Venus Ebony Starr Williams(born June 17, 1980), is an American professional tennis player who is a former World No. 1 and is ranked World No. 53 as of May 28, 2012 in singles. She has been ranked World No. 1 in singles by the Women’s Tennis Association on three separate occasions. She became the World No. 1 for the first time on February 25, 2002, becoming the first black woman to achieve this feat during the Open Era.
Her 21 Grand Slam titles ties her for twelfth on the all-time list and is more than any other active female player except for her younger sister Serena Williams. Venus Williams’ titles consist of: seven in singles, twelve in women’s doubles, and two in mixed doubles.
Williams has won three Olympic gold medals, one in singles and two in women’s doubles. She has won more Olympic gold medals than any other female tennis player. With 43 career singles titles, Williams leads active players on the WTA Tour. She is one of only two active WTA players to have made the finals of all four Grand Slams, the other player being her sister Serena Williams.
