{"id":1402545,"date":"2021-08-25T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1402545"},"modified":"2021-08-25T07:00:01","modified_gmt":"2021-08-25T11:00:01","slug":"how-tall-is-serena-williams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/how-tall-is-serena-williams\/","title":{"rendered":"How Tall Is Serena Williams?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Throughout the years, the height of a tennis player has become more important. It allows an athlete to produce faster serves and achieve better angles during the matches. But with regard to tennis great <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tag\/serena-williams\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Serena Williams<\/a>, does height even matter? She's well known for her dominance on the court whether from <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/how-fast-serena-williams-serve\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a powerful serve<\/a> or a crushing backhand, but just how much does one's body type matter to find success? And how tall is Williams exactly?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-tennis-players-heights-have-changed-over-time\">Tennis players' heights have changed over time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">When you realise how tall tennis players actually are...\ud83d\ude02<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/NittoATPFinals?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#NittoATPFinals<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Segj1Tt0Ko\">pic.twitter.com\/Segj1Tt0Ko<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Tennis TV (@TennisTV) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TennisTV\/status\/1061629859787612163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 11, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With new technology comes changes to tennis rackets and training. These days, <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/serena-williams-has-incredibly-cheated-death-not-once-but-twice\/\">players are stronger<\/a>, more powerful, and even taller. The conventional wisdom is that smaller athletes are faster, better able to move about the court. While a taller player is more likely to get a hard-to-reach ball, do they have an advantage elsewhere?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The answer depends. Tall players are known for quicker serves with sharper angles. <a href=\"https:\/\/mytennishq.com\/what-is-the-average-height-of-tennis-players\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">My Tennis HQ<\/a> lists the average height of the men's ATP Top-10 tennis players at 6 feet, 3 inches. Conversely, the players ranked from Nos. 50 to 100 have an average height of 6 feet. That data suggests the taller players are more successful. However, some of the <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/the-5-tallest-male-tennis-players-of-all-time\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">tallest men's players<\/a> to ever step foot on the court aren't the most famous or successful.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, it's not always foolproof and doesn't mean players standing below 6-3 aren't good enough. Just look at Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal &#8212; both 6 feet, 1 inch, and two of the top male tennis players of all time. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tennisabstract.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/04\/how-much-does-height-matter-in-mens-tennis\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tennis Abstract<\/a> dove further into the data, finding that taller players have better first serves and higher ace percentages. However, height doesn't really give tall players a second-serve advantage.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-tall-is-serena-williams\">How tall is Serena Williams?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">When will Serena Williams\u2019 body type be left alone in the media? <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/X2BuXdIMpG\">http:\/\/t.co\/X2BuXdIMpG<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/EG1FGFvfRh\">pic.twitter.com\/EG1FGFvfRh<\/a><\/p>&mdash; The Root (@TheRoot) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TheRoot\/status\/619954336810950656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 11, 2015<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When Williams first burst onto the scene, her body type wasn't that of the normal tennis player. With strong, muscular arms and legs, it was <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/serena-williams-coach-makes-face-3-things-every-time-loses-match\/\">hard to compete<\/a> against her serve or intense forehand. <a href=\"https:\/\/starsunfolded.com\/serena-williams\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stars Unfolded<\/a> lists her height at 5 feet, 9 inches, with a 150-pound weight. While that's pretty tall for a woman outside the sports world, it's actually much smaller than many of Williams' tennis rivals <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/serena-williams-latest-business-investment-2-million-followers-tik-tok\/\">throughout her career<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Her own sister, Venus, is listed at 6 feet 1 inch; other rivals Maria Sharapova and Caroline Wozniacki are taller at 6 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 10 inches, respectively. So while height is an absolute advantage in certain situations, Williams clearly makes the case that it isn't everything. The 39-year-old is successful because of her intense power, speed, and agility.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-williams-has-faced-her-fair-share-of-criticism-over-her-body\">Williams has faced her fair share of criticism over her body<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"781\" src=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tennis-player-Serena-Williams.jpg?w=1024&#038;h=666&#038;strip=all&#038;quality=89\" alt=\"Serena Williams returns the ball during a women's singles fourth-round match against Elena Rybakina at the 2021 French Open\" class=\"wp-image-1402561\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tennis-player-Serena-Williams.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tennis-player-Serena-Williams.jpg?w=300&amp;h=195 300w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tennis-player-Serena-Williams.jpg?w=768&amp;h=500 768w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tennis-player-Serena-Williams.jpg?w=1024&amp;h=666 1024w, https:\/\/sports7.us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Tennis-player-Serena-Williams.jpg?w=92&amp;h=60 92w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption>Tennis icon Serena Williams at the 2021 French Open | Gao Jing\/Xinhua via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Williams is no stranger to criticism. While it's often due to <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tennis-star-serena-williams-sews-like-a-pro\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">her outrageous outfits<\/a>, there are times when some people blast her body type. Romanian businessman and former pro tennis and hockey player Ion Tiriac did just that. In a January 2021 interview, Tiriac said he thought Williams should retire because she's not as fit as she used to be. He went on to say that &#8220;at this age and weight that she is now,&#8221; it's time for her to <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/tennis-racket-serena-williams-use-2021\/\">hang up her racket.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Needless to say, many fans, including Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian, weren't happy with his comments. He <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/serena-williams-husband-alexis-ohanian-just-slammed-a-billionaire-tennis-director-for-his-remarks-on-her-age-and-weight\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">took to T<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/serena-williams-husband-alexis-ohanian-just-slammed-a-billionaire-tennis-director-for-his-remarks-on-her-age-and-weight\/\">witter to defend<\/a> his wife and take a jab at Tiriac. Ohanian's initial response included a sharp tongue comment about how his 3-year-old has more Grand Slam victories than Tiriac, but he didn't stop there. A few days later, he added: &#8220;2021 and no holding back when a racist\/sexist clown with a platform comes for my family.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>RELATED: <a href=\"https:\/\/sports7.us\/serena-williams-coach-is-realistic-about-whats-left-in-her-career\/\">Serena Williams\u2019 Coach Is Realistic About What\u2019s Left In Her Career<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Throughout the years, being tall as a tennis player has become more important. But with regard to tennis great Serena Williams, does height even matter?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":227,"featured_media":1402561,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12944],"tags":[9363],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.3 (Yoast SEO v22.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How Tall Is Serena Williams? - Sports7<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Just how much does one&#039;s body type matter to find success in tennis? 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