If you’ve not heard of Serena Williams, let me fill you in. She’s only the tennis player who revolutionized women’s tennis with her impressive style of play and has won more Grand Slam titles than most, but where did she grow up?
Serena Williams grew up in Compton, California. The family moved there shortly following the athlete’s birth and later relocated to Florida.
Read more below about Serena’s earlier years and the rivalry between Serena and her older sister Venus.
From Diapers to Tennis Skirts
She was born in Saginaw, MI. Shortly following her birth, Williams and her family moved just south of downtown Los Angeles to Compton, CA, where her father was running a private security firm. Williams started becoming passionate about sports at the tender age of three, where she practiced on a court nearby the family’s house with her sister Venus.
Throughout her childhood, Williams and her sister were home-schooled by her father from elementary through to high school so they could work on improving their tennis game. By the time Williams was nine, the family had moved to West Palm Beach, FL, to allow Williams to attend a tennis academy called Rick Macci.
Two years later, when Williams was ten, her father, Richard, stopped sending her to junior tennis tournaments so that she could realign her focus on schoolwork.
When the girls returned to school, they attended a private school named Driftwood Academy. Williams graduated high school in 1999.
Did Serena Williams Grow Up Poor?
Many of you might wonder if this sensational sportswoman grew up poor, and the answer to that is no (well, at least according to Williams, that is). However, something worth noting is that Compton has been described as an “economically depressed” area where there’s a lot of violence that Williams and her sisters often witnessed, allegedly.
In an interview with Essence, Williams discussed money and finances, including that of her family while she was growing up. She mentioned that she never felt broke growing up.
“Since I was a teenager, I’ve had to make every financial decision in my life, I’ve had to learn how to make good ones and how to make bad ones, to make better ones.
I never ever ever felt broke. Looking back, I’m like, ‘Wow.’ We lived in a two-bedroom house with seven people. I don’t know how my parents were able to make me feel that way, but they did, and it was special. So I never felt when I came into money that I needed to go buy this because I never wanted anything. So it was a great way.”
Serena Vs. Venus: Who’s Better?
It only makes sense for there to be a rivalry between the sisters since they’re both competitive tennis players, and they both turned professional at the young age of 14, but who is the best out of the pair?
From where I’m standing, it’s Serena. Venus has won 49 singles titles over the course of her career, whereas Serena has won a whopping 72 singles titles over her career.
The concept of two top professionals emerging from the same family to compete against one another is unprecedented and is a scenario that has been described as being “as improbable as one set of parents raising Picasso and Monet.”
The highest amount of money Serena has won in a tournament totals at $74,083,42, which is the highest amongst female athletes compared with Venus’ $32,608,015, the second-highest amongst female athletes.
Serena has won a total of 21 Grand Slam tournaments while her sister Venus has won 7. One similarity between the sisters is that as of 2020, they’ve both won 4 Olympic Gold medals.