The 21st century
United States · born Lynwood, California, 1980 · five times Wimbledon champion
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5
Wimbledon singles titles, 2000 to 2008
9
Wimbledon singles finals, 2000 to 2017
6
Wimbledon doubles titles with Serena Williams
2h 45m
2005 final, the longest women's final at Wimbledon
37
Her age at the 2017 Wimbledon final
Born in Lynwood, California, in 1980, Williams won seven major singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open, and first reached world No. 1 in February 2002. She has won 49 singles titles and, with her sister Serena, 14 major doubles titles, and she took Olympic gold in singles at Sydney in 2000 and in doubles with Serena in 2000, 2008 and 2012. Her campaign for equal prize money helped bring it to Wimbledon in 2007, and that year she became the first women's champion paid the same as the men's. She reached her ninth Wimbledon singles final in 2017, aged 37. In 2026, aged 46, she returned to Wimbledon for the first time since 2023 and lost in the first round of the mixed doubles with Kevin Krawietz, 6-4, 6-4.
| Major singles titles | 5: Wimbledon (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 4: Wimbledon 2002, Wimbledon 2003, Wimbledon 2009, Wimbledon 2017 |
| Major doubles titles | 6 doubles (Wimbledon 6) |
| Wimbledon finals won | 2000: beat Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-6. 2001: beat Justine Henin 6-1, 3-6, 6-0. 2005: beat Davenport 4-6, 7-6, 9-7. 2007: beat Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-1. 2008: beat Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 |
| Wimbledon finals lost | 2002, 2003 and 2009 to Serena Williams; 2017 to Garbiñe Muguruza 7-5, 6-0 |
| Wimbledon doubles | 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2016, all with Serena Williams |
| Olympic doubles 2012 | Gold at the All England Club with Serena Williams, beating Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká 6-4, 6-4 in the final |
| Wimbledon 2026 | Mixed doubles first round with Kevin Krawietz, lost to Lloyd Glasspool and Tereza Mihalíková 6-4, 6-4; the women's doubles with Serena was not played after Serena injured a knee |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Women's doubles | with Serena Williams |
| 2000 | Women's singles | |
| 2001 | Women's singles | |
| 2002 | Women's doubles | with Serena Williams |
| 2005 | Women's singles | |
| 2007 | Women's singles | |
| 2008 | Women's doubles | with Serena Williams |
| 2008 | Women's singles | |
| 2009 | Women's doubles | with Serena Williams |
| 2012 | Women's doubles | with Serena Williams |
| 2016 | Women's doubles | with Serena Williams |
| Olympic Games | ||
| 2012 | Women's doubles | with Serena Williams |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"I was the 14th seed; I wasn't supposed to win. But I always bet on myself."
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 2004
In a second-set tiebreak against Karolina Šprem, the umpire, Ted Watts, announced 2-2 when a line judge had called a fault, giving Šprem a point she had not won. Nobody challenged it, and Šprem won 7-6, 7-6. Williams would not blame him: "I don't think one call makes a match," she said. "I don't question a lot of calls."
Source: The Irish TimesWimbledon 2005
On the eve of the final against Lindsay Davenport, Williams went before the Grand Slam committee to argue that women should be paid the same as men. The next day she won the longest women's final in Wimbledon history. That year the men's champion received £630,000 and the women's champion £600,000.
Source: Tennis.comThe Times · 2006
When nothing had changed a year later, she set out her case in The Times. "The message I like to convey to women and girls across the globe is that there is no glass ceiling," she wrote. "My fear is that Wimbledon is loudly and clearly sending the opposite message." In February 2007 the club announced equal prize money.
Source: Tennis.comWimbledon 2007
Seeded 23rd, she beat Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-1 in the final and became the first woman to take home a winner's cheque the same size as the men's, £700,000. Roger Federer collected the same amount the following day. Two years earlier the gap between the two champions had been £30,000.
Source: Tennis.comAll England Club 2012
With Wimbledon's courts used for the London Olympics, she and Serena won the doubles final 6-4, 6-4 against Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká, a repeat of that summer's Wimbledon final. It was the fourth Olympic tennis gold for each sister, a record.
Source: Fox NewsWimbledon 2026
Three years after her last Wimbledon, she returned on a wild card in the mixed doubles with Kevin Krawietz and played on Court 14. "At this age, it's great that she's still playing at this level and wants to play and enjoy the sport," Krawietz said. They lost 6-4, 6-4 to the seventh seeds.
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