Serena Williams Quiz
Compton to Centre Court: 15 questions on the career of Serena Williams, from 1999 to her 2026 comeback.
In which California city were Serena and Venus Williams raised and coached on public courts by their father?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Compton
Serena was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but grew up in Compton, where her father Richard coached both sisters on cracked public courts before the family moved to Florida when she was nine.
The family relocated so the girls could train at Rick Macci's academy in Florida, where Richard still insisted they skip most junior tournaments.
Which 2021 film starring Will Smith told the story of Serena's father and the sisters' early years?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
King Richard
King Richard earned Smith the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams, with Serena and Venus both serving as executive producers on the film.
Smith's Oscar night became notorious when he slapped presenter Chris Rock on stage shortly before accepting the award.
At which tournament did Serena win her first Grand Slam singles title, in 1999 at age 17?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
US Open
Serena beat Martina Hingis in the 1999 US Open final, becoming the first African American woman to win a major singles title since Althea Gibson in 1958. She won a major before Venus did.
The sisters also won the US Open women's doubles title together during that same fortnight, Serena's second major doubles crown of 1999.
How many Olympic gold medals did Serena win in her career?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Four
Serena won doubles gold with Venus in 2000, 2008 and 2012 and singles gold in London in 2012, where the tennis event was played on the grass of Wimbledon.
Serena and Steffi Graf are the only women to complete a career Golden Slam in singles, winning all four majors plus Olympic gold.
Serena won the 2012 Olympic singles final 6 to 0, 6 to 1 against which opponent?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Maria Sharapova
Serena overwhelmed Sharapova on Wimbledon's Centre Court in just over an hour, weeks after winning the Wimbledon title on the same court, and celebrated with a crip walk dance that drew headlines.
Azarenka took bronze in London and then lost to Serena in the US Open final a month later.
Whom did Serena beat in the 2017 Australian Open final while about eight weeks pregnant?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Venus Williams
Serena beat her sister 6 to 4, 6 to 4 for her 23rd major without dropping a set all tournament, then revealed in April that she was 20 weeks pregnant, meaning she had been expecting when she won.
The win returned Serena to world No. 1 at 35, making her the oldest woman to hold the top ranking.
How many of her 22 matches against Maria Sharapova did Serena win?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
20
Serena won 20, including 19 in a row from 2005 until Sharapova retired in 2020. Sharapova's only two wins came in 2004, in the Wimbledon final and at the year end championships.
Their final meeting was a 6 to 1, 6 to 1 Serena win in the first round of the 2019 US Open.
Which tech entrepreneur did Serena marry in New Orleans in November 2017?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Alexis Ohanian
Ohanian, a co-founder of Reddit, proposed in Rome in December 2016 at the hotel where they had first met, and the couple married at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans.
Ohanian paid for billboards outside Palm Springs in 2018 hailing Serena as the Greatest Momma of All Time ahead of her comeback at Indian Wells.
What is the name of Serena's first daughter, born in September 2017?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Olympia
Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. was born on September 1, 2017, after which Serena suffered a pulmonary embolism and complications that kept her in bed for six weeks.
Her second daughter, Adira River, was born in August 2023, and Olympia often appeared courtside in outfits matching her mother's.
Who beat Serena in the 2018 US Open final, a match remembered for her dispute with umpire Carlos Ramos?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Naomi Osaka
Osaka won 6 to 2, 6 to 4 for her first major, while Ramos gave Serena a coaching warning, a point penalty for smashing a racket and a game penalty for calling him a thief.
Andreescu beat Serena in the 2019 final, and Kerber and Halep beat her in the 2018 and 2019 Wimbledon finals, four straight major finals lost.
How many French Open singles titles did Serena win?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Three
Serena won at Roland Garros in 2002, 2013 and 2015. Clay was her least productive major surface, compared with seven titles each at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and six at the US Open.
Her 2002 French Open win over Venus started a run of four straight major finals between the sisters, all won by Serena.
In which year did Serena first reach world No. 1 in the WTA rankings?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
2002
Serena became No. 1 on July 8, 2002, the day after beating Venus in the Wimbledon final, swapping places with her sister at the top of the rankings.
Serena spent 319 weeks at No. 1 in total, third among women behind Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova.
Which tournament did Serena boycott from 2001 until 2015 after she was booed there as a 19 year old?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Indian Wells
After Venus withdrew from their 2001 semi-final, the Indian Wells crowd jeered Serena throughout the final, which she won, and her father said racial slurs were shouted at the family.
Serena returned in 2015 to a standing ovation, and Venus followed her back to the tournament in 2016.
How many Grand Slam women's doubles titles did Serena and Venus win together?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
14
The sisters won 14 major doubles titles from 14 finals between 1999 and 2016, never losing a Grand Slam doubles final together, and added three Olympic doubles golds.
Serena also won two mixed doubles majors in 1998, at Wimbledon and the US Open, partnering Max Mirnyi.
Who beat Serena in the first round of Wimbledon in 2026, in her first singles match in nearly four years?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Maya Joint
The 20 year old Australian won 6 to 3, 6 to 7, 6 to 3 on June 30, 2026, against a 44 year old Serena playing on a wildcard in her first singles match since the 2022 US Open.
Serena's 2022 US Open run, which she had described as her farewell, ended in the third round against Ajla Tomljanović.
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All Sports quizzes →About the Serena Williams Quiz
Serena Williams went from the public courts of Compton to 23 Grand Slam singles titles, four Olympic gold medals and 319 weeks as world No. 1. She won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant, lost only twice in 22 matches against Maria Sharapova, and returned to Wimbledon at 44 in 2026 for one more singles match.
These 15 questions cover her first major at the 1999 US Open, the golden summer of 2012, her family life with Alexis Ohanian and daughter Olympia, the 2018 US Open final against Naomi Osaka, the Indian Wells boycott and her 14 doubles majors with Venus. It suits casual fans who know the headlines and tennis diehards who remember the scorelines.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
How many Grand Slam titles did Serena Williams win?
Serena won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in the Open Era, plus 14 women's doubles majors with Venus and two mixed doubles titles, for 39 in total.
Did Serena Williams come back from retirement?
Yes. After saying she was evolving away from tennis at the 2022 US Open, Serena accepted a Wimbledon wildcard in 2026 and lost in the first round to Maya Joint at the age of 44.
How many Olympic gold medals does Serena Williams have?
Four: singles gold at London 2012 and doubles gold with Venus at Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008 and London 2012.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- In which California city were Serena and Venus Williams raised and coached on public courts by their father?
Compton Serena was born in Saginaw, Michigan, but grew up in Compton, where her father Richard coached both sisters on cracked public courts before the family moved to Florida when she was nine. The family relocated so the girls could train at Rick Macci's academy in Florida, where Richard still insisted they skip most junior tournaments. - Which 2021 film starring Will Smith told the story of Serena's father and the sisters' early years?
King Richard King Richard earned Smith the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams, with Serena and Venus both serving as executive producers on the film. Smith's Oscar night became notorious when he slapped presenter Chris Rock on stage shortly before accepting the award. - At which tournament did Serena win her first Grand Slam singles title, in 1999 at age 17?
US Open Serena beat Martina Hingis in the 1999 US Open final, becoming the first African American woman to win a major singles title since Althea Gibson in 1958. She won a major before Venus did. The sisters also won the US Open women's doubles title together during that same fortnight, Serena's second major doubles crown of 1999. - How many Olympic gold medals did Serena win in her career?
Four Serena won doubles gold with Venus in 2000, 2008 and 2012 and singles gold in London in 2012, where the tennis event was played on the grass of Wimbledon. Serena and Steffi Graf are the only women to complete a career Golden Slam in singles, winning all four majors plus Olympic gold. - Serena won the 2012 Olympic singles final 6 to 0, 6 to 1 against which opponent?
Maria Sharapova Serena overwhelmed Sharapova on Wimbledon's Centre Court in just over an hour, weeks after winning the Wimbledon title on the same court, and celebrated with a crip walk dance that drew headlines. Azarenka took bronze in London and then lost to Serena in the US Open final a month later. - Whom did Serena beat in the 2017 Australian Open final while about eight weeks pregnant?
Venus Williams Serena beat her sister 6 to 4, 6 to 4 for her 23rd major without dropping a set all tournament, then revealed in April that she was 20 weeks pregnant, meaning she had been expecting when she won. The win returned Serena to world No. 1 at 35, making her the oldest woman to hold the top ranking. - How many of her 22 matches against Maria Sharapova did Serena win?
20 Serena won 20, including 19 in a row from 2005 until Sharapova retired in 2020. Sharapova's only two wins came in 2004, in the Wimbledon final and at the year end championships. Their final meeting was a 6 to 1, 6 to 1 Serena win in the first round of the 2019 US Open. - Which tech entrepreneur did Serena marry in New Orleans in November 2017?
Alexis Ohanian Ohanian, a co-founder of Reddit, proposed in Rome in December 2016 at the hotel where they had first met, and the couple married at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans. Ohanian paid for billboards outside Palm Springs in 2018 hailing Serena as the Greatest Momma of All Time ahead of her comeback at Indian Wells. - What is the name of Serena's first daughter, born in September 2017?
Olympia Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. was born on September 1, 2017, after which Serena suffered a pulmonary embolism and complications that kept her in bed for six weeks. Her second daughter, Adira River, was born in August 2023, and Olympia often appeared courtside in outfits matching her mother's. - Who beat Serena in the 2018 US Open final, a match remembered for her dispute with umpire Carlos Ramos?
Naomi Osaka Osaka won 6 to 2, 6 to 4 for her first major, while Ramos gave Serena a coaching warning, a point penalty for smashing a racket and a game penalty for calling him a thief. Andreescu beat Serena in the 2019 final, and Kerber and Halep beat her in the 2018 and 2019 Wimbledon finals, four straight major finals lost. - How many French Open singles titles did Serena win?
Three Serena won at Roland Garros in 2002, 2013 and 2015. Clay was her least productive major surface, compared with seven titles each at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and six at the US Open. Her 2002 French Open win over Venus started a run of four straight major finals between the sisters, all won by Serena. - In which year did Serena first reach world No. 1 in the WTA rankings?
2002 Serena became No. 1 on July 8, 2002, the day after beating Venus in the Wimbledon final, swapping places with her sister at the top of the rankings. Serena spent 319 weeks at No. 1 in total, third among women behind Steffi Graf and Martina Navratilova. - Which tournament did Serena boycott from 2001 until 2015 after she was booed there as a 19 year old?
Indian Wells After Venus withdrew from their 2001 semi-final, the Indian Wells crowd jeered Serena throughout the final, which she won, and her father said racial slurs were shouted at the family. Serena returned in 2015 to a standing ovation, and Venus followed her back to the tournament in 2016. - How many Grand Slam women's doubles titles did Serena and Venus win together?
14 The sisters won 14 major doubles titles from 14 finals between 1999 and 2016, never losing a Grand Slam doubles final together, and added three Olympic doubles golds. Serena also won two mixed doubles majors in 1998, at Wimbledon and the US Open, partnering Max Mirnyi. - Who beat Serena in the first round of Wimbledon in 2026, in her first singles match in nearly four years?
Maya Joint The 20 year old Australian won 6 to 3, 6 to 7, 6 to 3 on June 30, 2026, against a 44 year old Serena playing on a wildcard in her first singles match since the 2022 US Open. Serena's 2022 US Open run, which she had described as her farewell, ended in the third round against Ajla Tomljanović.
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