Photo Credit: Getty Images
The U.S. Open kicks off the week and with another week brings another female to spotlight in the sports world. In honor of the U.S. Open, the perfect choice is, of course, Serena Williams. Williams will start her U.S. Open appearance on Monday at 7:00 PM and she will be playing against Russian tennis player, Vitalia Diatchenko.
The world of tennis has never been the same since Serena Williams came on the scene with sister Venus. Right now, she is clearly the number one in the women’s singles tennis, which she has been named SIX different times in her career! If that isn’t enough, Williams also has an Olympic gold medal from 2012, 21 Grand Slam titles and she’s hoping to add another grand slam title from the 2015 U.S. Open. In 2015, her record is 48-2 which is something that isn’t really emphasized, but should be. Williams has been a pro since 1995 when she was 14 and now in 2015 at age 33, it doesn’t appear that Williams will start slowing down anytime and why would she? Williams basically has the world at her feet and she’s living and breathing proof of her hard work.
While Ronda Rousey is undefeated, Williams shows that she has individual strengths and weaknesses that she still has to improve on which is essential in sports. Williams changed what it meant to be a female athlete and paved the way for athletes like Ronda Rousey and Brittney Griner to name a few. Williams demands respect in a sport that is otherwise ignored and as per usual, is overshadowed by their male counterparts. However, none of that seems to bother Williams and it only makes her more that much more impressive.
One thing that Williams brings to the table that none of her male counterparts really do is that she is an athlete who has voice a celebrity.  Along with her on the court accomplishments, Williams has various awards to her name: WTA Player Of The Year, Best Female Tennis Player ESPY Award, Best Female Athlete ESPY Award and Glamour Magazine Women of the Year Award in 2009 to name a few. In addition to her awards, William has endorsements with companies like Gatorade, Beats by Dre and Nike which also allowed Williams to have her own collection with the brand. The collection is amply titled “The Greatness Collection” and features shoes, tennis dresses and a jacket that includes an original quote from her on the inside.
If tennis and fashion weren’t enough on her resume, Williams and her sister, Venus added sports team owners too. Serena and Venus own a minority share of the Miami Dolphins, making them the first African-American women to hold ownership of any NFL team. This year, she became the first African-American female athlete to pose for the cover of Vogue alone. Williams is also known for her charity work and her writing.
It is tough to compete with Williams with all that she’s accomplished in her illustrious career and her career isn’t even over yet. Williams represents a special type of athlete, male or female who plays as hard on the court as off and she will be known as one of, if not the best female athlete of all time.
