1994 - Made pro debut at Oakland, reaching 2r (as unranked WC, l. to No.2 Sánchez-Vicario 26 63 60; led 62 31); was only event of season.
1995 - Played three events as WC, falling 1r twice but reaching first QF at Oakland.
1996 - Played five events, falling 1r four times but reaching 3r at Los Angeles (l. to Graf).
1997 - Breakthrough season highlighted by run to
US Open final; early results highlighted by QF at Indian Wells (as WC into qualifying, l. to Davenport 64 57 76(1); 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 (rose from No.102 to No.86); reached first Grand Slam final at
US Open (saved 2mp to beat Spirlea 76(5) 46 76(7) in SF; l. to Hingis in final); at No.66, final between V.Williams (17) and Hingis (16) was youngest major final in Open Era; made Top 50 debut afterwards on September 8 (rose from No.66 to No.27); post-US Open, reached 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 (all w/S.Williams).
1998 - First Top 5 season; won first three WTA titles at Oklahoma City (d. Kruger in final), Miami (d. Kournikova in final) and Grand Slam Cup (d. Schnyder in final); runner-up four times, at Sydney (l. to Sánchez-Vicario), Rome (l. to Hingis) Stanford (l. to Davenport) and Zürich (l. to Davenport); QF or better at all four majors: 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); won first two doubles titles, at Oklahoma City and Zürich (both w/S.Williams; became third pair of sisters to win a WTA doubles title together); won first two Grand Slam 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 WTA Championships.
1999 - First Top 3 season; won six WTA titles, at Oklahoma City (d. Coetzer in final), Miami (d. S.Williams in final; were first sisters in history to meet in a WTA final), Hamburg, Rome (d. Pierce in both finals), New Haven (d. Davenport in final) and Zürich (d. Hingis in final); runner-up four times, at Hannover (l. to Novotna), Stanford (l. to Davenport), San Diego (l. to Hingis) and Grand Slam Cup (l. to S.Williams); QF or better at three Grand Slams: QF at
Australian Open (l. to Davenport) and
Wimbledon (l. to Graf) and SF at
US Open (l. to Hingis), but 4r loss at
Roland Garros (l. to Schwartz 26 76(7) 63; held 3mp leading 62 54); played first WTA 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 Oklahoma City title run, first sisters to win WTA singles titles in same week; and with S.Williams breaking into 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 were last pair of sisters).
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. Davenport in final; second African-American woman to win there, after Gibson in 1957 and 1958), Stanford (d. Davenport in final), San Diego, New Haven (d. Seles in both finals),
US Open (d. Davenport in final) and Olympics (d. Dementieva in final); win streak snapped in only post-Olympics event, finishing runner-up at Linz (l. to Davenport); streak remains longest of the millenium; withdrew from WTA Championships w/anemia; won doubles titles at
Wimbledon and Olympics (both w/S.Williams; was second player ever to win Olympic gold in both singles and doubles, after Wills in 1924).
2001 - Third straight No.3 season; won third and fourth Grand Slam titles at
Wimbledon (d. Henin in final) and
US Open (d. S.Williams in final; first time sisters played for a Grand Slam title since Watson sisters played in 1884
Wimbledon final); other four WTA titles came at Miami (saved 8mp in 46 61 76(4) win over Capriati in final), Hamburg (d. Shaughnessy in final), San Diego (d. Seles in final) and New Haven (d. Davenport in final); in other majors, reached SF at
Australian Open (l. to Hingis) but had 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 (l. 61 64); won
Australian Open doubles title (w/S.Williams; fifth team to get career doubles Grand Slam); withdrew prior to Indian Wells SF w/right knee tendonitis, from Moscow and Filderstadt following September 11 attacks and from WTA Championships w/left wrist injury.
2002 - Finished No.2 (behind S.Williams), beat S.Williams to No.1 on February 25 (after Dubai; rose from No.2 to No.1); held No.1 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 WTA titles, at Gold Coast, Antwerp, Amelia Island (d. Henin in all three finals), Paris [Indoors] (received walkover from Dokic in final), Stanford (d. Clijsters in final), San Diego (d. Dokic in final) and New Haven (d. Davenport in final); runner-up four times, most notably at
Roland Garros,
Wimbledon and
US Open (l. to S.Williams in all three finals), also at Hamburg (l. to Clijsters in final); only pre-final Grand Slam loss came at
Australian Open (l. to Seles in QF); was 10th player (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 WTA Championships (ret. vs. Clijsters w/lower leg strain); 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 (l. to S.Williams in their fourth straight Grand Slam final), Warsaw (ret. vs. Mauresmo in final w/left abdominal muscle injury) and
Wimbledon (l. to S.Williams in final); 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 in
Wimbledon SF withdrew from all events rest of season (incl.
US Open and WTA Championships); fell 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 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) and Stanford (l. to Davenport in final); SF once, at Los Angeles (ret. vs. Davenport w/right wrist sprain); QF seven times, incl. Tokyo [Pan Pacific] (withdrew prior to match w/right lower leg muscle strain, causing withdrawal from Antwerp),
Roland Garros (l. to Myskina) and Zürich (l. to Sharapova; first time playing her); all four pre-QF exits 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 season highlighted by fifth Grand Slam title at
Wimbledon (d. Davenport 46 76(4) 97 in 2hr 45min final, saving mp down 5-4 third set in longest women's final there ever); snapped five-match losing streak in Grand Slam finals (tied w/Hingis as longest in Open Era); also third time in her career to beat 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 (l. to Mauresmo 46 75 64 in final, led 5-3 second set and 4-2 third set) and Stanford (l. to Clijsters in final); SF at Miami (l. to Sharapova); QF three times, incl.
US Open (l. to Clijsters 46 75 61; 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 in 3r) 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/flu 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 Pironkova 97 third set); 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 (l. to A.Radwanska); withdrew from Stuttgart and Moscow w/left wrist injury; finished at No.48.
2007 - Eighth Top 10 season (finishing No.8); won sixth Grand Slam title at
Wimbledon (overcame 3-1 third set deficit to Kudryavtseva in 1r and 5-3 third set deficit to Morigami in 3r, then didn't drop a set the rest of the way; d. Bartoli in final); was lowest-ranked (No.31) and lowest-seeded (No.23) ever to win
Wimbledon; 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 in final; held 3mp at 6-3 in tie-break); SF three times, incl.
US Open (l. to Henin); QF three times, incl. 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 (3r), Istanbul (2r) and
Roland Garros (3r); returned to Top 10 on September 10 (after
US Open; rose from No.14 to No.9); withdrew from
Australian Open w/left wrist injury and from WTA Championships w/illness.
2008 - Ninth Top 10 season (finishing No.6); won seventh Grand Slam title at
Wimbledon (d. S.Williams in final; was fifth title there, third in Open Era behind Navratilova-9 and Graf-7) and finished with two more titles at Zürich (d. Pennetta in final) and WTA Championships (went 3-0 in RR; d. Jankovic in SF and Zvonareva in final); SF twice, at Bangalore (l. to S.Williams 63 36 76(4); held mp at 6-5 third set) and Stuttgart (l. to Jankovic); QF five times, incl.
Australian Open (l. to Ivanovic), Olympics (l. to Li) and
US Open (l. to S.Williams 76(6) 76(7); held 10sp - 2sp in first set, 8sp in second set); had four pre-QF exits: Doha (3r), Memphis (1r),
Roland Garros (3r) and Moscow (1r); won two WTA doubles titles w/S.Williams (
Wimbledon and Olympics - second Olympic doubles gold w/S.Williams, after 2000).
2009 - Tenth Top 10 season (finishing No.6); won two WTA titles at Dubai (d. Razzano in final) and Acapulco (d. Pennetta in final); runner-up three times, at
Wimbledon (l. to S.Williams in final), Stanford (l. to Bartoli in final) and WTA Championships (went 1-2 in RR; d. Jankovic in SF, falling to S.Williams in final); SF twice, at Miami (l. to S.Williams) and Rome (l. to Safina); had nine pre-QF exits: 4r once (
US Open), 3r three times (incl.
Roland Garros) and 2r five times (incl.
Australian Open - l. to Suárez Navarro 26 63 75; led 5-2 third set w/mp at 5-4); won four WTA doubles titles w/S.Williams (
Australian Open,
Wimbledon, Stanford,
US Open); played WTA Championships in doubles for first time (l. to Llagostera Vives/Martínez Sánchez in SF); made Top 3 doubles debut on September 14 (after
US Open; rose from co-No.9 to co-No.3 w/S.Williams - previous career-high was No.5).
2010 - Sixth Top 5 season (finishing No.5); reached QF or better at eight of nine events played, winning 42nd and 43rd WTA titles at Dubai (d. Azarenka in final) and Acapulco (d. Hercog in final) and extending win streak to 15 matches by reaching final of Miami (l. to Clijsters - was longest WTA win streak of season); reached fourth final of year at Madrid (l. to Rezai); SF once, at
US Open (l. to Clijsters); QF three times, at
Australian Open (l. to Li), Rome (l. to Jankovic) and
Wimbledon (l. to Pironkova); only pre-QF loss of year came at
Roland Garros (l. to Petrova in 4r); w/S.Williams, won 11th and 12th Grand Slam doubles titles (
Australian Open,
Wimbledon - now 12-0 together in Grand Slam doubles finals) and another title at Madrid; rose to No.1 in doubles on June 7 (co-No.1 w/S.Williams; third pair ever to occupy Top 2 spots in both singles and doubles, after Hingis/Novotna and Hingis/Davenport); withdrew from Stuttgart w/knee tendonitis and from Cincinnati, Montréal, Beijing and WTA Championships w/knee injury.
2011 - First non-Top 100 finish in 15 years after injury and illness-marred season; started at No.5 but injury problems began in first event at
Australian Open (ret. vs. Petkovic in 3r w/right hip injury - was first retirement in 251 career Grand Slam matches); subsequently withdrew from Dubai w/right hip injury and from Miami, Madrid, Rome, Brussels and
Roland Garros w/abdominal injury; returned in June and went 5-2 during grass court season, reaching QF at Eastbourne (l. to Hantuchova) and 4r at
Wimbledon (l. to Pironkova); withdrew from Toronto and Cincinnati w/viral illness and illness problems continued at
US Open (d. Dolonts in 1r but withdrew prior to 2r match vs. Lisicki w/Sjögren's Syndrome); withdrew from Tokyo and Beijing w/Sjögren's Syndrome; finished season at No.103 (last non-Top 100 finish was No.204 in 1996).
