For the Athlete of the Year for the Hebrew year 5783, we chose Roy Ravivo, the young and talented soccer player who continues his father's legacy, an extraordinary phenomenon in the world of sports. Another exceptional phenomenon is the arrival of a pair of siblings to the global elite. The most successful sibling athletes in history are, most likely, Venus and Serena Williams, with 30 Grand Slam titles in singles and 14 in doubles. Today, Serena, the younger and more successful sister, celebrates her 42nd birthday with 23 out of 30 Grand Slam titles.
Serena Williams was born on September 26, 1982, in Michigan, USA, as the fifth daughter after four sisters, one of whom, Venus, would accompany her throughout her career. When she was young, the family moved to Compton, a city in Los Angeles, USA. Despite its many sprawling houses, Compton was plagued by crime and poverty. Richard Williams, the father of Serena and Venus, dreamt that at least one of his daughters would become a professional tennis player and lift the family out of the impoverished city.
In order to fulfill the dream, he began teaching his daughters tennis from a young age, and at the age of 4, Serena won her first tournament in the children's category. By the age of 12, Serena had won 46 out of 49 tournaments in which she participated, often exchanging the top spot in the junior rankings with her sister. In 1991, when she was nine years old, Richard withdrew his daughters from the junior circuit due to incidents of racism they experienced.
Already at the age of 17, Serena Williams wins the Grand Slam together with her sister
He took them to Rick Macci's tennis academy in Florida, where they trained with senior tennis players. The family moved to Florida to stay close to the girls. Serena entered the adult circuit at the age of 14. At 16, when she was ranked 304th in the world, she beat Mary Pierce and Monica Seles, both from the top ten, and burst into the public consciousness for the first time.
A year later, in 1998, the young tennis sensation continued her rise, entering the top 20 in the world and reaching the quarter-finals of seven Grand Slam tournaments. That same year, she won Wimbledon and the US Open in mixed doubles, partnering with Max Mirnyi. In doing so, she and her sister Venus completed a year full of Grand Slam victories, with Venus winning the French Open and the Australian Open.
