Venus Williams was unbeaten in juniors when her father pulled her out
At eleven, Venus Williams had a 63-0 record on the American junior circuit and was the top under-12 player in Southern California. Her father then stopped entering her in junior events, wanting her to slow down and concentrate on school. She next played competitive matches as a professional at 14, and nearly beat the world number two.
Richard Williams planned his daughters' careers deliberately. He moved the family to Compton when Venus was three, over his wife's objections, believing its rough streets would toughen the girls. When she was eleven they relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida, so Venus and Serena could train at Rick Macci's academy, until Richard took over all coaching himself in 1995. He also reportedly heard other parents disparaging his daughters at tournaments, another reason to keep them away from junior events.
Venus turned professional on October 31, 1994. In her first event, in Oakland, she led Arantxa Sánchez Vicario by a set and a break before losing. At 17 she reached the 1997 US Open final on her debut there, losing to Martina Hingis. In 1998 she won her first singles title in Oklahoma City, and the sisters met as professionals for the first time at that year's Australian Open.
Her peak years brought a rush of trophies. She won Wimbledon and the US Open in both 2000 and 2001, took Olympic singles gold in Sydney, and on February 25, 2002, became the first African-American woman to reach world number one in the Open era, and the second ever after Althea Gibson. Injuries later slowed her, but she won Wimbledon again in 2007 and 2008 and reached two major finals in 2017.
With Serena she formed a doubles partnership that never lost a major final, winning 14 of them plus Olympic golds in 2000, 2008 and 2012. Counting two mixed doubles crowns, Venus holds 23 major titles. The sisters are credited with bringing a new era of power and athleticism to women's tennis, and her career prize money exceeds 42 million dollars.
Source: Venus Williams
