See how Serena Williams became one of the all-time greats.
For women, there are many ways to become world-renowned sports stars; a handful of legends in a handful of sports.
By far the biggest of these is Serena Williams. An accomplished tennis player at just 20, she became world number 1 in tennis, won the US Open and became the first American to win the French Open. In 2010 she became the first tennis player to collect $1billion in prize money. As of 2011 she has won the World Doubles Title for three straight years.
Williams was a little-known player in the US when she first broke onto the professional tennis tour. One day while driving around in her car she had an epiphany: she would give tennis a try one day, but she would give it everything she had. She would dedicate her career to winning.
As the years went by she worked her way up the tennis circuit to playing in a tournament on the first day of the US Open, defeating Serena and Venus Williams in the final. She was also the youngest person to reach the final of the US Open. She then spent an entire year training and learning to play in a professional tennis circuit. Every Sunday she travelled to different tournaments, training and practicing hard to prepare for the week ahead. She also worked hard at school. She is quoted as going to class every day at school and learning every night.
At 22 years old Williams was a top tennis player on the world stage, but she was not happy about being the centre of attention. After winning the US Open she had an ‘off court’ altercation with a male coach named Paul Annacone. The coaches had previously been very good friends with her parents.
Williams had had a relationship during her teenage years with a man named Arthur Bikoff. They were both involved in a car accident, and Bikoff’s wife discovered that Williams was his girlfriend. Bikoff, who was a college professor of mathematics had no idea that the university would fire him one year later. Bikoff also had