Venus Williams transformed the sport of tennis with her towering height and blistering power. She broke barriers as a young prodigy and matured into one of the most respected elder stateswomen in athletic history. Furthermore, she built a massive business portfolio off the court while battling a serious autoimmune disease. Consequently, her legacy extends far beyond her trophy cabinet. Explore these fascinating details about the champion who changed the game.
Venus Williams
She actively fought for equal prize money for women at Wimbledon. She wrote a powerful op-ed for The Times in 2006, which convinced the tournament officials to finally pay male and female players the same amount.
Doctors diagnosed her with Sjögren’s syndrome, an autoimmune disease that causes fatigue and joint pain. Therefore, she completely changed her lifestyle and adopted a raw vegan diet to manage the symptoms.
She runs her own full-service commercial and residential interior design firm called V Starr Interiors. Remarkably, she founded the company in 2002 while she was still dominating the professional tennis tour.
Venus Williams and her sister Serena bought a minority stake in the Miami Dolphins in 2009. Thus, they became the first African American women to own a portion of an NFL franchise.
She speaks fluently in French and Italian in addition to English. She often answers questions from reporters in their native languages during tournaments in Paris and Rome.
She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana University East. Furthermore, she also holds an associate degree in Fashion Design from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.
In 2002, she became the first African American woman to reach the number one ranking in the Open Era. Consequently, she paved the way for a new generation of diverse players to enter the sport.
She famously lost a point at the 1999 Australian Open because her hair beads fell onto the court. The umpire ruled that the decorative beads caused a distraction to her opponent.
She launched her own activewear brand called EleVen by Venus Williams. Uniquely, she designs many of the clothes herself to ensure they combine high fashion with athletic performance.
With four Olympic gold medals, she ranks as one of the most decorated tennis players in Olympic history. She won one gold in singles and three in doubles alongside her sister Serena.
She possesses one of the fastest serves ever recorded in women’s tennis history. Specifically, she blasted a serve at 129 mph during the 2007 US Open.
Venus Williams loves karaoke and claims it is one of her favorite ways to relax. In fact, she once joked that she trains for karaoke sessions just as hard as she trains for tennis matches.
She played her sister Serena in four consecutive Grand Slam finals between 2002 and 2003. Unfortunately for Venus, Serena won all four of those historic family matchups.
She turned professional at the incredibly young age of 14. However, her father Richard limited her tournament schedule strictly to ensure she could focus on her education.
Finally, she holds the record for the most appearances in Grand Slam main draws in the Open Era. She played in over 90 major tournaments, proving her incredible longevity in the sport.
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