With the fastest serve ever in women's tour history and 16 grand slam titles under her belt, Venus Williams' position among the world's top
players endures more than a decade into her career. Tune into DStv this month as CNN's Revealed, follows Williams on court and behind the
scenes.
Airing on Wednesday February 18 at 20:30 CAT, the program watches Williams defeat the world's top four players in succession, going on to
claim one of the few titles that until now, remained beyond her reach.
More than a powerful athlete, the 28 year-old athlete's commitments extend well beyond the world of tennis, with her own sports fashion line
and interior design company. Revealed follows Williams to her home in Miami, where she shoots a 16-page spread for Italian Marie Claire,
racing through twenty outfits and attempting her first underwater shoot.
As well as Venus's proud mother, Oracene Price and her sister Serena, hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean contributes to the program. So impressed with
Venus, Wyclef was moved to write a song in her honour, an acoustic version which he performs for DStv viewers on the program.
So tune in as CNN's Revealed goes courtside at the Sony Ericsson Championships in Doha with Venus, from training to matches to precious
downtime in between, and seeks to unearth what she sees as the key to her inspiring and lasting success.
Born Venus Ebony Starr Williams, the former World number 1 has won the Wimbledon singles title the last two years and is the reigning Wimbledon
doubles champion. Currently ranked at number 6, she is the older sister of another women's World number 1, Serena Williams.
A fifteen year participant on the Women's Tennis Association tour, Venus has won 53 titles, which includes 16 Grand Slam titles - seven in
singles, seven in women's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. She has won more Olympic gold medals than any other tennis player (male or female) in history - one in singles and two in women's doubles.
Already well-known at age eleven, the charismatic Venus turned professional in 1994 and began to play regularly on the tour in 1997.
The highlight of her first year was playing the U.S. Open for the first time, where she lost in the final to Swiss miss, Martina Hingis.
In 2000, Venus won the singles title at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and two gold medals at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Together with sister, Serena, she also won the Wimbledon doubles title for the first time. Venus successfully defended her Wimbledon and U.S. Open singles titles in 2001.
However in 2002 and 2003 Venus was defeated in the finals of the French Open, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open by Serena. The string of victories
catapulted the younger sibling to the top of WTA tour rankings, with Venus dropping to second in the standings.
After a less successful 2003 and 2004, at the start of 2005 she was ranked ninth but came back to form to win the Wimbledon singles title
for a third time. It was the longest Wimbledon final in history and Venus was the lowest seed to win the women's singles title ever.
Despite the inevitable rivalry, Venus and younger Serena remain close friends. Raised as devout Jehovah's Witnesses, both were home-schooled
by their mother, and have received their high school diplomas. Venus was also joined by her sister at the Art Institute of Florida, where they
studied fashion design. Venus is now the CEO of her own interior design firm, V Starr Interiors.
Tune in for Revealed on Wednesday February 18 at 20:30 CAT on CNN(channel 401) on DStv.