What is Serena Williams's birth date?

Serena Williams’s birth date is September 26, 1981. She was born in Saginaw, Michigan, to Oracene Price and Richard Williams, and is the younger sister of fellow champion Venus Williams.

The date is important when placing her career milestones in context. Williams began playing tennis as a child, turned professional in 1995, and won her first Grand Slam singles title at the 1999 US Open, shortly before her 18th birthday.

Her birth date is sometimes confused with Venus Williams’s, but Venus was born on June 17, 1980. The sisters grew up and developed their tennis careers together after the family moved from Michigan to Compton, California. Serena later trained at Rick Macci’s tennis academy in Florida.

September 26 also helps explain why descriptions of her 1999 breakthrough call her 17 rather than 18: the US Open final was played on September 11, fifteen days before her birthday.