Venus Williams Trademarks

Venus Williams is a champion professional tennis player, businesswoman, and fashion icon. She, along with her sister, Serena Williams, is credited with ushering in an era of power and athleticism to women’s tennis. She is the first African American woman to be ranked number one in the Open Era. She has won seven Grand Slam singles titles and 14 Grand Slam Women’s doubles titles, with her sister Serena.

Venus Ebony Starr Williams was born in Lynwood, California in 1980. Williams’ aggressive playing style was predominantly taught to her by her father/coach. For a while, she took a traditional career route in tennis and was trained by legendary coach, Rick Macci, at his tennis academy in Florida. Williams would see a lot of success as a junior player, and before her father removed her from national junior tennis tournaments and Macci’s academy, she was regionally ranked as first.

Williams made her professional debut at the age of 14. She would lose her second match and wouldn’t play in any other tournaments that year. The following year, she played in three tournaments and advanced to the semi-finals in one of them, before being knocked out. She would play in five events the following year, but lost in the first round of all but one of them.

In 1997, Williams would experience a career breakthrough when she reached the quarterfinals, in three out of five Tier I events she played in. She played against her sister Serena for the first time professionally in 1998 and won. Later that year, she would win her first singles title at the IGA Tennis Classic in Oklahoma City. For the first time in her career, she reached at least the quarterfinals of all tournaments. She also won her first women’s doubles title, alongside her sister, Serena, that year, making them only the third pair of sisters to do so.

Williams was plagued by tendinitis in early 2000 but was able to return later on in the season. She lost two of four matches, going into the French Open, where she would eventually lose in the quarterfinals. After the French Open, she experienced a winning streak that lasted through 35 consecutive singles matches and six tournaments. Williams won in both the singles and the doubles at Wimbledon, won three Tier II in North America, and won the gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She also won a gold medal in doubles at the 2000 Olympics, again with her sister, making her only the second woman to ever accomplish that feat.

In 2002, Williams became the first African American woman to be ranked number one by the Association of Tennis Professionals. She would go on to win four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals before being plagued by a string of nagging injuries.

Williams came back strong and set a Grand-Slam record at the 2007 US Open, by hitting a 129 mile per hour serve in the opening round. The following season, she won at Wimbledon (for the fifth time), won the Tour Championships title, and an Olympic gold in doubles, along with her sister Serena. The sisters went on to win four consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles making them the number one ranked pair in the world, while Venus maintained the number two position in women’s singles.

Williams would again battle injuries and illness, before making a second comeback and winning her third Olympic gold medal in doubles with her sister, at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. She would again be plagued with a back injury which kept her out of the sport for the 2013 season. In 2014, however, she would again beat her sister professionally for the first time since 2009. She also made it to her first Grand Slam finals since her 2009 appearance.

By 2015, Williams was again ranked among the top 10 in women’s tennis. At the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics, she won a silver medal with Rajeev Ram, in the mixed doubles event, becoming only the second woman to win an Olympic medal in singles, doubles, and mixed events in tennis. She is also tied for most Olympic medals won by a woman in tennis history. After being ranked as high as fifth in 2017, Williams continues to battle injuries and illness in recent years.

Venus Williams has been an outspoken advocate for women’s rights and equal pay for women in sports. She is well-known in the world of fashion and has received her Associate Degree from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in fashion design and her Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana University East in business administration. She is the founder and CEO of interior design firm, V Starr Interiors, and she has also launched her own clothing line.

In 2008, Venus Williams applied for a federal trademark registration for a logo that looks like a letter “V’ and the number 11 for sunglasses, jewelry, wallets, and bags, and for use on clothing items, such as pants, jackets, and coats.

In 2016, Williams obtained a federal trademark registration for the phrase “LOOK WELL, PLAY WELL” for use on active and athletic wear. She also filed a trademark application for a second logo, which has the same look, of a “V” and the number 11, with the word “ELEVEN” written beside it for use with active and athletic wear.