Serena Williams, athlete — "I've been accused of attacking, being intimidating, disrespectful, all of these things, and at one point I was like, 'I'm not being those things, so I'm not going to change.'"
(CNN) --
American tennis player Serena Williams announced that her retirement is near in an Instagram post, in which, among other things, she said, "There comes a time in life when we have to decide to go in a different direction."
Williams is already a tennis legend thanks to her 23 Grand Slam titles, only one behind Margaret Court, the greatest winner of all time (both on the women's and men's circuits).
To learn more about the tennis player from the United States, here is a look at her life.
Who is Serena Williams?
Personal information
Date of birth: September 26, 1981
Place of birth: Saginaw, Michigan
Birth name: Serena Jameka Williams
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Father: Richard Williams, tennis coach
Mother: Oracene Price
Marriage: Alexis Ohanian (November 16, 2017-present)
Daughter: Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.
Other data
He has won 73 career singles titles, 23 doubles titles, and two mixed doubles titles.
This includes 39 Grand Slam titles: 23 in singles, 14 in doubles and two in mixed doubles.
He is a four-time Olympic gold medalist.
She has earned more than $94.5 million in career prize money, more than any other female athlete.
She is fifteen months younger than her sister and professional tennis player Venus Williams.
He is a Jehovah's Witness.
Through his charitable foundation, he has helped open several schools in Africa and around the world.
Chronology
September 1995 - Turns professional and loses his first tennis match at the Bell Challenge in Quebec.
January 1998 - Participates in the Australian Open, his first Grand Slam tournament.
She loses to her sister Venus de Ella in the second round, 6-7, 1-6.
1999 - Enrolls in the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, in Florida, to study Fashion Design.
September 12, 1999 - Wins the US Open, becoming the first Williams sister to win a Grand Slam.
July 8, 2002 - Ranked No. 1 in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) world for the first time in her career, at age 20.
2002-2003 - Completes her first "Serena Slam", winning all four Grand Slam titles: the French Open, Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open, but not all in the same calendar year.
August 1, 2003 - Undergoes surgery to repair a partially torn tendon in his left knee.
September 14, 2003 – Williams' older stepsister, Yetunde Price, is murdered in Compton, California.
After two trials that end in deadlocks, Robert Edward Maxfield accepts the conviction but does not admit the charge of voluntary manslaughter and is sentenced to 15 years in prison.
In 2018, Maxfield is released after serving 12 years.
2004 - Launches the clothing line "Aneres" (Serena spelled backwards).
2008 - Creates the Serena Williams Foundation to help young Americans affected by violent crime as well as disadvantaged children around the world.
September 12, 2009 – Williams snaps at the linesman who calls her out for a foot fault in the US Open semifinals against Kim Clijsters.
Clijsters receives a penalty point to win the match.
The Grand Slam committee imposes a record fine of $82,500 on her and puts her on probation for the next two years.
July 7, 2010 - Receives stitches on both feet after stepping on broken glass while leaving a restaurant in Munich.
Subsequently, she has surgery in July and October to repair a lacerated tendon in her right foot.
February 2011 - Undergoes emergency treatment for a hematoma related to pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in his lungs.
September 2011 - She is named an International Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.
Nike built Serena Williams her own building
February 18, 2013 - At 31, she becomes the oldest tennis player to be ranked No. 1 since computer rankings began in 1975. It is the sixth time in her career that she has ranked No. 1 of the ranking.
September 7, 2014 - Williams wins her third straight US Open title.
July 9, 2016 - Wins the Wimbledon title for the seventh time.
With her 22nd win at a major tournament, Williams ties Steffi Graf for the most singles titles in the Open era.
September 12, 2016 - After 186 consecutive weeks as World No. 1 on the WTA, she falls to No. 2 behind Angelique Kerber.
Williams ties Graf's record for the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the rankings.
December 29, 2016 - Announces her engagement to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.
Jan 28, 2017 - Beats sister Venus in the Australian Open final, clinching her 23rd Grand Slam title and overtaking Graf for the Open era lead.
April 19, 2017 - Williams posts a profile picture in a yellow swimsuit with a caption that reads "20 weeks" on Snapchat, which is quickly deleted.
Her spokeswoman later confirmed to CNN that Williams and her fiancé Ohanian are expecting her first child this fall.
September 1, 2017 - Gives birth to a daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr.
December 30, 2017 - Returns to tennis and loses an exhibition match against Jelena Ostapenko at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi.
January 10, 2018 - She appears on the cover of Vogue with her four-month-old daughter Alexis Olympia for the magazine's February issue.
Alexis Olympia becomes the youngest cover of the publication.
In the magazine article, Williams reveals that she had an emergency C-section, blood clots and additional complications following the birth of her daughter.
September 8, 2018 - Loses to Naomi Osaka in a controversial US Open final.
September 9, 2018 - The United States Tennis Association says the US Open fined Williams $17,000 for three code violations during her loss in the women's singles final on September 8.
Serena Williams talks about the movie "A Star Is Born" (Kevin Winter/Getty Images).
2019 - Launches her clothing line S by Serena.
Jan 12, 2020 - Williams wins the ASB Classic in Auckland, New Zealand, her first title since becoming a mother in September 2017, and donates her $43,000 prize money to Australian bushfire relief .
September 30, 2020 - Williams withdraws from the French Open due to an Achilles tendon injury.
June 29, 2021 - Williams is forced to withdraw from her Wimbledon first round match due to injury.
Her retirement marks her first first-round loss at Wimbledon.
August 17, 2021 - Williams and Nike present a collection of sportswear and accessories for women, created by a group of 10 emerging designers known as the Serena Williams Design Crew, or SWDC.
August 25, 2021 – Announces on Instagram that he is withdrawing from the US Open due to a hamstring injury.
December 8, 2021 - Announces that he is withdrawing from the Australian Open on the advice of his medical team.
April 5, 2022 - In an essay for Elle, Williams recounts her experience with near-fatal blood clots immediately after the birth of her daughter in 2017.
August 9, 2022 - He posts on his Instagram account that his retirement is near.
Serena Williams
