American tennis star Serena Williams won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2009 and re-established herself at the peak of tennis by regaining the world No 1 ranking for the fifth time in her career. Along with the No 1 ranking, she broke the record set by Justine Henin for the most prize money earned by a female tennis player in one season with a total of US$ 6,5m during the year.
In the Australian Open final, Serena defeated Dinara Safina 6–0, 6–3 in 59 minutes to take her fourth Australian title, tying the record for most victories at the event with Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Margaret Court and Evonne Cawley. At Wimbledon she beat her sister Venus in the final 7–6, 6–2, to win her third title there.
At the end of 2009, Serena had taken her total of career Grand Slam singles victories to 11, putting her seventh on the all-time list. In total, she has won 23 Grand Slam titles - 11 in singles, ten in women's doubles and two in mixed doubles. In addition, she has won two Olympic gold medals in women’s doubles.
