margaret Court,
Chris Evert and
Billie Jean King. She also became the fifth woman to hold all Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously, a feat which was dubbed the "Serena Slam" by the press. At this tournament, the Williams sisters also won their sixth Grand Slam doubles title as a team. During the spring of 2003, Williams captured the singles titles at the
Open Gaz de France and the
Sony Ericsson Open. Her streak of 21 wins ended when she lost the final of the
Family Circle Cup to Henin. She also lost to Mauresmo in the semifinals of the
Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. Despite these defeats, Williams was the top seed at the
French Open, where she lost in the semifinals to eventual champion Henin; this was Williams' first loss in a Grand Slam tournament since 2001. The match was controversial, with Williams questioning Henin's sportsmanship, and spectators applauding Williams' errors. Williams rebounded from this loss at
Wimbledon, where she defeated Venus in the final. Wimbledon was her last tournament of 2003; she pulled out of three events and then underwent surgery on her knee.
2004–2007: Injuries and comeback After eight months away from tennis, Williams began her comeback at the
NASDAQ-100 Open in March 2004, where she won the title for the third consecutive year. Although ranked No.7, Williams was seeded second at the French Open, where she lost to Capriati in the quarterfinals. A few weeks later, Williams was seeded first at
Wimbledon, even though her ranking had dropped to No.10. She was defeated in the final by
Maria Sharapova. The loss caused her to drop below No.10 for the first time since 1999. Williams was seeded third at the
2004 US Open, where she faced Capriati in the quarterfinals. During the match, umpire
Mariana Alves made a call that favored Capriati, but subsequent video review showed that her call was incorrect. Williams argued with Alves over several other calls during the match, which Capriati eventually won. Williams acknowledged that her loss was primarily due to her 57 unforced errors, but she nevertheless felt "cheated" and accused Alves of temporary insanity. The controversy renewed calls for, and was widely given credit for, the adoption of new technology such as the MacCAM and
Hawk-Eye systems. Williams won her second title of the year at the
China Open in September, defeating
Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final. At the
Tour Championships in Los Angeles, Williams suffered an abdominal injury in the finals, where she lost to Sharapova. Williams finished 2004 ranked No.7, but did not win a Grand Slam singles tournament for the first season since 2001. She defeated the top seed Davenport to win the tournament, claiming her second Australian Open trophy and seventh Grand Slam singles title. The victory moved her back to No.2. She missed the
French Open due to an ankle injury, but played at
Wimbledon as the 4th-seed; she was eliminated in the third round. At the
US Open, Williams lost to her sister in the fourth round. Williams failed to qualify for the
WTA year-end championship for the first time since 1998, and she finished 2005 ranked No.11. Williams made her 2006 debut at the
Australian Open, defending her title. After she lost to
Daniela Hantuchová in the third round, she told the press that she was injured. In her biography, Williams wrote that she was suffering from depression during this time. She stayed away from tennis for six months during the 2006 season, and began seeing a therapist daily. After a chance meeting with a young girl who idolized Williams and believed in her, Williams signed up to play in Cincinnati in July, her first tournament since January. She had slipped to No.139, her lowest ranking since 1997. On her return, Williams defeated
Anastasia Myskina and
Bethanie Mattek, before losing in the semifinals to
Vera Zvonareva. She also reached the semifinals in Los Angeles, losing to Janković in straight sets. Williams was granted a
wildcard to enter the
US Open, where she lost to
Amélie Mauresmo in the fourth round. Williams finished the year ranked No.95, her lowest year-end ranking since 1997. Leading up to the
Australian Open, Williams was widely regarded as "out of shape", and at No.81 she was unseeded at the tournament. Shortly before her first match, a representative from
Nike told her the company might cancel her sponsorship if she did not perform at her customary level. Williams claimed that Nike's ultimatum meant she would have to reach the quarterfinals at least. The Nike situation did not distract Williams, as she lost just three games to
Mara Santangelo and defeated Anne Kremer in straight sets. By this point, a blister had developed on her foot and she had contracted a cold. In the third round, Williams found herself two points away from losing to
Nadia Petrova, but she fought back to win in three sets. She then made it to the final, defeating
Jelena Janković, Shahar Pe'er and Nicole Vaidišová along the way. Williams speculated that the players she defeated "didn't expect an overweight, out-of-shape, has-been champion ... to give them a game." Commentator
Tracy Austin said she expected Sharapova to easily defeat Williams in the final. Williams thought the commentary was mean, and it motivated her to triumph over Sharapova while losing just three games. It was Williams' first tournament title in two years, and she became the first player since
Chris O'Neil to capture the Australian Open title without being seeded. Her performance in the final was described in the press as one of the best performances of her career, and "arguably the most powerful display ever seen in women's tennis". Williams won the
Sony Ericsson Open in Miami for the fourth time by defeating Henin, but then lost to Henin during the quarterfinals in three consecutive Grand Slam tournaments: the
French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Williams reached the final of the
Kremlin Cup, but lost to
Elena Dementieva. She qualified for the WTA Championships, but retired from her first match with a knee injury and subsequently withdrew from the event. Williams finished 2007 as No.7 and the top-ranked American for the first time since 2003. At the
Australian Open, she lost in the quarterfinals to Janković, her fourth straight loss in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam singles tournament. She then won three consecutive singles titles at
Bangalore and her fifth
Miami title, tying Graf for the most singles titles at this tournament. She claimed victory at the
Family Circle Cup, her first clay-court title since 2002. Her 17-match winning streak was ended by
Dinara Safina in the quarterfinals in
Berlin. At
Wimbledon, Williams reached the finals for the first time in four years, but lost to Venus in their first Grand Slam final since 2003. Serena and Venus teamed up and won the doubles title, however. Williams played at
Stanford, but retired in the semifinals with a knee injury, which also forced her to withdraw from a tournament in
Los Angeles. During the
Summer Olympics in Beijing, Williams lost to Dementieva in the singles quarterfinals, but she and Venus won the gold medal in doubles. In early September, Williams captured her third
US Open title, which was also her ninth Grand Slam singles title. The victory returned her to No.1 for the first time since 2003. At the year-end championships, she defeated Safina and lost to Venus in round-robin matches, but withdrew from a match against Dementieva, citing a stomach muscle injury. She ended 2008 ranked No.2 and with four singles titles, her strongest performance in both respects since 2003. Williams began 2009 at the
Medibank International, losing in the semifinals to Dementieva. At the
Australian Open, she claimed her tenth Grand Slam singles title by defeating Safina. This win restored her No.1 ranking and made her the all-time career prize money leader in women's sports, a title previously held by golfer
Annika Sörenstam. Serena and Venus also won the doubles event at the Australian Open for the third time. At the
Open GdF Suez, Williams withdrew before her semifinal match against Dementieva because of a knee injury. She then played in
Dubai, losing to Venus in the semifinals. Williams was beset by ankle and quadriceps injuries at the
Sony Ericsson Open, and was upset in the final by
Victoria Azarenka. This was the first of four consecutive losses for Williams, the longest losing streak of her career. After Ericsson, she was defeated in her opening matches in
Barcelona,
Rome, and
Madrid. At the French Open, she lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion Kuznetsova. This ended her 18-match winning streak at Grand Slam tournaments. She rebounded at
Wimbledon, prevailing over Dementieva in the semifinals and Venus in the finals. The victory was her third Wimbledon title and her 11th Grand Slam singles title. For the second consecutive year, Serena and Venus claimed the Wimbledon doubles title, which was their ninth Grand Slam title in doubles. Ahead of the US Open, Williams suffered a third-round defeat in
Cincinnati and a semifinal defeat at the Rogers Cup. At the Open, she was given a racket abuse warning after losing the first set of her semifinal match against Clijsters. Later in the match, one of her serves was called a
foot fault. Williams was penalized a point for unsportsmanlike conduct, which resulted in Clijsters winning the match. The following day, Williams was issued a fine of $10,500. After further investigation, the Grand Slam Committee fined her $175,000 in place of suspending her from the 2010 US Open or other Grand Slams. They also placed her on a two-year probation, which meant that if she committed another offense at a Grand Slam during the next two years, she would be suspended from the following US Open. If, however, she committed no offenses, her fine would be reduced to $82,500. Williams continued in the US Open doubles competition, teaming up with Venus to capture their third Grand Slam doubles title of the year, and the tenth of their career. Williams won all three of her round-robin matches at the year-end
WTA Tour Championships, defeating Venus, Dementieva, and Kuznetsova. She advanced to the final after
Caroline Wozniacki retired from their semifinal match. In the final, Williams defeated her sister to claim her second singles title at this event. Williams finished the year ranked No.1 for the second time in her career. She played in 16 tournaments in 2009, more than any other year. With $6,545,586 in prize-money earnings, she broke the record previously set by Justine Henin for most prize money earned by a female tennis player in one year. In doubles, the Williams sisters finished 2009 at No.2, despite playing only six tournaments together. Williams now had a total of 23 Grand Slam titles, and was consequently named Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press. She was also the
International Tennis Federation World Champion in both singles and doubles. In 2010, Williams' first tournament was in
Sydney, where she lost in the final to Dementieva. At the
Australian Open, Williams was the defending champion in both singles and doubles. She reached the final and defeated Justine Henin, who had recently come out of retirement, for her twelfth Grand Slam singles title. In doubles, Williams and her sister successfully defended their title by defeating
Cara Black and
Liezel Huber in the final. Williams sat out several events with a leg injury, but returned for the
Rome Masters, where she was defeated by Janković in the semifinals. At
Madrid, she fell to Nadia Petrova in the third round, but partnered with Venus to win the doubles title. At the
French Open, Williams was bested by
Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals. She and Venus won the doubles event, achieving their fourth consecutive Grand Slam doubles title and improving their doubles ranking to No.1. Williams' next tournament was Wimbledon, where she did not lose a single set, defeating Zvonareva in the final. After the match, Navratilova said Williams was among the top five female tennis players in history. She asserted that being a great player is "not just about how many Slams you win ... it's just your game overall ... she's got all the goods." She finished 2010 ranked No.4 in singles and No.11 in doubles.On March 2, 2011, she confirmed that she had suffered a
hematoma and a
pulmonary embolism.
2011–2013: Return to dominance, Career Golden Slam Williams made her first appearance on the WTA tour in almost a year in
Eastbourne, where she lost in round two. In June, she attempted to defend her title at
Wimbledon, but was eliminated in the round of 16, which dropped her ranking to No.169. Later in the summer, she won titles in both
Stanford and
Toronto. Williams played the
Western & Southern Open, but withdrew due to injury. She reached the final at the
US Open, where she faced Stosur. During the match, Williams became angry with umpire
Eve Asderaki. She made gestures and unflattering comments towards her, including calling her "a hater". Williams eventually lost the match, and then declined to offer Asderaki the customary handshake. A writer for
ESPN suggested that Williams did not violate the terms of her probation (on which she was placed following her 2009 outburst), since she did not use profanity when addressing the umpire. In the end, Williams was fined $2,000, but was not barred from competing. The US Open was Williams' final event of 2011, and she ended the year ranked No.12, with two titles and a 22–3 record for the season. She only played in six tournaments during the season. Williams started the 2012 season at the
Brisbane International. During her match against
Bojana Jovanovski, she injured her left ankle, and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. Next she participated in the
Australian Open, where she was upset by
Ekaterina Makarova in the fourth round. After a month layoff, Williams returned to competition in
Miami, losing in the quarterfinals. She then won consecutive titles in
Charleston and
Madrid, but withdrew from her semifinal match in
Rome due to a back injury. At the French Open, Williams suffered her first ever loss in the opening round of a Grand Slam. However, she notched up a 33–1 record for the second half of the season, winning five titles in the process. She captured her fifth
Wimbledon singles title (her 14th Grand Slam victory), and became the first female player to serve 24
aces in a match. She also set a record for the most aces in a tournament by any player—male or female—with a total of 102. Williams and her sister also captured their fifth trophy in Wimbledon doubles. Williams returned to America to successfully defend her
Stanford title, overcoming
CoCo Vandeweghe in the final. At the Olympics, she won gold by defeating Sharapova in a dominating performance. She ended the season by going undefeated at the WTA Championships and winning the event for the third time. Williams' first tournament of the 2013 season was in
Brisbane, where she won the title without dropping a set. At the
Australian Open, she was upset in the quarterfinals by fellow American
Sloane Stephens. After defeating
Petra Kvitová in Doha, Williams returned to No.1 for the sixth time in her career, becoming the oldest woman in the Open Era to hold the ranking. In the Miami final, Williams recorded her 70th come-from-behind win. The victory made Williams a six-time champion in Miami, breaking the record she held with Graf. She also became the fourth woman in the Open Era to win a given tournament six times. Williams then defended her Charleston title, winning the event for the third time. She won her 50th career singles title in
Madrid, prevailing over Sharapova in the final. She then played in Rome, where she won the title a second time. At the French Open, Williams lost only one game whilst defeating
Sara Errani in the semifinal. Evert said Williams' play during the match was the finest performance she had ever seen by a female player on clay. Williams bested Sharapova in the final to claim her second French Open title and her 16th Grand Slam title overall. She also became the fourth woman in the Open Era to win each Grand Slam tournament at least twice. At
Wimbledon, she advanced easily to the fourth round before being defeated by eventual finalist
Sabine Lisicki. Williams then won the Swedish Open, her first victory at the
International level. She was undefeated on clay during the season. Williams won her third Rogers Cup title in Toronto, beating
Sorana Cîrstea in the final. She reached the final of the
Western & Southern Open for the first time, but lost to Azarenka. At the
US Open, Williams began as top seed and defending champion. She reached the final and defeated Azarenka in three sets, capturing her 17th Grand Slam singles title and pushing her career prize winnings past $50million. At 31, she became the oldest US Open champion in the Open Era. She went undefeated at the WTA Championships, triumphing over Li Na in the final and becoming the first person to defend the title since Henin in 2007. She also became the oldest player to win the WTA Championships, the fourth player to win it four times or more, and the first female player to win more than $10million in a season (her total for 2013 was $12.4 million). Only
Rafael Nadal (in 2013), and
Novak Djokovic (in 2011, 2012 and 2013) have earned more money in one season. Williams finished as the year-end No.1 for the third time, becoming the oldest No.1 player in WTA history. She was named the ITF World Champion for the fourth time. She received two prizes at the
2013 ESPY Awards: Best Female Athlete and Best Female Tennis Player, the latter of which she won for a record sixth time. In December, Williams received the Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year award for the third time. Only Evert and
Babe Didrikson have been chosen more often as Athlete of the Year since the awards were first handed out in 1931.
2014–2015: Second "Serena Slam" Williams defended her title at the
Brisbane International by defeating No.2 Azarenka in the final. At the
Australian Open, she fell in the fourth round to Ana Ivanovic. In
Dubai, Williams lost her semifinal match to
Alizé Cornet in straight sets. Williams then played in the Miami Open, where she won her record seventh title with a straight-sets victory over No.2
Li Na. At the
Family Circle Cup, she lost to
Jana Čepelová in the second round. She made it to the quarterfinals at the
Madrid Open before withdrawing with a thigh injury. In
Rome, Williams won her third title of the season. She suffered the worst loss of her Grand Slam career in the second round of the
French Open when
Garbiñe Muguruza defeated her while losing just four games in two sets. Cornet defeated Williams in the third round of
Wimbledon, handing Williams her earliest Wimbledon elimination since 2005. During the doubles event with Venus, Serena hit four consecutive doubles faults. She appeared disoriented and unsteady on her feet, and withdrew from the tournament. The official cause of withdrawal was "viral illness". Williams rebounded by winning 19 out of her next 20 matches (losing only to Venus in the semifinals of the
Rogers Cup). The streak included titles at the
Bank of the West Classic and the
Western & Southern Open, and her third consecutive and sixth overall
US Open singles title. With this victory, Williams tied Evert for most US Open singles titles won by a woman in the Open Era. Williams also tied Evert and Navratilova's record of 18 career Grand Slam singles titles won in the Open Era. By virtue of winning both the
US Open and the
US Open Series, Williams collected $4 million—the biggest payday in tennis history. At the
2014 WTA Finals in Singapore, Williams advanced to the final for the third consecutive year despite having equaled her career-worst loss in her second round robin match against
Simona Halep. She claimed the
WTA Finals title, which was her seventh title of the year, and finished the year ranked No.1 for the fourth time in her career. She held the top ranking for the entire calendar year, a feat not accomplished since Graf achieved it in 1996. Williams was voted WTA Player of the Year and ITF World Champion for a third consecutive year. Williams began the
2015 season by reaching the final of the
Hopman Cup, where she and her partner
John Isner lost to Poland. At the
Australian Open, Williams defeated Sharapova for the 16th consecutive time to claim her sixth Australian Open singles title and 19th career Grand Slam singles title. With this victory, Williams surpassed both Evert and Navratilova for the
second most Grand Slam singles titles won in the Open Era. She is the only player in history to win all four Grand Slams at age 30 or older. She and Venus next traveled to Buenos Aires to face Argentina in a World Group II tie in the
Fed Cup. She played and won her only match against
María Irigoyen to help the US team win against the Argentines. After a 14-year boycott of the Indian Wells Masters, Williams announced that she would be competing at
the event. Upon her return, she received a standing ovation from the crowd and won her first match in straight sets. She reached the semifinals, but was forced to withdraw because of a knee injury. When Williams defeated Lisicki in the quarterfinals of the
Miami Open, she became the eighth woman in the Open Era to record 700 match wins in her career. This also made her one of only three active players to have won 700 or more matches in singles, the others being Nadal and
Roger Federer. Williams went on to win a record eighth title in Miami. As preparation for the clay-court season (and to ensure her eligibility for the 2016 Summer Olympics), Williams travelled to
Brindisi, Italy, where she competed with that country's team for a place in the
Fed Cup's World Group. Williams and teammate
Alison Riske lost the decisive doubles match to Errani and Flavia Pennetta, which meant the
United States was relegated to World Group II. It was Williams' first loss in the Fed Cup. The week of April 20 marked Williams' 114th consecutive week ranked No.1, the third-longest run in WTA history at the time, behind Graf's 186 weeks and Navratilova's 156. In the semifinals of the
Mutua Madrid Open, Williams suffered her first defeat of the season, ending a 50-match winning streak at
Premier-Mandatory events. She played one match at the
2015 Internazionali BNL d'Italia before withdrawing with an elbow injury. At the 2015
French Open, Williams defeated
Lucie Šafářová in three sets to claim the trophy and win her third French Open and 20th Grand Slam singles title. The accomplishment made Williams only the third person in history to win each Grand Slam at least three times, the others being Court and Graf. At Wimbledon, Williams defeated three former No.1 players—Azarenka, Sharapova, and her sister Venus—to advance to the final. Awaiting her was Muguruza, who had previously handed Williams the worst Grand Slam defeat of her career. Williams bested Muguruza and claimed her sixth Wimbledon singles title and 21st Grand Slam singles title overall. With this triumph, she completed her second "Serena Slam" (winning all four Grand Slams in a row, but not in the same calendar year). The Wimbledon victory made Williams the oldest woman in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam singles title. It also was her eighth consecutive victory in Grand Slam singles finals appearances, breaking Graf's
Open Era record of seven and tying Pete Sampras's
Open Era record of eight. The week of July 13 marked the first time in WTA history that the No.1 player had more than twice as many points as the No.2. Following her win at Wimbledon, Williams was awarded her seventh
ESPY for
Best Female Tennis Player. Williams was the defending champion at the
Bank of the West Classic, but withdrew from the tournament to recover from an elbow injury. In the semifinals of the
Canadian Open, Williams had a 19-match winning streak ended by 18-year-old
Belinda Bencic. The next week Williams defended her title at the
Western & Southern Open with a straight sets victory over No.3 Halep. Williams' attempt at capturing the "Grand Slam" (winning all four Grand Slams in a calendar year) came to an end at the
US Open, where she lost to
Roberta Vinci in the semifinals. The defeat has been described by some as one of the biggest upsets in tennis history. On October 1, Williams called an end to her season, stating that she had been injured for most of the year and wanted to "properly address [her] health". Coach
Patrick Mouratoglou hinted that her decision to end the season early might be due to a lack of motivation and disappointment following her loss at the Open. On October 5, Williams surpassed Evert for
third-most weeks ranked world No.1. Williams held the top ranking the entire season for the second consecutive year, finishing there for the fifth time in her career. She was voted
WTA Player of the Year for the seventh time, and named
ITF World Champion for the sixth time. She was also voted
Female Athlete of the Year by the
Associated Press for the fourth time in her career, and was chosen as
Sportsperson of the Year by
Sports Illustrated. She became the third solo woman, and the first since 1983, to receive the latter award.
2016: Equalling the records of Steffi Graf Williams was the No.1 seed and defending champion at the
Australian Open. She reached the final without dropping a set, and faced first time Grand Slam finalist
Angelique Kerber. Williams was considered the heavy favorite, as she had never lost an Australian Open final or semifinal. She had also dominated in past matches against Kerber, losing only once to her in six meetings. Williams lost the final in three sets, however, which marked her first-ever three-set loss in the final of a Grand Slam. The week of February 15 marked Williams' 157th consecutive week ranked No.1, the second-longest streak in WTA history. Only Graf had held the ranking longer, for 186 weeks. Williams competed in
Indian Wells as the No.1 seed, and reached the final for the first time since 2001. She was defeated by Azarenka, whom she had beaten the last five times the pair had met. This marked the first time since 2004 that Williams lost two consecutive finals. She next played the
Miami Open as the defending champion, losing in the fourth round to Kuznetsova. In Rome, she prevailed over
Anna-Lena Friedsam and
Christina McHale to progress to the quarterfinals, where she defeated Kuznetsova. She then defeated
Irina-Camelia Begu and
Madison Keys to win her 70th career WTA title and her first title of the year. At the
French Open, Williams dropped only one set en route to the final, where she faced Muguruza. She lost to the Spanish-Venezuelan player in straight sets, marking the first time she had lost two consecutive Grand Slam finals. At
Wimbledon, Williams again dropped only one set on her way to the final, where she faced Kerber in a rematch of their Australian Open final earlier in the year. Williams defeated Kerber in straight sets and tied Graf's record of 22 Open Era Grand Slam singles titles. Later that day, Williams and her sister won their sixth Wimbledon doubles title and 14th Grand Slam doubles title overall, keeping their perfect record at Grand Slam doubles finals intact. In July, Williams withdrew from the
Rogers Cup due to a shoulder injury. She next participated in the
Olympics in
Rio de Janeiro, where she was the defending gold medalist in both singles and doubles, and was the heavy favorite to retain those titles. The sisters suffered a shock exit in the first round of doubles, losing to the Czech duo of Šafářová and Barbora Strýcová, which ended their career record of 15–0 dating back to the
2000 Olympics. In singles, Williams lost to
Elina Svitolina in the third round. Days after the Olympics, Williams entered the
Western & Southern Open to defend her crown, but then withdrew due to the same shoulder injury from earlier in the summer. The week of September 5, 2016, marked Williams' 186th consecutive week ranked No.1, tying her with Graf for the longest run in WTA history. Williams' streak ended when she lost to
Karolína Plíšková in the semifinals of the US Open. In October, she pulled out of the WTA Finals, citing her shoulder injury.
2017: Australian Open victory and pregnancy Williams started 2017 by playing in the
WTA Auckland Open for the first time in her career. In the second round, she lost to
Madison Brengle. She then won the
Australian Open for an Open Era record seventh time, defeating Venus in the final. It was her 23rd Open Era Grand Slam singles title, pushing her past Graf's record of 22. It was the first time in the Open Era that two players aged 35 or older had competed in the final of a Grand Slam tournament. The win ensured Williams' return to the No.1 ranking. She subsequently withdrew from the
Indian Wells and
Miami Opens, citing a knee injury. On April 19, 2017, Williams revealed that she was 20 weeks pregnant and would miss the remainder of the season. The timing of her announcement meant she was already pregnant when she won the Australian Open. In interviews, she said that she intended to return to tennis after giving birth, saying she had an "outrageous plan" of competing in the 2018 Australian Open. On September 1, 2017, Williams gave birth to a daughter. She suffered a
pulmonary embolism after delivery, leaving her bedridden for six weeks and delaying her return to training. On December 30, Williams played her first match since giving birth, an exhibition match at the
World Tennis Championship in
Abu Dhabi, where she lost to
Jeļena Ostapenko.
2018: Return to tennis, Wimbledon, and controversies On January 5, 2018, Williams withdrew from the upcoming Australian Open, citing a lack of sufficient preparation in the wake of her pregnancy. In February, after overcoming pregnancy-related health problems, she returned to the tennis court with Venus. The pair lost to
Lesley Kerkhove and
Demi Schuurs of the Netherlands in the first round of the Fed Cup. Williams then suffered back-to-back early exits in Indian Wells and Miami. Williams returned to Grand Slam tennis at the
2018 French Open, playing singles and doubles with her sister. In the first round, she defeated
Kristýna Plíšková, then overcame
Ashleigh Barty in the second round. She then defeated 11th seed
Julia Görges to set up a fourth-round match against Sharapova, whom she had bested 18 consecutive times since 2004. Williams withdrew from the match due to an injury, however. In July, she played Wimbledon and was seeded No.25. Many felt the decision showed bias and unduly favored Williams, who was ranked No.181. Others argued that the
All England Club, which does not base seedings on players' world rankings—as other Grand Slam tournaments do—had sensibly considered Williams' excellent historic record at Wimbledon. Williams reached the Wimbledon semifinals, becoming the lowest-ranked player to do so. She bested 13th seed Görges in the semifinal match, but lost to Kerber in a rematch of the 2016 final. Following Wimbledon, Williams entered the
2018 Silicon Valley Classic, her first appearance in a US Open series tournament since 2015. She suffered the worst loss of her career in the first round, winning just a single game against
Johanna Konta. Williams later revealed in an interview with
Time that she checked
Instagram prior to the match, and discovered that the man who had
murdered her half-sister, Yetunde, in 2003 had been released on parole earlier in the year. Williams said she "couldn't shake it out of [her] mind". Williams' next tournament was the
Cincinnati Masters. She beat
Daria Gavrilova in straight sets in the first round, but lost to
Petra Kvitová in the second round. She was then seeded 17th at the US Open, although ranked 26th in the WTA. She prevailed over
Magda Linette in the first round,
Carina Witthöft in the second, Venus in the third, and
Kaia Kanepi in the fourth. Williams' quarterfinal face-off against Karolína Plíšková was a rematch of the 2016 US Open semifinal, which the Czech player had won. Williams prevailed, notching her first win against a top 10 player since her return from pregnancy. Williams then won her semifinal match against
Anastasija Sevastova, putting her into the
final against
Naomi Osaka. During the second set of the match, Williams was given a code violation because her coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, gave her coaching hand signals. Williams claimed Mouratoglou was simply giving her a thumbs-up, and demanded an apology from umpire
Carlos Ramos. However, Mouratoglou later admitted in the after-game interview that he had been coaching, but believes Williams did not understand the hint. Williams then received a second violation for racket abuse, which resulted in a point penalty. After her third code violation for verbal abuse of the umpire, Williams received a game penalty, and went on to lose the match. She was fined a total of $17,000 for the three offenses, although she claimed she was treated unfairly because she is a woman. Following the US Open final match, the Melbourne newspaper the
Herald Sun published a cartoon by
Mark Knight depicting Williams throwing a tantrum while the umpire asks her opponent to "just let her win". The cartoon was widely criticized as racist and sexist, including by Williams' husband,
Alexis Ohanian, and author
J. K. Rowling. Complaints centered on the portrayal of Williams as an angry black woman with exaggeratedly large lips and a broad, flat nose; the depiction of Williams in an ape-like pose; and the rendering of Osaka with blonde hair (only some of her hair was colored blonde during the tournament). Knight defended his work, claiming his satire was never about race or gender, but rather about shining a spotlight on bad behavior by sports superstars. Williams reached the final at
Wimbledon, making 2019 the 13th consecutive year in which she played in a Grand Slam final. She became the oldest Grand Slam finalist in the Open Era. Williams lost the final to Halep in two straight sets. At the
Canadian Open, Williams faced
Bianca Andreescu in the final. However, she was forced to withdraw early in the match after experiencing back spasms. Her back problems continued at the
Cincinnati Open, where she withdrew before her first-round match. Williams was seeded eighth at the
US Open, where she bested Sharapova in the first round. In the quarterfinals she defeated
Wang Qiang, and in the semifinals she triumphed over Svitolina. Williams then proceeded to the final against Andreescu, who won the title in straight sets. Williams finished the year ranked No.10. At the
Australian Open, Williams lost in the third round to Wang in three sets. Williams then entered the
Top Seed Open as the No.1 seed, defeating Venus in the second round before losing to
Shelby Rogers in the quarterfinals. At the
US Open, Williams defeated Stephens in the third round before losing to Azarenka in the semifinals. Williams withdrew from the delayed
French Open in October, citing an Achilles injury she had sustained during the US Open. She failed to reach a Grand Slam final in 2020. Williams started the 2021 season by playing the
Yarra Valley Classic, where she withdrew prior to her semifinal match, citing a right shoulder injury. In the
Australian Open, Williams lost in the semifinal to Osaka. In May, Williams played her 1000th match of her career against
Nadia Podoroska in the second round of the
Italian Open, which she lost in straight sets. She sustained an injury during the first round at
Wimbledon against Belarusian player
Aliaksandra Sasnovich, forcing her to withdraw from the tournament. In August, a leg injury forced Williams to retire from the
US Open. The withdrawal saw Williams plummet nineteen places to 41st in the world, her lowest year-end ranking in 15 years. She returned to professional play in June 2022 when she teamed up with
Ons Jabeur for the
Eastbourne International. The pair won two matches before retiring from the tournament due to an injury sustained by Jabeur. Williams also played singles at
Wimbledon, where she lost to No.113
Harmony Tan in the first round. Williams was ranked No. 320 at the end of 2022.
Farewell tour In the September 2022 issue of
Vogue, Williams announced her plans to "evolve away" from tennis after the
2022 US Open, indicating retirement. She stated her intention to focus on her family and her venture capital firm. After her elimination, tournament organizers gave Williams gifts to remember the city. Williams subsequently entered the
Cincinnati Masters, where she fell to reigning US Open champion
Emma Raducanu in the first round. At the US Open, Williams played doubles with Venus for the first time since 2018; the sisters lost to the Czech duo of
Lucie Hradecká and
Linda Nosková. In the first round of
singles, Williams defeated
Danka Kovinić of Montenegro. After the match—which was attended by
Eric Adams,
Bill Clinton,
Spike Lee,
Mike Tyson,
Vera Wang,
Ruth Westheimer, and
Tiger Woods—a tribute video narrated by
Oprah Winfrey was played, and an interview was conducted by
Gayle King. In the second round, Williams upset world No. 2
Anett Kontaveit, becoming the oldest woman in the Open Era to defeat a top-three ranked player. She then lost to
Ajla Tomljanović in what was ultimately her final match. ==Rivalries==