When Serena Williams played a basketball player in hit TV show Law & Order SVU
Serena Williams has cemented her status as one of the greatest tennis players in the history of the sport, winning 39 Grand Slams across singles and doubles, as well as four Olympic gold medals. But in 2004, the American took on a different role, portraying a basketball player in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Appearing on the 12th episode of season five ('Brotherhood'), the former World No. 1 played Chloe Spiers, a character whose father was a prime murder suspect.
Although the 23-time Grand Slam champion did not get a lot of screen time during her cameo, she did get to enact a scene where she casually hit a free throw while talking to the prying detectives.
In addition to her appearance on Law & Order, the 40-year-old featured on the critically-acclaimed TV series The Simpsons in 2001. Serena Williams voiced herself in the 12th episode of Season 12 ('Tennis the Menace'), alongside her sister Venus Williams as well as fellow Grand Slam champions Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi.
This week’s #FeatureFriday spotlighting #Olympic athlete #sagaftramembers is none other than Serena Williams! Serena’s accomplishments on the tennis court are well known, but she's also served up roles on shows like Law & Order: SVU and played herself in movies like Ocean’s 8. https://t.co/h1H00NzNEu
The 23-time Grand Slam champion also appeared in ER (2005), Ocean's Eight (2018) and Avatar: The Last Airbender (2007).
Serena Williams did not win a Slam in 2004
Her appearance on Law & Order aside, 2004 was not a season to be cherished by Serena Williams. Having won five of the eight Slams in the previous two seasons, the 23-time Grand Slam champion went through 2004 without winning a single Major.
Williams skipped the Australian Open at the start of the year with a knee injury. Seeded second at Roland Garros, the American progressed as far as the quarterfinals, where she lost to compatriot and seventh seed Jennifer Capriati in a tense three-setter.
#OnThisDay in 2004, a 17-year-old @MariaSharapova defeated Serena Williams to win her first ever Grand Slam title, at #Wimbledon https://t.co/xSik2aPuks
At Wimbledon, the American was the top seed but failed to defend her title. She reached the final, where she succumbed to a straight-sets loss against 13th seed Maria Sharapova to hand the Russian her maiden Slam. The US Open once again saw Serena Williams bested by Capriati in the quarterfinals in a three-setter.
On November 15, 2004, in her WTA Finals debut, 17-year-old @MariaSharapova triumphed over @serenawilliams to clinch the final title of the year in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.
#OnThisDay https://t.co/0kmUDpT9iU
Even the Year-end Championships did not go in the former World No. 1's favor, as she ended up losing in the final to Sharapova. The American won only two titles all year, the Miami Open and the China Open. Having begun the year as the World No. 3, Williams ended it as the World No. 7.
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