Venus Williams
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Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the WTA for 11 weeks, and as the world No. 1 in women's doubles for eight weeks. Williams has won 49 WTA Tour–level singles titles, including seven majors (five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open), as well as a gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She has also won 22 doubles titles, including 14 majors and three Olympic gold medals. Along with her younger sister, Serena, Venus Williams was coached by her parents Oracene Price and Richard Williams. Turning professional in 1994, she reached her first major final as a 17-year-old at the 1997 US Open. In 2000 and 2001, Williams claimed the Wimbledon and US Open titles, as well as Olympic singles gold at the Sydney Olympics. She first reached the singles world No. 1 ranking on 25 February 2002, becoming the first African American woman to do so in the Open era, and the second of all time after Althea Gibson. She reached four consecutive major finals between 2002 and 2003, but lost each time to Serena. She then suffered from injuries, winning just one major title between 2003 and 2006. Williams returned to form starting in 2007, when she won Wimbledon (a feat she repeated the following year). In 2010, she returned to the world No. 2 position in singles, but then suffered again from injuries. Starting in 2014, she gradually returned to form, culminating in two major final appearances in 2017 at the Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships. Along with her seven singles major titles, Williams has won 14 women's doubles major titles, all partnering Serena; the pair are unbeaten in major doubles finals. She became the world No. 1 in doubles for the first time on June 7, 2010, alongside Serena, after the pair completed a non-calendar-year Grand Slam at the French Open. The pair also won three Olympic gold medals in women's doubles, in 2000, 2008, and 2012, adding to Venus' singles gold in 2000 and her mixed doubles silver in 2016. Williams has also won two mixed doubles major titles for a combined total of 23 major titles. The Williams sisters are credited with ushering in a new era of power and athleticism on the women's professional tennis tour. Venus Williams was twice the season prize money leader (in 2001 and 2017), and ranks fourth in all-time career prize money winnings, having earned over US$42 million as of November 2025.