What Bill Clinton told Serena Williams after winning her first Grand Slam at the US Open
In 1999, Serena Williams burst onto the tennis scene after winning her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the US Open.
Serena, seeded seventh at the event, defeated Monica Seles and Lindsay Davenport on her way to the final in New York. There, she defeated Swiss legend Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6.
At just 17 years old, Serena became the first player from the Williams family to win a Grand Slam singles title.
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This moment represented the start of a glorious career, one that saw Serena win 23 Grand Slam singles titles, 14 major doubles titles, and three Olympic gold medals.
Serena, who also won the 1999 US Open Women’s doubles event alongside Venus, received a call from the US president after winning the singles title.
Bill Clinton told Serena Williams he was rooting for her
After defeating Hingis, Serena received a call from then US President Bill Clinton, who remained in the position until 2001.
It is fair to say that Serena was most definitely excited to receive the call from the President.
She told reporters: “It was very exciting. I thought for sure my day couldn’t get any better. Next thing I knew, someone was telling me, “The President of the United States wants to talk.” I was thinking, “Wow.”
Serena was then asked to reflect upon what the call may mean for women’s tennis, as it had ‘never happened’ before.
