Serena: Right Where She Belongs by Peter Bodo
The BEST at her Best by Steve Tignor
Serena looks motivated after Sony Ericsson Title by Matt Cronin
Williams Restores Order At Last by Steve Flink
Gritty Serena Confounds Critics by Simon Reed
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
Serena Williams revealed that she plans to compete in the 2012. One of the few trophies Serena hasn’t obtained in tennis is that precious Olympic gold medal in the women’s singles. She has won two golds in the doubles (in 2000 and 2008) but the memories of her quarter-final defeat to Elena Dementieva in Beijing still rankles. “2012's just around the corner," says Serena. "Venus and I are so going to be there. We are already talking about how exciting that will be on grass. What a great moment. But I could have won the singles last time. I was up 4-1 against the girl who went on to win it with an easy shot to go 5-1. And I lost."
So we have at least three more seasons to appreciate the Williams sisters. One of Serena’s aims is to overtake Billie Jean King in the lists of grand slams won. If she continues to show the unstoppable form she displayed in Doha last week it will be a formality.
She is a Woman of the Year because: “When most people would falter, she is able to raise her game a level, and that’s what you look for in champions. I feel confident she will win more major singles titles than my 12. And that makes me very proud.” — Billie Jean King, tennis champ and 2006 Woman of the YearSerena Williams: The Athlete
by: Shaun Dreisbach
Serena Williams feels the pull of competition the way the rest of us feel gravity. It’s why she entered her first tennis tournament at age eight (against her dad’s wishes). It’s why she’s earned 11 Grand Slam titles, two Olympic gold medals and more prize money than any female athlete in the history of sports. “I use the trophies as punch bowls,” she says, laughing. But along the way, she’s had to overcome setbacks and personal tragedies, including the 2003 murder of her beloved sister Yetunde and injuries that relegated her to 140th place during the 2006 season.
After tooth-and-nailing her way up the rankings again, this year she capped her comeback by winning Wimbledon against her sister Venus. (“I love you, Venus,” she later tweeted. “You made me work hard today.”) Of course, Serena’s competitiveness also fueled her outburst at this year’s U.S. Open, for which she soon made amends. “I want to sincerely apologize…. I handled myself inappropriately,” she said, then calmly won the doubles title with Venus.
Other recent victories: She came out with an apparel line on HSN and an autobiography, On the Line. Even more important, in 2008 her Serena Williams Foundation opened a secondary school in rural Kenya, with plans for more. “My goal is not to be the best athlete in the world,” she says. “My goal is to help others…. When I cut the ribbon at that school, I felt so genuinely happy. I’ve never felt that way winning Wimbledon or any other tournament. And I have won them all!”
Monday, 2 November 2009
Sunday, 1 November 2009
After a season-long battle for the world No.1 ranking, Serena Williams will conclude the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season on top. When the new rankings are released on Monday, November 2, Williams will be No.1 again, replacing Dinara Safina. Williams secured a return to No.1 following Safina's opening match retirement and Williams' win against Svetlana Kuznetsova. She will hold the top spot at least through the week of December 28, 2009. It will mark the fifth time in Serena's career (third time in 2009) that she will rise to No.1, having held the top ranking for 57 weeks from July 8, 2002 to August 10, 2003; four weeks from September 8 to October 6, 2008; 11 weeks from February 2 to April 19, 2009; and two weeks from October 12 to October 25, 2009. Williams will conclude the season as the top-ranked player for the second time in her career, having achieved the feat in 2002 also. And as a result of the top ranking not changing hands throughout the off-season, she will increase her career total to at least 83 weeks as the top ranked player.
"2009 has been a truly memorable season for me during which I enjoyed some of the biggest wins of my career," Williams said. "Capturing the year-end world No.1 ranking is a huge accomplishment for me and I am thrilled that all the hard work has paid off." "I congratulate Serena on having a great year and achieving one of her goals by finishing the season as the world No.1 player," said Stacey Allaster, Chairman and CEO of the Tour. "Serena is a terrific ambassador for our sport." Aldo Liguori, Sony Ericsson Corporate VP and Head of Global Communications & PR, said: "We are delighted to congratulate Serena on this great accolade. Finishing the season ranked Sony Ericsson WTA Tour No.1 for the second time in her career is a tremendous achievement and we look forward to seeing Serena have an even better 2010 season."
The 28-year-old American has had a stellar 2009 season, winning two Grand Slam singles titles (Australian Open and Wimbledon) and the Sony Ericsson Championship. She held No.1 for 13 weeks earlier this year, 11 from February 2 to April 19 and two more from October 12 to 25. In addition to her success in singles she has won four doubles titles with Venus Williams, including three majors (Australian Open, Wimbledon, US Open). Earlier this year in February, Williams became the first professional female athlete to eclipse the $23-million mark in any professional sports league and surpassed Lindsay Davenport ($22,144,735) as the all-time prize money leader on the Tour. She has now set the record for single season prize money ($6.19 Million), having eclipsed the previous record of $5 million held by Justine Henin (2007).
Williams turned professional at the age of 14 in November 1995 and played her first tournament in Québec City, Canada. In her 14-year career she has won every major title at least once for a total of 11 Grand Slam singles titles, becoming only the fifth woman, other than Margaret Court, Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, and Steffi Graf, to achieve such a feat. Of the current players, only her older sister, Venus Williams, comes close to such an achievement, with seven Grand Slam singles titles to her name. Williams has won four Australian Opens (2003, 2005, 2007, 2009), one French Open (2002), three Wimbledons (2002, 2003, 2009) and three US Opens (1999, 2002, 2008). Also, Williams has won two Olympic golds, playing doubles with Venus at Sydney in 2000 and at Beijing in 2008, and is the owner of 35 singles and 17 doubles titles.
Serena Williams won her second career WTA Championship title on Sunday with a commanding 6-2 7-6(7-4) victory over sister Venus, a triumph which earned her a cool $US1.55 million. It was Serena's fourth straight win over her sister this year and leads their head to head 13-10. This is Serena's second season-ending trophy to add to her 2001 success and this win made her just the second player after Justine Henin in 2007 to win two Grand Slam titles as well as the WTA Championship in the same year.
World number one Serena won all five matches at this event, including a group stage win over Venus and such was her dominance in the final that she gave up just seven points on serve. The 85-minute win was Serena's 13th victory in 23 meetings with her sister, a family rivalry stretching back to 1998. In a symbol of this injury-hit, desert money-spinner, which had seen four players end their campaigns prematurely through various aches and pains, both sisters arrived on court nursing knocks. Serena had her left thigh heavily-strapped while Venus had protection on her left knee, treated several times during her gruelling semi-final win over Jelena Jankovic.
This was Serena's third tournament win of the season after Wimbledon and the Australian Open. "I haven't won a tournament that wasn't a Grand Slam in a while, so that was even more exciting," she said. "My losing streak in [other] tournaments is over."
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