Published Sun, Jul 04 10 12:18 PM
REUTERS - Factbox on American Serena Williams, who won her 13th grand slam singles title at Wimbledon on Saturday with a 6-3 6-2 win over Russia's Vera Zvonareva.
* Born in Saginaw, Michigan on Sept. 26, 1981.
* Turned professional in September 1995.
13 GRAND SLAM SINGLES TITLES
* U.S. Open 1999, 2002, 2008; French Open 2002; Wimbledon 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010; Australian Open 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010.
* Williams is sixth on the list of female grand slam title winners.
* Is one of only five women, after Maureen Connolly, Margaret Court, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf, to hold all four grand slam titles at same time. The non-calendar year achievement in 2002-03 was dubbed the 'Serena Slam'. She beat sister Venus in each of the four finals.
* She also owns 12 women's grand slam doubles titles with sister Venus.
OTHER CAREER MILESTONES
* In 1997 became lowest-ranked player to defeat two top-10 players in one tournament, number seven Mary Pierce and number four Monica Seles, after entering Chicago event as a 304th-ranked wildcard.
* Won 1999 Paris Indoors on same day that Venus triumphed at Oklahoma City. The Williams duo became the first sisters in professional tennis to win singles titles in the same week.
* Broke into top-10 for first time in April 1999, ranked ninth.
* Lost 2001 U.S. Open final to Venus. Flushing Meadow final was first meeting between sisters in a grand slam title decider since Maud Watson beat Lilian at Wimbledon in 1884.
* Took over from Venus as world number one in July 2002 after winning first Wimbledon title.
* In 2007 became only the second unseeded female to win the Australian Open in the professional era after Chris O'Neill achieved the feat in 1978. Ranked 81st in the world, she defeated top seed Maria Sharapova in the final.
* Set a single-season prize money record on the women's tour with earnings of $6,545,586 in 2009.
PERSONAL HEARTACHE AND CONTROVERSIES
* Has boycotted high-profile Indian Wells tournament since winning the title in 2001. Serena had to overcome a hostile crowd to beat Belgium's Kim Clijsters in the final, being jeered by fans who were upset Venus had withdrawn from semi-final against her younger sister two days earlier. Ever since the siblings have had to quell media speculation the move was hatched by their father and coach, Richard.
* Her sister Yetunde Price was killed in a shooting incident in Los Angeles in 2003.
* Lost controversial quarter-final to fellow American Jennifer Capriati at the 2004 U.S. Open after being upset by a series of line calls which TV replays showed were wrong. Incident sets wheels in motion for instant replay technology to be introduced.
FOUL-MOUTHED TIRADE
* Williams launched an expletive-laced rant at an official who called her for a foot-fault in 2009 U.S. Open semi-final against eventual champion Kim Clijsters.
* Organisers fined her $10,500, the biggest given to a female player since records began in 1990, at the end of the tournament for her unsportsmanlike behaviour.
* On top of fine of $175,000, which includes the smaller fine she received at the time, the Grand Slam Committee says on Nov. 30 that any further major offence at a grand slam in the next two years would see her suspended from the U.S. Open in 2010, 2011 or 2012.
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