Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is a former World No. 1 American tennis player who, as of July 4, 2009, is ranked World No. 3. She has won a Wimbledon singles title in two of the past three years and is reigning Wimbledon and Australian Open doubles champion. She is the elder sister of Serena Williams, currently ranked No. 2. She holds the record for the fastest serve struck by a woman in a main draw event. Since joining the Women's Tennis Association tour in 1994, Williams has won 57 titles, which includes 18 Grand Slam titles - seven in singles, nine in women's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. The Williams sisters are praised globally for raising the bar on womens tennis. Venus and her sister are the only women (in addition to being the only sisters) during the open era to have played each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals.