Serena Williams Trivia Questions

She won the French Open on clay three times (2002, 2013, 2015). Clay is her least successful surface, but she has definitely won on it.

Her career prize money exceeds $94 million, the most for any female athlete. This includes endorsements and bonuses.

She endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020, and has been vocal on issues like equal pay and racial justice.

She won the 1999 US Open at 17, defeating Martina Hingis in the final. It was her first of 23 major singles titles.

She won Wimbledon (grass), the French Open (clay), and the Australian/US Opens (hard)—a rare career surface slam.

Her career prize money exceeds $94 million, the highest for any female athlete across all sports.

False: Serena has won three French Open titles (2002, 2013, 2015), all on clay. She is one of the few players to win majors on all three surfaces.

She has come back to win after losing the first set many times, including in Grand Slam finals.

While she leads the WTA with over 400 aces, male players like John Isner and Ivo Karlovic have thousands more.

She won singles gold in 2012 and doubles gold with Venus in 2000, 2008, and 2012.

Serena has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, but Margaret Court holds the all-time record with 24. Many assume Serena is number one, but Court still leads.

Serena began playing tennis at age three on public courts in Compton. Her father taught her and Venus, and she was already competing by age four.

False: Serena has 23 Grand Slam singles titles, but Novak Djokovic holds the Open Era men's record with 24. She is second overall among all players.

She won the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant with her daughter Olympia. She didn't know she was pregnant until after the tournament.

True: She won the 1999 US Open at age 17, defeating Martina Hingis in the final. It was her first major singles title and launched her legendary career.

True: She won the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant. She defeated her sister Venus in the final, then announced her pregnancy shortly after.

She has 23 singles titles—one more than Rafael Nadal's 22 and tied with Steffi Graf's Open Era record.

She turned pro in 1995 at age 14, playing her first WTA match at the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, California.

She won the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant, defeating her sister Venus in the final. She announced the pregnancy after the win.

In 81 Grand Slam appearances, she never lost in the first round—an unmatched record of consistency.

Phelps has 23 Olympic golds; Serena has 4 (singles and doubles). She is not close to his total.

Margaret Court holds the record with 24 Grand Slam singles titles; Serena has 23, making her second in the Open Era but not all-time.

She had 319 total weeks at No. 1, but not consecutive. Her longest streak was 186 weeks (2013–2016). Steffi Graf holds the consecutive record at 186 weeks.

Margaret Court holds the all-time record with 24 Grand Slam singles titles. Serena has 23, placing her second in the Open Era behind Court's total.

Her winning percentage on grass is about 86%—higher than on hard or clay. She won Wimbledon seven times, including her final title at age 33.

She lost the 2018 Wimbledon final to Angelique Kerber, who was ranked 11th at the time.

In 2011, she was hospitalized for a pulmonary embolism and a hematoma, yet returned to win Wimbledon and Olympic gold in 2012.

Venus beat Serena in the 2001 US Open final and the 2008 Wimbledon final. Serena leads 9-3 in major finals overall.

She spent 319 weeks at No. 1, tied for fifth all-time. Only Graf, Navratilova, Evert, and Hingis rank higher.

Venus actually beat Serena in the 2001 US Open final and the 2008 Wimbledon final, among others.

She won four Olympic gold medals: singles in 2012, and doubles with Venus in 2000, 2008, and 2012.

She won the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant, defeating her sister Venus in the final. She announced her pregnancy after the tournament.

She played her last match at the 2022 US Open, losing in the third round—she didn't win her final match.

She lost in the first round of Wimbledon in 2011 and the US Open in 2020.

She is a minority owner of the Miami Dolphins, but the team is primarily owned by Stephen Ross.

After her daughter's birth in 2017, she suffered a pulmonary embolism and several other complications, requiring emergency surgery.

Serena has beaten Venus in nine Grand Slam finals, including the 2002 French Open and 2017 Australian Open.

She won Olympic singles gold in 2012, but lost in the first round in 2016. Her Olympic record is 1 gold medal in singles.

Many players have done this, including Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert, and Roger Federer. Serena won in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and even 2020s (2020 US Open).

She won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant with her daughter Olympia. She announced her pregnancy after the win.

Margaret Court holds the record with 24 Grand Slam singles titles; Serena has 23. Novak Djokovic leads the men with 24.

She won the 2017 Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant, defeating her sister Venus in the final. She didn't know she was pregnant until after the tournament.

She was ranked world No. 1 in doubles for 27 weeks in 2010, alongside her sister Venus. They dominated doubles, winning 14 Grand Slam titles together.

She holds the record for most Grand Slam singles main draw appearances by a woman, with over 80 entries, surpassing Martina Navratilova.

She won the 2017 Australian Open at 8 weeks pregnant—she didn't know until after the tournament.

She is known for her powerful serve; in most wins she hits many aces—this scenario is extremely rare for her.

She won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant, but her first Grand Slam was the 1999 US Open—18 years earlier.

Serena leads their head-to-head 19-12, a 61.3% win rate—surprising given Venus's own legendary status.

She staged many comebacks, but never from 5-0 down in a final set at a major. That would be a record.

She lost to Virginie Razzano (ranked 111th) in the first round of the 2012 French Open, one of the biggest upsets in tennis history.

In her entire career, Serena never lost in the first round of the US Open, a streak spanning 21 appearances from 1998 to 2022.

In the 2018 French Open first round, she defeated Kristýna Plíšková without a single ace, relying on groundstrokes and return winners instead.

Venus beat Serena in the 2001 US Open final. Serena leads their head-to-head in Grand Slam finals 5-1, but Venus did win that one.

She has four Olympic gold medals—three in women's doubles with Venus (2000, 2008, 2012) and one in singles (2012). That's the most for any tennis player.

At the 2012 US Open, she saved match points against Victoria Azarenka in the final, coming back from a set and a break down to win 7-5 in the third.

She was ranked world number one in doubles for eight weeks in 2010. Though known for singles, she and Venus dominated doubles, winning 14 Grand Slam titles together.

All Grand Slams are played on hard, clay, or grass. Carpet courts were used in the past but Serena never won a major on them.

Steffi Graf holds the record with 377 weeks; Serena Williams had 319 weeks at No. 1.

She lost in the first round of the 2012 French Open to Virginie Razzano, a major early upset.

She suffered a life-threatening pulmonary embolism in 2011 but came back to win the 2012 Wimbledon singles title.

She won the 2007 Australian Open as the world No. 81, but players like Kim Clijsters and others have done it too.

She and Venus became the world No. 1 doubles team in 2002, before Serena first became singles No. 1 later that year.

She won the 2007 Australian Open seeded 81st after a long injury layoff. This is one of the most famous comeback wins in tennis.

She has lost several finals after winning the first set, including the 2018 Wimbledon final against Angelique Kerber and the 2021 Australian Open final.

She has four Olympic gold medals (three in doubles with Venus, one in singles), tying with Venus for the most gold medals in tennis history.

She finished the year as world No. 1 five times (2002, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015). This is a plausible myth because her ranking varied so much.

Her Grand Slam match win percentage is around 86.7%, one of the highest in tennis history, though many assume it's lower due to her late-career losses.

False: Serena has lost several Grand Slam matches after winning the first set, including the 2018 Wimbledon final to Angelique Kerber and the 2021 Australian Open semifinal to Naomi Osaka.

False: Serena reached world number 1 in doubles in June 2010, alongside her sister Venus. She has also won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles, all with Venus.

In the 2012 Wimbledon final against Agnieszka Radwańska, she hit 10 double faults but still won in straight sets thanks to her powerful groundstrokes.

She won two mixed doubles Grand Slams: Wimbledon in 1998 with Max Mirnyi and the 1998 US Open with Patrick Galbraith.

She has four Olympic golds (three in doubles, one in singles). However, Venus Williams has five total, including mixed doubles.

Venus beat Serena in the 2001 US Open final. Serena leads their Grand Slam final head-to-head 7–2, but Venus has at least one win.