History

1. History • Date of birth: September 26, 1981 ) (age 27) • Place of birth: Saginaw, Michigan, U.S. • Turned pro: 1995 • Serena Williams was taught tennis by her parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price • PlayingTennis when she was just a little kid • Won her first tournament when she was only 4 years old. • By the age of 10 Serena Williams won 46 junior tournaments (out of the 49 she entered) • February 2, 2009, is ranked World No. 1 by the Women's Tennis Association

2. Serena Jameka Williams Yandiry Mlakar

3. Career • First professional event was in Quebec City and made 240 dollars as her winnings. • September 1995, became professional at the age of 14years old • 1997 defeated Monica Seles and Mary Pierce at ranked No. 304 ending at No. 99 • Won more career prize money than any other woman, in any sport. • Career record:415–87 (82.6%) • US$: 23,628,104

4. Career • Grand Slam finals (23) • Singles (13) • Wins (10) • Women's doubles (8) • Wins (8) • Mixed doubles (4) • Wins (2) • Career finals • Singles (45) • Wins (33) • Olympic medal record • Gold2000 Sydney Doubles • Gold2008 Beijing Doubles

5. Playing style • Williams is primarily a baseline player. Her game is built around taking immediate control of rallies with her powerful and consistent serve, return of serve, and forceful ground strokes that can come from both the forehand and backhand swing. • She is known for having a very smooth motion and her serve is one of the most highly respected on the WTA tour. • Serves over 120 mph • Backhand is considered to be one of the best, if not the best

6. Branding Her Name Entertainment • The Simpsons • Sports Illustrated • MTV • "Crouching Mother, Hidden Father“ • ER • Law & Order: Special Victims Unit • Late Night with Conan O'Brien, • Voice on the Nickelodeon cartoon

7. Branding • Magazines and books • Forbes Rank Serena # 83 top 100 • People Magazine's “25 Most Intriguing People • “50 Most Inspiring African- Americans • In 2005, Tennis magazine ranked her as the 17th-best player of the preceding forty years

8. Sponsors • Kraft

9. Sponsors • Five-year endorsement contract with Nike $55 million • $12 million agreement with Puma • Sony Ericsson Promoting Tennis in India to promote the sport in India. • HPCommercial

10. Advertisement of her Uniqueness • Fashion • Unusual and colorful outfits on court • Leather-looking catsuit • Denim skirts and boots • White trench coat

11. Fan involvement • Music (hip-hop) Grammy-winning rapper Ludacris has teamed with tennis superstar Serena Williams to help kick-off a contest for fans to create a theme song for her sports matches. The musician with the winning song will be taken into the studio to professionally record what will become Serena's official theme music. • Fashion • Media • Blog • Music Contest

12. Contributions/Mentor • Venus & Serena Williams Tutorial/Tennis Academy (California Tennis Association for Underprivileged Youths) Available in the Los Angeles area • Serena funded the construction of a secondary school in Kenya in November 2008. The school is named after her. • Helped to further the education of young children in Clarendon County, South Carolina by donating a $10,000 check to Clarendon School District 1. • Serena received Celebrity Role Model Award from Avon Foundation in 2003 for work in breast cancer. • The Owl Foundation • Visits schools and hospitals, and conducts tennis clinics for at-risk youths • S.E. Tennis and Learning Center, in Washington, D.C. • Ovarian Cancer Research Fund • Race for the Homeless • Stop the Violence • Special Olympics • Arthur Ashe Foundation

13. 1998 WTA Newcomer of the Year Tennis Magazine/Rolex Rookie of the Year 1999 WTA Most Improved Player of the Year Tennis Magazine Player of the Year 2000 WTA Doubles Team of the Year Award (with Venus Williams) 2002 WTA Player of the Year ITF Women's Singles World Champion Associated Press Female Athlete of the Year 2003 34th NAACP Image Awards President's Award ESPY Award Best Female Athlete ESPY Award Best Female Tennis Player Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year Avon Foundation Celebrity Role Model Award BET's Best Female Athlete of the Year 2004 WTA Comeback Player of the Year Family Circle/Prudential Financial Player Who Makes a Difference Award ESPY Award Best Female Tennis Player BET's Best Female Athlete of the Year 2005 BET‘ Best Female Athlete of the Year 2007 Laureus World Comeback of the Year Harris Poll Most Favorite Female Sports Star Awards

14. Digital world http://www.serenawilliams.com/

15. Entrepreneur • Clothing Line called Aneres • First name spelled backward • She plans to sell in boutiques in Miami and Los Angeles.

16. Controversies • Some believe that she is far too concerned with her fashion and acting careers and has not focused enough recently on her tennis. • Williams' older sister, Yetunde Price, was murdered on the morning of September 14, 2003, by gunshots as she passed by in a car driven by a man in the Compton area.

17. Work cited Page • http://www.serenawilliams.com/sponsors.php • www.buildafricanschools.org • http://www.venusserenatennisacademy.org/sponsors.htm • info@venusserenatennisacademy.org • WeMix.com • http://www.williamssisters.org/sbio.html • http://serena_williams.justsuperstar.com/bio/ • http://black-celebrities.blogspot.com/2008/09/serena-williams.html • http://www.sohh.com/2009/03/ludacris_tags_serena_will.html