1994 - Made pro debut at Oakland, reaching 2r (as unranked WC, d. Stafford in 1r for first pro match win; l. to world No.2 Sánchez-Vicario 26 63 60, having led 62 31); was only event of season.
1995 - Played three more events as WC, falling 1r at Los Angeles and Toronto but reaching first QF at Oakland (d. No.18 Frazier en route for first Top 20 win).
1996 - Played five more events, falling 1r four times but reaching 3r at Los Angeles (l. to No.1 Graf 64 64).
1997 - Breakthrough season highlighted by sensational run to
US Open final; early results highlighted by QF at Indian Wells (as WC into qualifying, d. No.9 Majoli en route for first Top 10 win; l. to Davenport 64 57 76(1), having led 4-1 third set), 3r at Miami (d. Capriati en route, falling to Hingis; was first time playing both), Grand Slam debuts at
Roland Garros (l. 2r) and
Wimbledon (l. 1r) and making Top 100 debut on April 14 (after Amelia Island; rose from No.102 to No.86); eclipsed that at
US Open, reaching first Grand Slam final (d. No.8 Huber in 3r for second Top 10 win and saved 2mp to beat Spirlea in dramatic 76(5) 46 76(7) SF win; l. to No.1 Hingis in final); at No.66, was lowest-ranked woman to reach a major final since No.68 Jordan won 1979
Australian Open; first woman since 1978 (Shriver) to reach
US Open final on debut and was first unseeded female
US Open finalist since 1958; final between V.Williams (17) and Hingis (16) was also youngest major final in Open Era; made Top 50 debut afterwards on September 8 (rose from No.66 to No.27); in post-US Open play, reached two more QF at Zürich (l. to Davenport) and Moscow (l. to Novotna) and fell 1r at Philadelphia (l. to Spirlea); also played first three doubles events of career (all w/S.Williams).
1998 - Went from outside Top 20 at beginning of season into Top 5 by end of season; won first three Tour singles titles at Oklahoma City (d. Davenport en route), Miami (d. No.1 Hingis in SF and Kournikova in final) and Grand Slam Cup; runner-up four times, in first event of year at Sydney (d. Hingis en route for first win over a reigning No.1; l. to Sánchez-Vicario), Rome (d. S.Williams en route; l. to Hingis) Stanford (d. Seles in their first meeting in SF; l. to Davenport) and Zürich (l. to Davenport); QF or better at all four majors, reached QF at
Australian Open (d. S.Williams and Mauresmo en route, first time playing either; l. to Davenport),
Roland Garros (l. to Hingis) and
Wimbledon (l. to Novotna) and SF at
US Open (l. to Davenport); made Top 20 debut on January 19 (after Sydney; rose from No.21 to No.16), Top 10 debut on March 30 (after Miami; rose from No.11 to No.10) and Top 5 debut on July 27 (rose from No.6 to No.5); served up 127mph ace on mp vs. Pierce in Zürich (would be the fastest serve on Tour for nearly 10 years; surpassed Schultz-McCarthy's previous record of 123mph); won first two doubles titles, at Oklahoma City and Zürich (both w/S.Williams; became third pair of sisters to win a Tour doubles title together); won first two major titles in mixed doubles, at
Australian Open and
Roland Garros (both w/Gimelstob); S.Williams would win
Wimbledon and
US Open (both w/Mirnyi), completing a family mixed doubles Grand Slam; suffered from patella tendonitis in left knee in April, which later forced retirement from San Diego SF (was trailing Pierce 26 76(3) 40; held mp in second set) and withdrawal from Tour Championships.
1999 - Another excellent season, winning six titles, at Oklahoma City, Miami (d. Novotna in QF for first time, then d. Graf in SF and S.Williams in final; were first sisters in history to meet in a Tour singles final), Hamburg, Rome (d. No.1 Hingis in SF), New Haven and Zürich (d. No.1 Hingis in final); runner-up four times, at Hannover (d. Graf in SF for first time; l. to Novotna), Stanford (l. to Davenport), San Diego (d. No.1 Davenport in SF; l. to Hingis) and Grand Slam Cup (d. No.1 Hingis in SF; l. to S.Williams in final, her first loss to her); QF or better at three majors, with QF at
Australian Open (l. to Davenport) and
Wimbledon (l. to Graf) and SF finish at
US Open (l. to Hingis), but 4r loss at
Roland Garros (l. to No.125 qualifier Schwartz 26 76(7) 63; held triple match point leading 62 54); contested first Tour Championships, reaching SF (l. to Hingis); rose from No.5 to No.4 on July 5 (after
Wimbledon) and from No.4 to No.3 on August 30 (after New Haven); with S.Williams winning Paris [Indoors] during her Oklahoma City title run, were first sisters to win singles titles in same week; and with S.Williams cracking Top 10 on April 5, were first sisters to be ranked inside Top 10 at same time since April 22, 1991 (Manuela Maleeva-Fragnière and Katerina Maleeva).
2000 - Missed first four months w/tendonitis in both wrists and struggled upon return, going 6-3 in three clay court events with best run being QF at
Roland Garros (l. to Sánchez-Vicario); but then went on 35-match win streak, winning
Wimbledon (d. No.1 Hingis in QF, S.Williams in SF and Davenport in final; was second African-American woman to win there, after Gibson won in 1957 and 1958), Stanford (d. Davenport in final), San Diego (d. Seles in final), New Haven (d. Seles in final),
US Open (d. No.1 Hingis in SF and Davenport in final) and Olympics (d. Seles in SF and Dementieva in final); win streak snapped in only post-Olympics event played, finishing runner-up at Linz (l. to Davenport); streak remains longest of the millenium; withdrew from Tour Championships w/anemia; won doubles titles at
Wimbledon and Olympics (both w/S.Williams; was only second player ever to win Olympic gold in both singles and doubles, after Wills in 1924).
2001 - Third straight No.3 finish after season highlighted by successfully defending titles at
Wimbledon (d. Davenport in SF and Henin in final) and
US Open (d. Clijsters in QF, Capriati in SF and S.Williams in final; was first time sisters played for a Grand Slam title since the Watson sisters played in the 1884
Wimbledon final); other four titles came at Miami (d. No.1 Hingis in SF then saved 8mp in 46 61 76(4) win over Capriati in final; was third straight title there, having missed 2000 w/injury), Hamburg, San Diego (d. Davenport in SF and Seles in final) and New Haven (d. Henin in QF, Capriati in SF and Davenport in final); in other majors, reached SF at
Australian Open (l. to Hingis) but suffered another shock loss at
Roland Garros, falling 1r (l. to Schett); rose from No.3 to No.2 on April 2 (after Miami); played Henin for first time in Berlin 3r, falling 61 64 (would not lose to her again until 2007, eight matches later); won
Australian Open doubles title (w/S.Williams; completed a career doubles Grand Slam, one of five teams to do so); withdrew prior to Indian Wells SF w/right knee tendonitis, from Moscow and Filderstadt following September 11 terrorist attacks and from Tour Championships w/left wrist injury suffered in practice.
2002 - Finished season No.2 (behind S.Williams), although beat S.Williams to No.1 on February 25 (after Dubai; rose from No.2 to No.1, passing Capriati); would hold the top spot for 11 total weeks (three between February 25 and March 17, four between April 22 and May 19 and four between June 10 and July 7; went back and forth with Capriati until S.Williams took over on July 8); won seven titles in season, at Gold Coast (d. Henin in final), Paris [Indoors], Antwerp (d. Henin in final), Amelia Island (d. Henin 26 75 76(5) in final; trailed 62 40), Stanford (d. Clijsters in final), San Diego (d. Clijsters and Davenport en route) and New Haven (d. Davenport in final; was ninth woman in Open Era to win a title four years running, after Austin, Evert, Goolagong, Graf, Martínez, Navratilova, Seles and Shriver); runner-up four times, most notably at
Roland Garros,
Wimbledon (d. Henin in SF) and
US Open (l. to S.Williams in all three finals);
Roland Garros and
US Open finals were first all-sister finals at those events, and
Wimbledon final was first since Watson sisters played for first title there in 1884; also runner-up at Hamburg (l. to Clijsters); only pre-final Grand Slam loss came at
Australian Open (l. to Seles in QF; had been 6-0 against her beforehand and would be 3-0 against her afterwards); was 10th player (and first African-American) to attain No.1 ranking, and on June 10 were first ever siblings to rank Top 2 at same time (V.Williams No.1, S.Williams No.2); reached SF at Tour Championships (ret. vs. Clijsters w/lower leg strain); withdrew prior to Rome 2r match w/right wrist injury (sustained picking up a bag and aggravated in practice); won
Wimbledon doubles title (w/S.Williams).
2003 - Injury-plagued season resulting in first non-Top 10 finish since 1997; lone title came at Antwerp (d. Clijsters in final); runner-up three times, at
Australian Open (d. Henin in SF; l. to S.Williams in final, their fourth straight Grand Slam final), Warsaw (ret. vs. Mauresmo w/left abdominal muscle injury sustainted while winning first set) and
Wimbledon (d. Davenport and Clijsters in QF and SF en route to fourth straight
Wimbledon final, second only to Navratilova, who reached nine straight; l. to S.Williams); in only other two events played, fell 4r at Miami (l. to Shaughnessy) and
Roland Garros (l. to Zvonareva); left abdominal injury suffered in Warsaw caused withdrawal from Berlin and Rome, and after reaggravating it during
Wimbledon SF withdrew from all events rest of season (incl.
US Open and Tour Championships); having peaked at No.1 during season and left
Wimbledon ranked No.2, dipped out of Top 5 on September 8 (after
US Open) and out of Top 10 on November 10 (falling to No.11), her first time outside Top 10 since first cracking it in March 1998; won
Australian Open doubles title (w/S.Williams).
2004 - Strong return from injury-plagued 2003, finishing in Top 10 at No.9; won two titles, both on clay, at Charleston (d. Martínez in final) and Warsaw (d. Kuznetsova in final) and finished runner-up twice, at Berlin (withdrew prior to final vs. Mauresmo w/left ankle sprain suffered in SF) and Stanford (l. to Davenport); made return to Top 10 on May 8 (first time since November 9, 2003); SF once, at Los Angeles (ret. down 75 20 vs. Davenport w/right wrist sprain suffered in practice; was up 5-0 first set); QF seven times, at Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (withdrew prior to match w/right lower leg muscle strain, causing withdrawal from Antwerp as well), Dubai, Miami,
Roland Garros (l. to Myskina), Moscow, Zürich (d. Ivanovic en route, falling to Sharapova; was first time playing either) and Philadelphia; all four pre-QF exits during season came on big stages, at
Australian Open (l. to Raymond in 3r),
Wimbledon (l. to Sprem in 2r), Olympics (l. to Pierce in 3r) and
US Open (l. to Davenport in 4r).
2005 - Another Top 10 finish (at No.10) in season highlighted by sensational run to fifth career Grand Slam singles title at
Wimbledon (avenged S.Williams' 3r loss w/4r win over Craybas, then d. Pierce and defending champion Sharapova in QF and SF; d. Davenport 46 76(4) 97 in epic 2hr 45min final, saving mp down 5-4 third set w/backhand winner in longest women's final in tournament's history); was lowest-ranked (No.16) and lowest-seeded (No.14) champion in tournament history (at the time - would beat her own record in 2007) and snapped a five-match losing streak in Grand Slam finals (tied w/Hingis as longest in Open Era); was also the third time in her career to beat world's Top 2 en route to a Grand Slam title (also 2000
Wimbledon, 2000
US Open); only other title of season came at Istanbul (d. Vaidisova in final); runner-up at Antwerp (d. Clijsters en route to final; l. to Mauresmo 46 75 64, having led 5-3 second set and 4-2 third set) and Stanford (l. to Clijsters in final); SF at Miami (d. S.Williams in QF, snapping six-match losing streak to her; l. to Sharapova); QF three times, at Amelia Island,
US Open (d. S.Williams for second straight time in 4r; l. to Clijsters 46 75 61 after having led 64 42) and Beijing (withdrew prior to match w/left knee injury); four pre-QF exits came at
Australian Open (l. to Molik in 4r), Dubai (l. to Farina Elia in 1r), Charleston (l. to Golovin) and
Roland Garros (l. to Karatantcheva in 3r); struggled with illness and injury during season, particularly during second half (withdrew from Stockholm and Toronto w/influenza and from Guangzhou, Filderstadt, Moscow, Zürich and Philadelphia w/left knee injury).
2006 - Lowest finish in 10 years after injury-marred season; dropped opening match of season in
Australian Open 1r (l. to No.94 Pironkova 97 third set; was only third time in 34 career Grand Slam events to fall 1r, and first since 2001
Roland Garros); withdrew from Antwerp, Dubai, Miami and Charleston w/right elbow and wrist injuries; made return during clay court season, winning 10 of 13 matches in reaching Warsaw QF (l. to Kuznetsova), Rome SF (l. to Hingis) and
Roland Garros QF (l. to Vaidisova); ousted in 3r of
Wimbledon (l. to Jankovic; first time since 1997 no Williams reached second week there, after S.Williams' injury withdrawal); reached
Wimbledon mixed doubles final (w/B.Bryan); withdrew from San Diego, Los Angeles, Montréal and
US Open w/left wrist injury; in first event since
Wimbledon, made 2r at Luxembourg (d. Ivanovic in 1r; l. to A.Radwanska); withdrew from Stuttgart and Moscow w/left wrist injury; finished season at No.48.
2007 - Sensational comeback season after injury-plagued 2006, highlighted by
Wimbledon title and subsequent return to Top 10; won sixth Grand Slam singles title at
Wimbledon (as No.23 seed, overcame 3-1 third set deficit to Kudryavtseva in 1r and 5-3 third set deficit to Morigami in 3r, then notched 2s wins over No.2 seed Sharapova in 4r, No.5 seed Kuznetsova in QF, No.6 seed Ivanovic in SF and No.18 seed Bartoli in final); was lowest-ranked (No.31) and lowest-seeded (No.23) ever to win
Wimbledon (breaking her own record from 2005); also won titles at Memphis (d. Peer in final) and Seoul (d. Kirilenko in final); runner-up once, at Tokyo [Japan Open] (l. to Razzano 46 76(7) 64; held 3mp at 6-3 in tie-break); SF three times, at Charleston (l. to Jankovic),
US Open (d. Ivanovic and Jankovic in 4r and QF; l. to Henin) and Bangkok (l. to Pennetta); QF three times, at Amelia Island, Warsaw and San Diego (l. to Chakvetadze 67(5) 76(3) 62; held mp at 76(5) 53); three pre-QF exits in 13 events, at Miami (l. to Sharapova in 3r), Istanbul (l. to Rezai in 2r) and
Roland Garros (l. to Jankovic in 3r); having begun season at No.46, dipped to No.54 on February 19 but bounced back into Top 50 immediately on February 26 (after Memphis; rose from No.54 to No.38), returning to Top 20 on July 9 (after
Wimbledon; rose from No.31 to No.17) and back into Top 10 on September 10 (after
US Open; rose from No.14 to No.9); reached season-high No.8 on October 1 (after Seoul; rose from No.9 to No.8); served two 128mph serves during season (once at
Roland Garros, once at
US Open), bettering her own Tour record of 127mph (1998) for fastest serve in a Tour main draw; withdrew from
Australian Open and Antwerp w/left wrist injury, from Toronto w/right knee tendonitis and from Tour Championships w/illness.
2008 - Ninth Top 10 season of career, highlighted by
Wimbledon and Tour Championships titles; won seventh Grand Slam singles title at
Wimbledon (as No.7 seed, d. No.6 seed S.Williams in final; was fifth singles title there, third in Open Era behind Navratilova's nine and Graf's seven) and finished season on nine-match win streak, winning Zürich (as No.3 seed, d. No.2 seed Ivanovic in SF and Pennetta in final) and first career Tour Championships title (as No.7 seed, went 3-0 in RR stage with wins over No.2 seed Safina, No.5 seed Dementieva and No.3 seed S.Williams, evening Williams head-to-head to 9-9; d. No.1 seed Jankovic in SF and No.8 seed Zvonareva in final); SF twice, at Bangalore (as No.2 seed, l. to No.3 seed and eventual champion S.Williams 63 36 76(4); held mp at 6-5 third set) and Stuttgart (as No.6 seed, l. to No.2 seed and eventual champion Jankovic in 3s); QF five times, at
Australian Open (as No.8 seed, l. to No.4 seed Ivanovic), Miami (as No.6 seed, l. to No.3 seed Kuznetsova), Rome (as No.7 seed, l. to No.4 seed and eventual champion Jankovic in 3s), Olympics (as No.7 seed, l. to Li) and
US Open (as No.7 seed, d. Stosur in 1r for 500th career singles match win; l. to No.4 seed and eventual champion S.Williams 76(6) 76(7), having held 10sp - 2sp in first set, 8sp in second set); only four pre-QF exits, at Doha (as No.6 seed, l. to Cibulkova in 3r), Memphis (as top seed, l. to qualifier Kvitova in 1r; loss to then-No.143 Kvitova was worst loss ever in terms of ranking),
Roland Garros (as No.8 seed, l. to No.26 seed Pennetta in 3r) and Moscow (as No.6 seed, l. to Pennetta in 3s in 1r); won two Tour doubles titles (both w/S.Williams) at
Wimbledon (d. Raymond/Stosur in final; now 7-0 in Grand Slam doubles finals) and Olympics (d. Medina Garrigues/Ruano Pascual in final; was second Olympic doubles gold w/S.Williams, after 2000); on July 7, surpassed $20 million in career prize money alongside S.Williams (fifth and sixth women in Tour history to do so, after Navratilova, Graf, Davenport and Hingis); withdrew from Amelia Island and Charleston w/illness, from Los Angeles and Montréal w/right knee injury and from Tokyo [Pan Pacific] w/right elbow injury.
