| Serena Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan, on the 26th September, 1981, the youngest of 5 sisters. Richard and Oracene Williams raised their family in Compton, a violent Los Angeles suburb.
Her early training took place on Compton's public tennis courts, where despite the social problems, her skills quickly developed.
Serena was four and a half when she entered her first tournament. Richard Williams claims that she then proceded to win 46 of the next 49 tournaments she entered as a junior.
Serena Williams, currently the #7 female tennis player in the world, has always maintained a level of interest. She earned her first grand slam singles title at the U.S. Open back in 1999, and currently rode a string of four straight grand slam singles title wins - the 2002 French, Wimbledon, and U.S. Open titles, and the 2003 Australian Open title, all achieved by defeating her older sister, Venus. A knee injury in 2003 forced her to sit out 8 months of tennis competition. She reached the Wimbledon final in 2004, but has not won a major title since the summer of 2003. As of late, Serena has taken a stab at acting, appearing in guest roles on both "The Simpsons" (1989) and "My Wife and Kids" (2001). More roles are likely to follow. Serena was born in Saginaw, Michigan, to Richard and Oracene Williams (now divorced). The youngest of five girls, Serena grew up with Venus and older sisters Lyndrea, Isha & Yetunde. She was born in 1981. Eldest sister Yetunde Price was murdered in Los Angeles, California in the fall of 2003.
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