She Became The First African American Woman To Triumph In The Open Era's Grand Slam Singles Competition

Serena Williams made her professional debut at the Bell Challenge in Quebec in October 1995, when she was 14 years old. However, she was defeated by Annie Miller, who was 18 years old at the time, in the first round of qualifying. Serena won her first major title in 1997 at the Ameritech Cup in Chicago. She defeated No. 7 Mary Pierce and No. 4 Monica Seles, despite being ranked No. 304. Her victories over players in the top 10 were her first. In doing so, Serena became the lowest-ranked player in Open Era history to defeat two top-10 opponents in a single tournament. In the semifinals, she was defeated by No. 5 Lindsay Davenport.

Serena defeated Amélie Mauresmo in the Open Gaz de France final in Paris in 1999 to claim her first professional singles championship. Williams' career-defining competition may be regarded as the 1999 U.S. Open. She advanced to the semifinals by defeating three Grand Slam champions in a row: Kim Clijsters, Conchita Martnez, and Monica Seles. Serena Williams upset reigning champion Lindsay Davenport in the semi-finals. She won her first Grand Slam singles championship after defeating No. 1 Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6 in the final. After Althea Gibson in 1958, she was the second African-American woman to achieve this feat by winning a Grand Slam singles match.