Serena Williams: A living tennis legend

"My goodness do I enjoy tennis. But now, the countdown has begun," Serena Williams wrote on Instagram earlier this month. She said she wanted to discover "a different, but just (as) exciting Serena." Now 40, she embarks on her last US Open, where she won the first of her 23 Grand Slam titles in 1999. She triumphed there six times – but the headlines she produced weren't always positive.

Serena and Venus burst onto the scene in 1997, with Serena making her mark on the Grand Slams slightly later than her older sister. The pair met 30 times in professional matches, with Serena winning 18 of those contests. That includes nine Grand Slam finals, of which Serena won seven. The sisters also enjoyed success as doubles partners, winning 14 women's doubles titles.

Like her older sister, Serena Williams experienced early success on the court — and her very first Grand Slam title was at the US Open in 1999. Serena was just 17 when she beat women's No. 1 Martina Hingis in straight sets, and in doing so, became the first African-American woman to win a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era.

Serena Williams' career was just getting started as the career of another legend was drawing to a close. Germany's Steffi Graf had won 21 of her 22 career Grand Slams when she met Williams in the final of the Evert Cup in Indian Wells in March 1999, and it was a sign of a changing of the guard at the top of the women's game with the American winning a closely fought match 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

It's not just Grand Slams and the WTA Tour where Serena Williams reigned supreme. Her dominance of the game for two decades extended to the Olympics too, and she collected gold medals at three different Games: Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008 and London 2012, where she is pictured here. But it's only in London, on her favorite surface of grass, that she scooped the top prize in singles.

In this altercation at the 2009 US Open semifinal against Kim Clijsters, Williams lost her cool with a line judge following a foot fault call. She was fined a record $82,500 for her tirade and was warned that she faced suspension from the event and a significantly greater fine should she commit another "major offense" in the following two years.

Williams lost her cool again, during the 2018 US Open final, which she lost to Naomi Osaka. Umpire Carlos Ramos had issued two code violations to Williams for receiving coaching during the match as well as smashing her racquet. She called Ramos a "thief," resulting in the match being awarded to Osaka. Williams later accused Ramos of sexism.

Patrick Mouratoglou was the coach that William had communicated with during that match, resulting in the first code violation. Williams hired im in 2013 and a year later, her rival Maria Sharapova, announced that Williams' relationship with Mouratoglou was not just of a sporting nature. She is also rumored to have had affairs with Bulgarian tennis pro Grigor Dimitrov and Canadian rapper Drake.

Serena Williams has been in a relationship with American Internet entrepreneur Alexis Ohanian since mid-2015. Williams and Ohanian were married a year later. In 2017, Williams gave birth to their daughter, Alexis Olympia. The birth was a difficult one, as Williams had to undergo emergency surgery due to a blood clot in her abdomen.

Williams saved her best performances for Wimbledon, where she won seven Grand Slam singles titles and seven doubles titles. Like her sister, who won five singles titles at the All England Club, Serena adores the grass. The surface allowed her strongest assets — her speed and power — to shine through.

Williams is not just a tennis superstar. The combination of her status as one of the greatest players of all time and her desire to rub shoulders with fellow celebrities has seen her transcend sports. Here she can be seen alongside her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, at the Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Williams has made no secret of her love of designer clothes and expresses herself through what she wears on and off the court. Here she can be seen arriving at a high-profile fashion event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City in May 2019, but she has also made the headlines with her tennis outfits like the eye-catching black 'catsuit' worn at the French Open in 2018.

Williams made her return to the tennis court in 2018, following the birth of her daughter. The hope was that she could equal or better Margaret Court's record of 24 Grand Slam titles, however so far, she has come up short, losing twice in the final of Wimbledon and twice at the US Open final, all in 2018 and 2019. Williams remains on 23 Grand Slam titles.

In August 2021, Williams announced that she was pulling out of the US Open due to a leg injury, which would keep her off the court for almost a year. She made her comeback at Wimbledon this past June, but she lost in the first round. The spectators at the All England Club gave her a rousing round of applause, as it was clear to them, that this was probably her last visit to London as a player.