When Serena Williams played her debut game, nobody would have predicted her success. Despite she has an above-average physique for female tennis players, her talent to play the game was unquestionable. Now, for the 2022 US Open, Serena will close out her 27-year tennis career.
In that period of time, the 40-year-old player, has won seven times both the Australian Open, and the Wimbledon Championships, six times the US Open tournament, and three times the French Open. All of these titles won, make her the player to have won more titles in the Open Era.
But there's always another side to the success. When Serena Williams started at the pro tennis level, she had to fight for her right to be among the top talents. Check out when she played her first pro match, and when she started playing tennis.
When did Serena Williams start playing tennis?
Serena Williams was born in Michigan, but when she was little her father Richard Williams took her family to Compton, California. There, Serena's father taught her and her sister Venus how to play tennis. In fact, he stated he wrote a 78-page book to teach her daughters how to play tennis since the age of four.
He also said the perfect age to start teaching a kid how to play tennis is six. However, shortly after Serena started to play tennis, the family moved to Florida. There both Williams's sisters attended the Rick Macci's tennis academy, who provided her with additional coaching.
Serena Williams' first pro match
When Serena Williams was a 14-year-old young tennis player, she thought she could handle the pro tennis level. Her parents thought otherwise. In fact, Williams planned to make her professional debut as a wild-card entry in the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, California, but was denied by the WTA.
Months after this denied-entry, Williams finally played her first pro tennis match. It was in October 1995 at the Bell Challenge in Quebec. In fact, she lost in the first qualifying round to 18-year-old American Annie Miller.
Two years after that, Williams picked up two consecutive wins to No. 7 Mary Pierce, and No. 4 Monica Seles. Then, she became the lowest-ranked player in the Open Era to defeat two top-10 opponents in one tournament at the Ameritech Cup Chicago.
