Editing Serena Williams (section)

===1999: First major and becoming a top-5 player===
{{Main|1999 Serena Williams tennis season}}
In February 1999, Williams won her first professional singles title when she defeated [[Amélie Mauresmo]] in the final of the [[Open Gaz de France]] in Paris.<ref name=Card/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wtatennis.com/news/1449912/20-years-on-remembering-serena-williamss-first-wta-title |title=20 years on: Remembering Serena Williams's first WTA title |website=www.wtatennis.com |date=28 February 2019 |access-date=22 December 2023}}</ref> In March, Williams won her first WTA 1000 event at the [[1999 Evert Cup – Singles|Evert Cup]] in California, defeating [[Steffi Graf]] in the final.<ref name=memorable/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tennis.com/news/articles/the-matches-that-made-serena-the-goat-williams-d-steffi-graf-1999-indian-wells-f |title=The Matches that Made Serena the GOAT: Williams d. Steffi Graf, 1999 Indian Wells final |website=www.tennis.com |date=13 October 2022 |access-date=22 December 2023}}</ref><ref name=Card/> At the [[1999 Lipton Championships – Women's singles|Miami Masters]], Williams had her 16-match winning streak ended by her sister in the first all-sister singles final in WTA history.<ref name="Card" /><ref name="Lipton">{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venus-beats-sister-at-lipton/ |title=Venus Beats Sister At Lipton |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=28 March 1999 |access-date=22 December 2023}}</ref> In the [[1999 French Open – Women's doubles|doubles event]] at the French Open, she and Venus won the title after defeating Hingis and [[Anna Kournikova]] in the final.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dillman |first1=Lisa |date=May 29, 1999 |title=Fernandez's Big Upset Is Predictable |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-29-sp-42257-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231030230810/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-may-29-sp-42257-story.html |archive-date=October 30, 2023 |access-date=August 1, 2017 |work=Los Angeles Times |location=Paris}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wtatennis.com/news/1677676/venus-and-serena-win-roland-garros-to-seal-first-of-14-majors |title=Venus and Serena win Roland Garros to seal first of 14 majors |website=www.usta.com |date=7 June 2020 |access-date=22 December 2023}}</ref>

Williams missed [[1999 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles|Wimbledon]] in 1999 due to injury. When she returned to the tour two months later, she made her [[Fed Cup]] debut, defeating [[Rita Grande]] to send the United States to the final.<ref name=Fed/> She then won her third title at the [[JPMorgan Chase Open]], beating [[Julie Halard-Decugis]] in the final. At the [[1999 US Open – Women's singles|US Open]], Williams defeated Grand Slam champions [[Kim Clijsters]], [[Conchita Martínez]], Monica Seles, and Lindsay Davenport (the defending champion) in consecutive matches to reach the final, where she defeated No.1-ranked Hingis. Williams became the second African-American woman to win a Grand Slam singles tournament, after [[Althea Gibson]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/tennis/usopen99/news/1999/0911/51747.html |title=Serena upsets Hingis to win first Grand Slam |work=ESPN |date=13 September 1999 |access-date=22 December 2023}}</ref> The Williams sisters also won the [[1999 US Open – Women's doubles|doubles event]] at this tournament, making Serena the fifth woman in the Open Era to win both singles and doubles at the same major event.<ref name=Card/> To complete her 1999 season, Williams won a doubles match against Russia in the Fed Cup final to help the US win the title.<ref name=Fed/> Williams ended the year ranked in a career-high world No.4 in just her second full year on the main tour.<ref name=Card/>