Serena Williams: International Tennis Hall of Fame Player Nomination Form
Submitted by: Ahmed Olayinka Sule
Candidate’s Name: Serena Williams
Date of Birth: 26 September 1981
Place of Birth: Saginaw, Michigan
Citizenship: USA
Nominator’s Name: Ahmed Sule
In 300 words or less, please tell us why you believe this candidate to be deserving of induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Serena Williams is the greatest tennis player of all time. She changed the game of tennis. Besides her exploits on court, she impacted tennis by broadening the appeal of tennis to a black audience, inspiring a new generation of female black tennis players, and boosting tennis ratings and popularity.
Briefly describe ways in which the nominee has demonstrated integrity, sportsmanship, and positive character attributes.
Serena Williams’ tennis was characterised by integrity, sportsmanship and positive character attributes. The tennis world is currently witnessing a situation where some of its most prominent faces have been caught doping and banned as a result. Serena Williams demonstrated integrity by refusing to dope to gain a competitive advantage over her opponents. Rather than doping, she worked hard to reach the tennis world’s summit.
She has also demonstrated sportsmanship by being gracious in defeat. At press conferences following a defeat, Serena quickly gives her opponents their flowers and acknowledges that they played better. There have been situations during matches where she applauds her opponent by clapping her racquet if they get a well-constructed point against her. For instance, when she played Caroline Wozniacki at the 2014 US Open, she applauded the point after Wozniacki hit a cross-court backhand winner past Serena.
I witnessed another example of Serena Williams’ sportsmanship when I was in New York for the 2018 US Open final. The crowd began jeering during the victory ceremony following Serena Williams’ loss to Naomi Osaka under controversial circumstances. Osaka was visibly upset at the jeers, and Serena Williams diffused the situation by putting her arms around Osaka and telling the crowd, “I just want to tell you guys she played well, and this is her first Grand Slam… Let’s make this the best moment we can, and we’ll get through it. But let’s give everyone the credit where credit’s due. Let’s not boo anymore.”
Please feel free to include any additional information that you think would be helpful.
The facts speak for themselves- Serena Jameka Williams is the greatest tennis player of all time. Not only did Serena play the game of tennis, but she also completely changed the game of tennis. She made a transcendent impact in the growth and development of the sport, both off and on the court. Her achievements on the court include multiple singles and doubles Grand Slam titles; 4 Olympic Gold medals. She has been a golden tennis ambassador, taking the name of the sport outside of the Centre Courts. She is a five-time winner of the Sportswoman of the Year Laureus World Sports Awards, making her the most successful female athlete of all time.
Her unwavering resilience and tenacity set Serena Williams apart from her peers. From the moment she burst onto the tennis scene when, as a ten-year-old, she was ranked №1 among under-10 players in Florida, she was destined for greatness. Despite facing the headwinds of racism, sexism, ill-health, pregnancy, naysayers, body shaming, hostile crowds, biased officiating, match points, ageing and grief, Williams overcame these obstacles to etch her sculpture into the granite face of tennis Mount Rushmore.
During the 2015 French Open, she suffered a severe bout of the flu from the third round. Despite her sickness, she captured her third French Open title. In 2006, Williams battled depression, which saw her take a six-month break. The following year, an unseeded Williams won the Australian Open. Williams had a near-death experience in March 2011 when she suffered a hematoma and a pulmonary embolism. Within three years after fully recovering, Williams won four Grand Slam singles titles and two Olympic gold medals. Besides defying medicine, she even defied biology when she captured the 2017 Australian Open while she was eight weeks pregnant.
Serena and her sister Venus Williams helped inspire a new generation of female black tennis players to pick up the racquet. Despite tennis being a lily-white sport, it is no longer uncommon to see little black girls practising tennis on the thousands of tennis practice courts worldwide. Some present-day top players like Coco Gauff, Madison Keys, Naomi Osaka, Alycia Parks, Taylor Townsend and Sloane Stephens were inspired by Serena and her sister. Coco Gauff said, “Serena Williams has always been my idol… and Venus. They are the reason why I wanted to pick up a tennis racket. Before Serena came along, there was not really an icon of the sport that looked like me.” Madison Keys said, “Venus & Serena Williams were both huge inspirations for me to play tennis.” Naomi Osaka said, “I’m a product of what she’s done. I wouldn’t be here without Serena, Venus, you know, her whole family.” Taylor Townsend said, “Thank you for inspiring me to see that a dream that felt unimaginable was possible!”
Besides inspiring black ladies, Serena also inspired black male tennis players. Frances Tiafoe once said, “Serena Williams and Venus Williams are why Frances Tiafoe is even a name.” At the 2022 US Open, Frances Tiafoe wore a Serena Williams GOAT hoodie, and after he defeated Rafa Nadal, he said, “She’s definitely the reason why I think I can do the things that I’m doing. Like when I was younger, the reason I said to my dad that I can be a professional tennis player is seeing her and Venus battle each other. Two people who look like me, and I can go and do that, it’s unbelievable.”
In addition to inspiring young tennis players, Serena made tennis appealing to a black audience. As black people saw Serena and her sister excel in tennis, they began to attend tennis matches. I am a classic example, as if not for Serena, I doubt if I would have been going to Grand Slam tournaments year over year.
Apart from broadening the appeal of the tennis audience to the black community, Serena Williams’s on-court presence boosted tennis popularity through increased viewership. The 2001 US Open final between Serena Williams and Venus Williams drew a TV audience of 23 million. It was instrumental in the USTA and CBS rescheduling the ladies’ final from an afternoon slot to a night session. ESPN’s coverage of Serena Williams’ farewell tour at the 2022 US Open was the best ESPN tennis telecast on record.
Serena was and is still an advocate for equal rights for women. After she gave birth to her daughter Olympia, she penned an article in which she highlighted how black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes. She called for governments, businesses and health care providers to do more to save lives.
In conclusion, Serena Williams is a champion on and off the court. Her achievements are plain to see. She has given her body, mind and soul to tennis. Her place in history is assured. I hereby nominate Serena Jameka William for induction and urge the International Tennis Hall of Fame to do the needful and induct her into the Tennis Hall of Fame.
Briefly summarise the nominee’s tennis record. The ITHF will carefully research and prepare a comprehensive tennis record on every nominee, so you don’t need to detail their career specifically here, but please list notable highlights.
Serena’s notable highlights are so many. These include, but are not limited to:
23 Grand Slam singles titles.
14 Grand Slam Doubles titles.
Most single titles in the Open Era.
Highest earning female athlete of all time in terms of prize money across all sports.
Record for the most women’s singles matches won at majors.
The only tennis player, male or female, to win three of the four Grand Slams at least 6 times.
The only male or female player to win 10+ Grand Slam singles titles in two decades.
The only player to have won three Grand Slam singles titles after saving match points.
The longest span between the first and last Wimbledon, French Open, Australian Open and US Open titles.
The oldest player to hold all Grand Slam singles titles simultaneously.
The most major titles (6) were won without dropping a set in the Open Era.
The only male or female player to accomplish a Career Golden Slam in both singles and doubles.
The first athlete to be placed on Forbes’ list of richest self-made women in America.
The record of losing the fewest games in history en route to winning the Olympic gold (17 games).
The oldest female player to win a Grand Slam singles title at 35 years, 4 months and 2 days.
The record for the longest time between first ascending to №1 (8 July 2002) and last holding the №1 position (14 May 2017) — 14 years, 10 months and 6 days.
The record for winning percentage of 82.86% at Year-End Championships.
The only female in history to win all four Grand Slams at age 30 or older.
Highest Ranking — Singles: Number 1
Highest Ranking — Doubles: Number 1
Please list any notable honours, awards, and affiliations of the nominee.
2015 Sportsperson of the Year by Sports Illustrated
Associated Press Female Athlete of the Decade for the 2010s
WTA Player of the Year 2002, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015
Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame
2003 NAACP Image Award — President’s Award
