Venus Williams Bio: Early Life, Career, Net Worth, Tennis & Boyfriends

This article was last updated by on

Venus Williams, a former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, is an American professional football player who is regarded as one of the all-time greats of the sport. The elder sister of Serena Williams, Venus, has made her unique identity through her unprecedented athleticism.

Venus, who is also a steadfast advocate of gender equality, has numerous other accolades such as Glamour Magazine’s, ‘Woman of the Year,’ ESPN’s ‘WTA Player of the Year,’ and Forbes’ ‘Celebrity 100’. 

Venus has a total of 49 WTA singles titles, only behind her sister among the active players. She has been on the top of the Women’s Tennis Association, i.e., No. 1 rank for 19 weeks overall.

She first reached the summit in singles in February 2002 and has been there for 11 weeks. Moreover, she has played in Grand Slam singles finals 16 times, tasting victory on seven occasions.

Unexpectedly, Williams was on a 5-match losing streak and dropped out of the top 100 in May, before the 2021 French Open, to her lowest ranking since 2011.

Venus-at-wimbledon-2022
Venus at Wimbledon 2022 (Source: Getty Images)

Besides, the charm and entertainment she brought to the tennis game are equally applauded.

Do you know who is richer in terms of money among the William sisters? Well, Serena seems to take over in this criterion, as she has a greater net worth than Venus, almost by twice.

 

To know more, read this article that summarizes this world champion’s life!

Quick Facts about Venus Williams

Full Name Venus Ebony Starr Williams
Birth Date June 17, 1980
Birth Place Lynwood, California, United States
Residence Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States
Nickname Venus Williams
Religion Christianity
Nationality British, Australian
Ethnicity Black
Education Indiana University East
The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale
Horoscope Gemini
Father’s Name Richard Williams
Mother’s Name Oracene Price
Siblings Five
Brothers Richard Williams III
Siblings Name Isha Price
Lyndrea Price
Serena Williams
Yetunde Price
Age 43 Years Old
Height 6 feet 1 inch (185 cm)
Weight 75 kg (165 lbs)
Shoe Size 11 (US)
Dress Size 4
Bra Cup Size 34C
Build Athletic
Favorite Tennis Player Serena Williams, Roger Federer
Favorite City Rome
Favorite Food Cherry Pie
Eye color Black
Hair Color Dark Brown
Profession Tennis Player
Playing style Right Handed (Two-Handed Backhand)
Active years  (Senior Career) 1994 – present (professional player)
Highest Ranking (Singles) No. 1 (February 2002)
Current Ranking (Singles) No. 78 (October 2020)
Association Women’s Tennis Association
Sexual Orientation Straight
Marital Status Unmarried (Single)
Ex-Boyfriend Nicholas Hammond
Elio Pis
Hank Kuehne
Children None
Favorite Color Pink, Purple
Net Worth $95 million
Annual Earnings $10.5 million
Prize Money $41.89 million
Endorsements Wilson, Electronic Arts, Ralph Lauren, Reebok, Nike, Gatorade, Pepsi
Social Media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
Merch Funko Pop, Poster
Last Update March, 2024

Venus Williams: Early Life, Family, and Education

Venus Williams was born in Lynwood, a city in Los Angeles County, California. She is the daughter of Richard Williams and Oracene Price.

Both of her parents coached her and her sister, Serena Williams, from an early age. Besides, she has a brother, Richard Williams III, and half-sisters, Yetunde Price, Isiah Price, and Lyndrea Price.

little-venus
Little Venus during her school days (Source: Internet)

Venus had developed extraordinary tennis skills as early as the age of seven. Along with her sister, she joined Rick Macci’s tennis academy after the family moved to West Palm Beach in Florida

However, the Williams sisters were belittled by the racial prejudice of the parents of other players. As a result, their father feared sending them to national tournaments.

On the United States Tennis Association junior tour, Venus made an outstanding 63-0 record.

Accordingly, she saw herself at the top rank among all the under-12 players in Southern California.

Eventually, they stopped going to the academy of Macci due to racial insecurities. Then, their parents coached them at home.

venus-and-her-dad
Venus and her father

Venus Williams: Professional Career

Debut as a professional

The Silicon Valley Classic was her first tournament after she turned professional in October 1994 at age fourteen.

In her only tournament of 1994, she lost against the eventual title winner Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Later, in 1995, she reached the quarterfinals of the Oakland tournament by defeating Amy Frazier.

First Grand Slam singles final

Venus reached was eliminated from the 1997 State Farm Event Cup in Indian Wells by Lindsay Davenport.

She saw herself included in the top 100 list in April 1997. She made it to the second round of her French Open debut. Also, she faced a first-round defeat in her first-ever Wimbledon run.

Venus Williams against Amy Frazer in 1995.
Venus Williams against Amy Frazer in 1995.

Notably, her first US Open journey took her to the finals against Martina Hinings.

The defeat in the final made her the only woman after Pam Shriver in 1978 to reach the US Open singles final in her debut. She was ranked No. 22 at the end of 1997.

First WTA title

For the first time at the Australian Open in 1998, the Williams sister competed against each other, where Venus came on top.

Later, Venus defeated Joannette Kruger in the IGA Tennis Classic’s final in Oklahoma City to win her first WTA singles title. Again, she won the Lipton International Players Championships in Florida.

Venus Williams at French Open.
Venus Williams at the French Open.

Martina Hingis defeated her at both the Italian Open and French Open in 1998. In the same year, she bagged the Grand Slam Cup title in Munich.

Besides, the Venus and Justin Gimelstob pair won the mixed doubles titles at both the Australian Open and the French Open.

Similarly, the Williams sisters won the WTA doubles titles in Oklahoma City and Zurich.

First Grand Slam doubles

In 1999, Venus defended her titles in Oklahoma City and Key Biscayne. Her first title at clay came at the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg.

Similarly, she conquered the Italian Open that year, defeating Mary Pierce in the final.

Again, the Williams sister came victorious at the 1999 French Open doubles. Venus also poached the Pilot Pen Tennis in Connecticut the same year.

Start of the Williams sister era

In 2000, Venus won the Wimbledon singles, which was her first Grand Slam singles title. Besides, she paired with her sister to win the double titles, too, there.

The-Williams-sister
The Williams sister, Venus, and Serena, with their father

Again, she continued her glorious run to lift the 2000 US Open, defeating Davenport in the final.

Going on, she earned a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics against Elena Dementieva in the final.

In 2001, she and her sister appeared in the Tennis Masters Series for the last time in 14 years. After that, she clinched the Miami Open in Florida.

In the same year, she defeated her Wimbledon title. Similarly, she poached the US Open title for a consecutive year.

No. 1 WTA Player

In early 2002, Venus won both the Mondial Australian Women’s Hardcourts and the Open Gaz de France.

Accordingly, she saw herself at the No. 1 position in WTA singles in February 2002.

However, her sister Serena defeated her at the French Open, US Open, and Wimbledon finals in 2002. As a result, she lost her No. 1 rank to Serena.

In 2004, she won the title at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston. However, she suffered early exits at Wimbledon, Athens Olympics, and the US Open.

Besides, Maria Sharapova defeated her at the Zurich Open. Later, she conquered the 2015 Wimbledon title. A wrist injury stopped her from competing at the US Open and later tournaments in 2006.

Return after a long inconsistency

After having considerable depletion in form for two years, Venus won the Cellular South Cup in 2007. In the same year, she won her fourth Wimbledon title.

Moreover, she defended the title next year, too, against her sister. The two partnered to lift the Grand Slam titles in the same competition in 2008. Again, the duo won the gold at Beijing Olympics in women’s doubles.

Williams
Venus Williams in a WTA tournament

In 2008, she won the WTA Tour Championships for the first time in her career. Next season, the Williams sister again snatch a victory at the 2009 Australian Open doubles.

Then, she went on to lift the Dubai Tennis Championships. She won the 2009 Wimbledon doubles title with Serena after losing against her in the singles final.

No. 1 in doubles and Injuries

In 2010 too, the Williams sisters turned victorious at the Madrid Open doubles. Similarly, their win at the French Open doubles final resulted in the No. 1 rank in doubles. Venus faced a hip muscle injury at the 2011 Australian Open.

Consequently, she withdrew from all the matches until 2011, Aegon International. Also, her match against Sabine Lisicki at the US Open was canceled as she suffered an autoimmune disease.

In 2012, the Wimbledon doubles titles came to the Williams sisters for the fifth time.

Similarly, they went on to receive the gold medal in women’s doubles at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Defeating Monica Niculescu, Venus snatched the 2012 BGL Luxembourg Open title.

Injuries and Improvements

During the 2013 Sony Open Tennis, Venus suffered a lower back injury. Also, she had early exits in competitions, including the French Open and the US Open.

Eventually, she could only win a title in 2014 at the Dubai Tennis Championships. She lost against Eugenie Bouchard at clay.

In 2015, she beat Caroline Wozniacki at the ASB Classic to win the title. Later, Venus claimed the Wuhan Open title beating Johanna Konta and Julia Georges on the way.

Similarly, the next title to come to her shelf was the WTA Elite Trophy by defeating Karolina Pliskova.

Regaining success at Wimbledon

In 2016, Venus lifted the Taiwan Open, the 49th title of her career. Later, she returned to the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells after 15 years.

After a long time, she regained her spot on the top 10 list. At Wimbledon, she made it to the quarterfinals after six years but lost to Angelique Kerber. Also, she won silver at the 2016 Olympics in mixed doubles.

Venus
Venus, playing tennis 

Venus lost to her sister at the 2017 Australian Open final. Later, the same year, she reached Wimbledon’s final to lose against Garbine Murguruza in straight sets. Furthermore, she lost in the finals of the 2017 WTA Finals.

Inconsistency

In 2018, Venus suffered early defeats at the Indian Wells Masters, Madrid Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. Belinda Belic defeated her in the Australian Open. 

Due to physical issues, she quitted the Wuhan Open and the China Open, and the Luxembourg Open. Also, she was unseeded at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Wimbledon in 2019.

Ashleigh Barty defeated her at the 2019 Nature Valley Classic. In 2020 too, she had to taste bitter first-round defeats at the Australian Open and the US Open.

This year she has had only a single match win which came at the 2020 Top Seed Open. She is currently at the 78th position in the WTA singles rankings.

Williams last played singles in Chicago on Aug. 23, 2021, when she lost to Su-Wei Hseih. Williams competed in mixed doubles with Jamie Murray at Wimbledon.

On August 1st, 2022, Williams was defeated in three sets by qualifier Rebecca Marino at the WTA tournament in Washington in her first singles match in over a year.

Venus Williams – Career Statistics

Williams is indeed one of the best tennis players in the world. She had an amazing tennis career with extraordinary records. You can see her career statistics on the website of Venus Williams – WTA Tennis.

Venus Williams – Awards and Titles

One of the most dominant players over two decades, Venus Williams, has achieved a lot that most of the others could only dream of.

She has bagged seven Grand Slam titles in her career in singles and 14 in doubles. Also, she has two Grand Slam titles in mixed doubles.

Meanwhile, she has five King Trophies and four with the Washington Kastles in World Team Tennis.

Notably, Venus has earned four Olympic gold medals. The WTA Newcomer of the Year 1997 has received the Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award three times.

Also, she was the Sports Illustrated Women’s Sportswoman of the Year 2000. Similarly, she was honored with the 2001 EMMA Best Sports Personality award.

Forbes The Celebrity 100 has featured her ten times till now. Besides, ESPN had honored her with WTA Player of the Year in 2007.

Notably, she was recognized with the President’s Award at the 34th NAACP Image Awards. Moreover, TIME Magazine included her in the 30 Legends of Women’s Tennis.

Read this article on Venus Williams – USA Today to know more about William’s achievements.

Venus Williams – Legacy

The Williams sister, Venus and Selena has a legacy that the tennis universe will never forget.

Venus Williams, the recipient of two Olympic gold medals, seven grand slams, and 41 WTA tour titles, is one of the best ever. She turned professional at the early age of 14 and never turned back until her retirement.

Venus
Venus Williams

She fought with the gender wage gap, racism, a life-threatening disease, and the scars that life threw at times. She recalls being the only player with her skin color, style, and background when she first started.

When she became the World’s No. 1, she was also the first black American woman to have received that feat. 

She was also the rock behind another World’s No. 1, Serena Williams as the big sister, double partner, and competitor. 

“Close your eyes. No peeking. Now, I would like you to imagine being a young girl growing up with dreams of being an athlete, a scientist, an artist, and president of the United States.”

She added, “And then, one day, somebody tells you that you can’t be that, you can’t reach the same level as a boy who has worked as hard as you, do as well as you. You’re told that there’s a limit. There’s a limit to what you can achieve because of your gender.”  

This is what Venus told at the annual meeting of the Grand Slam committee in the presence of representatives from the four Grand Slam events plus the ATP and WTA. She spoke in order to end the gender pay gap. 

However, her concern was not addressed until she wrote an editorial for The Times on June 26, 2006.

More

Venus suffered from the autoimmune, fatigue-inducing illness Sjogren’s Syndrome in 2011. It changed everything in her life, from her way of living to the performances in the game.

Nonetheless, she still came out as a winner, this time not with titles but because of strong willpower and determination.

venus-when-young
A picture of young Venus Williams

Venus Williams leaves a legacy for every other person that wants to shine in the circumstances. Her tennis victories are supremely astounding, and her victories over difficult circumstances are equally notable.

Williams is indeed an icon who has placed the benchmark high not just in the game of tennis but also in the game called life.

Venus Williams – Quotes (Zitate)

Williams is indeed a woman of vision and power. She has inspired many with her outstanding life takes. Here are some of her popular quotes:

  • I don’t focus on what I’m up against. I focus on my goals, and I try to ignore the rest.

  • You have to let the fear go. Another lesson is you just have to believe in yourself; you just have to. There’s no way around it. No matter how things are stacked against you, you just have to every time.

  • Some people say I have attitude – maybe I do… but I think you have to. You have to believe in yourself when no one else does – that makes you a winner right there.

  • I’ve always found the rain very calming.

  • My ambition is to enjoy my life and to do exactly what I want to do. And I’ll do that. I will be free.
  • If the sun comes up, I have a chance.
  • Life is challenging, but I’m always up for a challenge.

Venus Williams – Net Worth and Salary

Being one of the best players in a particular sport for more than two decades will certainly bring you an adequate sum of fortunes.

Accordingly, Venus Williams has earned $41.89 million till now as prize money only. As a result, she is the second highest-earning WTA player ever, only behind her sister Serena.

Venus Williams has a net worth of $95 million as of 2024.

Venus currently earns around $10.5 million from salaries, match-winning prizes, and endorsement deals. She is the Chief Sporting Officer of the brand Aston Martin.

Also, she endorses Nike, Wilson, Gatorade, Pepsi, Beats headphones, IBM, Intel, and many other top brands. Also, she has owned a small stake in the NFL team, the Miami Dolphins.

As of now, she resides at her waterfront beach worth $10 million in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

Besides, she has a private cottage for her sister on Jupiter Island, Florida. Similarly, she is involved in numerous philanthropic works involving a lot of charities.

Venus Williams – Relationships

With great success and fortunes, many will be attracted to you. But Venus regards trust as the key factor for a healthy relationship.

The seven-time Grand Slam winner was dating Nicholas Hammond until December 2019. According to sources, the two have been in a relationship for two years.

Nicholas, a financer, was spotted cheering her in her tournaments.

Venus-and-nic
Venus and Nicholas

Earlier, she dated Elio Pis back in 2012. She had affairs with the Cuban model until 2015.

Prior to that, she was in a serious relationship with Hank Kuehne for three years until 2010. Hank is an American professional golfer who was present at Venus’s 2007 Wimbledon matches.

Currently, as of 2021, she is single and is focused on making a sweet end to her career. Besides, she denied all the claims of her possible marriage. Moreover, she has not had kids until now.

Venus Williams – Business

Williams is a successful businesswoman. She is great on the tennis court and equally determined in the outside world as well.

She serves as the chief executive officer of her interior design company named V Starr Interiors. Similarly, she owns a fashion athletic apparel line, EleVen, which she operates through and sells from Gilte Groupe.

Other endorsement partners for her business include Wilson, Ralph Lauren, Tide, Electronic Arts, and Kraft.

Venus, along with her sister Serena is also the part-owner of the Miami Dolphins of NFL. The sisters-duo purchased a minority stake in 2009. Similarly, the duo has invested in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), mixed martial art (MMA) company.

Venus Williams – Social Media Presence

Venus is undoubtedly one of the most inspirational tennis players ever and one of the best among women players. Many athletes take inspiration from her and consider her their idol.

Accordingly, she has got a lot of influence on social media. She currently uses Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as her social media handles.

Facebook: 3 Million followers

Twitter: 1.7 Million followers

Instagram: 1.7 Million followers

Common Queries about Venus Williams

Did Venus Williams retire?

Venus Williams is still shining in the court despite her recent losses. She believes that she still has a lot of tasks to accomplish on the pitch. It seems that she is not going to quit any soon.

Does Venus Williams have a daughter?

Venus Williams does not have any children till now. She is an aunt to Serana Williams’ daughter, Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr., whom she loves dearly.

Is Venus retired?

Venus Williams, who is presently ranked 466th in the WTA singles rankings, has stated unequivocally that she would continue her professional tennis career, but the tennis icon has been tight-lipped about her future plans.

Aaditya Bhatta
Aaditya Bhatta

Aaditya Bhatta

Aaditya Bhatta is a dynamic writer and sports enthusiast, whose passion for both realms is reflected in his work. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for storytelling, Aaditya brings a unique perspective to his writing, captivating readers with his engaging content.

Expertise:

Sports Analysis Content Creation

Highlights

  • Aaditya has consistently delivered insightful analysis and captivating content across various platforms.
  • From in-depth match reports to thought-provoking opinion pieces, Aaditya's versatility shines through in his ability to tackle diverse topics

Experience

Aaditya's journey as a writer and sports aficionado began at a young age when he discovered his passion for both pursuits. Throughout his academic and professional endeavors, Aaditya has honed his skills in content creation and sports analysis, immersing himself in the intricacies of the games he loves.

Related articles

Comments

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share article

Latest News