Venus Williams

American athlete who blazed her way up the ranks of Women's Tennis in 1998 at the age of 18. She made a sensational debut in November 1997 with impact for her powerful service and bounding returns. In 1998 she defeated World Champ Martina Hingis twice, getting a taste for winning tournaments. Venus and her 15-month younger sister, Serena are both ranking players, Venus in the Top Ten and Serena in the Top 50 by 1998 and moving ahead. The girls were brought up in a supportive environment to prepare them for such pressures as the media and competition bring to bear during the tennis tours. Their dad Richard has been called both a genius and a racist who is keeping his gifted kids wrapped in the bosom of their family. He groomed his five daughters to play tennis, but it was the two youngest who paid off, with Venus winning $1.2 million in career prizes and Serena already winning $242,000 by the time she was 16. Venus was the fourth of five girls and Serena the youngest. During their early professional days, the girls had a reputation of being combative and confrontational, with the media taking notice of tantrums and boasting. They had to learn to match their talent with professional behavior. Venus at 18 is 6' 1 1/2" tall and 169 lbs. A black Amazon in blue hair beads, she slams the ball with incredible power, a faster serve than any woman in history and faster than many men. Her style has won her a $12 million contract to represent Reebok. Off the court, the sisters are like teenagers everywhere, giggling about boys and talking about clothes and movies. On 9/11/1999, her sister Serena surged ahead to the No.1 spot in tennis by defeating Martina Hingis in New York City. Venus had reached the finals of the U.S. Open only to lose badly to Hingis two years before. The sisters have remained extremely close, even through competitions and are building a house not far from their parents to move into late 1999. Venus won her first Grand Slam crown on 7/08/2000, copping the Wimbledon Title against Lindsay Davenport. The one-hour and 23-minute final became dicey as she double-faulted and hit a pair of wild shots, but she held for a 6-5 lead. The first black woman to take the Wimbledon title since 1957 and 1958, she had already dealt with a tough but necessary confrontation, defeating her younger sister, Serena, in the finals elimination. Fittingly enough, the tournament ended on a family note of harmony with the sisters taking the ladies' doubles crown on 7/10/2000. The bonded sisters have splurged some of the $45 million earnings on a new $2.7 million mansion that they share, along with $3.2 million to buy a house for their folks, Oracene and Richard. Venus backed up her athletic ability with an education at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, FL to learn more about turning her interest in fashion into design. In December 2000, she signed a three-year contract with Wilsons' Leather to create her own line of leather products and help with company promotions. The line is expected to show in Wilsons' stores by fall of '01. Turning on all the power and charm she could muster, the tennis champ, 21, took her second title two years running at Wimbledon on 7/08/2001. After22 years of marriage, Venus's parents, Richard and Oracene, divorced 10/29/2002, West Palm Beach, FL. The older sister of Venus and Serena Williams was shot and killed early on September 14, 2003 in Compton, CA for reasons unknown as of this writing. Trained as a nurse, Yetunde Price owned a beauty salon and served as personal assistant to her famous sisters. The Williams sisters said, "We are extremely shocked, saddened and devastated by the shooting death of our beloved Yetunde. She was our nucleus and our rock. " Although she was defeated by her sister Serena at the 2009 Wimbledon tournament, she and her sister picked up their second consecutive win in the doubles category, their fourth in total. She dropped out of the US Open on August 31, 2011, announcing that she had recently been diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome, a chronic autoimmune disorder.She reached the semi-final at the 2016 Wimbledon British open, aged 36. Link to Wikipedia biography Link to Astrodienst discussion forum