16 Things you don’t know about Serena Williams

1.  Full name Serena Jameka Williams

2.  Serena Williams was born September 26, 1981

3.  in Saginaw, Michigan, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price and is the youngest of Price’s five daughters

4.  Excluding Venus, Serena Willimas have half-sisters Yetunde, Lyndrea and Isha Price

5.  Serena Williams started playing tennis at the age of 4.

6.  Serena and her sister Venus were home schooled

7.  Till this day Serena is being coached by both parents

8.  Serena Williams stopped sending his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments when Williams was 10, since he wanted them to take it slow and focus on school work. Another factor was racial, as he had heard white parents talk about the Williams sisters in a derogatory manner during tournaments.

9.  In 2003 sister Yetunde was fatally shot in an SUV after a confrontation with youths in Compton

10.  Serena Williams and sister Venus are both Jehovah’s Witnesses, which has a practice of not voting. However, the Williams sisters expressed support for President Barack Obama.

11. Serena Williams is currently ranked No. 1 in women’s singles tennis. The Women’s Tennis Association has ranked her World No. 1 in singles on six separate occasions. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002, and regained this ranking for the sixth time on February 18, 2013, becoming the oldest world no. 1 player in WTA’s history.

12.  Williams is the reigning French Open, US Open, WTA Tour Championships and Olympic ladies singles champion.

13.  Serena Williams has played older sister Venus in 24 professional matches since 1998. Overall Serena is 14–10 against her sister. Serena has played Venus 12 times in Grand Slam singles tournaments and 11 times in other tournaments (including 11 finals). They have met in eight Grand Slam finals, with Serena winning six times.

14.  Serena Williams currently has a line with Nike and she’s running her own line called “Aneres”—her first name spelled backward. In 2009 she launched a signature collection of handbags and jewelry.

15.  In late 2009, Williams became the first active female professional athlete to appear in a feminine hygiene product advertising campaign.

16.  In early 2010, Williams became a certified nail technician in preparation for her upcoming nail collection with a company called HairTech