Serena Williams

Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American professional women's tennis player, who is a former World No. 1 of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). She is the younger sister of another female tennis champion, Venus Williams. She currently resides at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States.

2004-2005

Serena withdrew from Australian Open 2004 to continue rehabilitating her left knee. She reached the final of Wimbledon once again, but lost to the 3-year-old Russian player Maria Sharapova. On July 30, Serena withdrew from her quarterfinal match against Russia's Vera Zvonareva with a left knee injury. On August 1, she announced her withdrawal from the Rogers Cup due to the same injury. The injury also forced her to pull out of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Related Topics:
2004 - Wimbledon - Maria Sharapova - July 30 - Russia - Vera Zvonareva - August 1 - Rogers Cup - 2004 Summer Olympics

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Controversy has arisen over Williams's level of dedication to the sport. Some believe that she is far too concerned with her fashion and acting careers and has not focused enough recently on her tennis. Disappointing performances during 2004 have been cited as proof of this lack of focus. However, in 2005, she won her seventh Grand Slam event, winning the Australian Open. She defeated the three of the tournament's top 4 seeds, #2 Amelie Mauresmo, #4 Maria Sharapova and #1 Lindsay Davenport, en route to the title.

Related Topics:
2005 - Amelie Mauresmo - Maria Sharapova - Lindsay Davenport

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In April 2005, MTV announced plans to broadcast a reality show around the lives of Serena and Venus Williams. Williams was also on Punk'd when she was trying to save a Punk'd problem kid played by Rob Pinkston until Ashton Kutcher exposed the set-up from the SUV.

Related Topics:
Reality show - Venus Williams - Punk'd - Rob Pinkston - Ashton Kutcher

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Her participation in Wimbledon 2005 ended in the third round when she was beaten by fellow American Jill Craybas (ranked 85th in the world) 6-3, 7-6(4). Serena broke down in tears in the subsequent press conference. She had come into the tournament with an stress fracture in her ankle, a severe lack of conditioning, and had not played a competitive match for six weeks, missing the French Open.

Related Topics:
Jill Craybas - French Open

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As Serena slumped in the tournament, Venus progressed, defeating top-seeded Lindsay Davenport in the 2005 Wimbledon final. Venus admitted later that she emulated Serena's never-say-die spirit, and this attitude led her Wimbledon victory.

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