title: New York (state)

text: New York City was the national capital under the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, the first national government. That organization was found to be inadequate, and prominent New Yorker Alexander Hamilton advocated for a new government that would include an executive, national courts, and the power to tax. Hamilton led the Annapolis Convention (1786) that called for the Philadelphia Convention, which drafted the United States Constitution, in which he also took part. The new government was to be a strong federal national government to replace the relatively weaker confederation of individual states. Following heated debate, which included the publication of the now quintessential constitutional interpretation—"The Federalist Papers"—as a series of installments in New York City newspapers, New York was the 11th state to ratify the United States Constitution, on July 26, 1788. New York City in New York remained the national capital under the new constitution until 1790, and was the site of the inauguration of President George Washington, the drafting of the United States Bill of Rights, and the first session of the United States Supreme Court.


title: New York (state)

text: Both the Dutch and the British imported African slaves as laborers to the city and colony; New York, with its high population, had the second-highest population of slaves after Charleston, South Carolina. Slavery was extensive in New York City and some agricultural areas. The state passed a law for the gradual abolition of slavery soon after the Revolutionary War, but the last slave in New York was not freed until 1827.


title: New York (state)

text: Transportation in Western New York was by expensive wagons on muddy roads before canals opened up the rich farmlands to long-distance traffic. Governor DeWitt Clinton promoted the Erie Canal, which connected New York City to the Great Lakes by the Hudson River, the new canal, and the rivers and lakes. Work commenced in 1817, and the Erie Canal opened in 1825. Packet boats pulled by horses on tow paths traveled slowly over the canal carrying passengers and freight. Farm products came in from the Midwest, and finished manufactured goods moved west. It was an engineering marvel which opened up vast areas of New York to commerce and settlement. It enabled Great Lakes port cities such as Buffalo and Rochester to grow and prosper. It also connected the burgeoning agricultural production of the Midwest and shipping on the Great Lakes, with the port of New York City. Improving transportation, it enabled additional population migration to territories west of New York. After 1850, railroads largely replaced the canal.


title: New York (state)

text: New York City was a major ocean port and had extensive traffic importing cotton from the South and exporting manufacturing goods. Nearly half of the state's exports were related to cotton. Southern cotton factors, planters and bankers visited so often that they had favorite hotels. At the same time, activism for abolitionism was strong upstate, where some communities provided stops on the Underground Railroad. Upstate, and New York City, gave strong support for the American Civil War, in terms of finances, volunteer soldiers, and supplies. The state provided more than 370,000 soldiers to the Union armies. Over 53,000 New Yorkers died in service, roughly one of every seven who served. However, Irish draft riots in 1862 were a significant embarrassment.


title: New York (state)

text: Since the early 19th century, New York City has been the largest port of entry for legal immigration into the United States. In the United States, the federal government did not assume direct jurisdiction for immigration until 1890. Prior to this time, the matter was delegated to the individual states, then via contract between the states and the federal government. Most immigrants to New York would disembark at the bustling docks along the Hudson and East Rivers, in the eventual Lower Manhattan. On May 4, 1847, the New York State Legislature created the Board of Commissioners of Immigration to regulate immigration.


title: New York (state)

text: The first permanent immigration depot in New York was established in 1855 at Castle Garden, a converted War of 1812 era fort located within what is now Battery Park, at the tip of Lower Manhattan. The first immigrants to arrive at the new depot were aboard three ships that had just been released from quarantine. Castle Garden served as New York's immigrant depot until it closed on April 18, 1890, when the federal government assumed control over immigration. During that period, more than eight million immigrants passed through its doors (two of every three U.S. immigrants).


title: New York (state)

text: When the federal government assumed control, it established the Bureau of Immigration, which chose the three-acre Ellis Island in Upper New York Harbor for an entry depot. Already federally controlled, the island had served as an ammunition depot. It was chosen due its relative isolation with proximity to New York City and the rail lines of Jersey City, New Jersey, via a short ferry ride. While the island was being developed and expanded via land reclamation, the federal government operated a temporary depot at the Barge Office at the Battery.


title: New York (state)

text: Ellis Island opened on January 1, 1892, and operated as a central immigration center until the National Origins Act was passed in 1924, reducing immigration. After that date, the only immigrants to pass through were displaced persons or war refugees. The island ceased all immigration processing on November 12, 1954, when the last person detained on the island, Norwegian seaman Arne Peterssen, was released. He had overstayed his shore leave and left on the 10:15a.m. Manhattan-bound ferry to return to his ship.


title: New York (state)

text: More than 12 million immigrants passed through Ellis Island between 1892 and 1954. More than a hundred million Americans across the United States can trace their ancestry to these immigrants. Ellis Island was the subject of a contentious and long-running border and jurisdictional dispute between the State of New York and the State of New Jersey, as both claimed it. The issue was settled in 1998 by the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that the original island was New York state territory and that the balance of the added after 1834 by landfill was in New Jersey. The island was added to the National Park Service system in May 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson and is still owned by the federal government as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. Ellis Island was opened to the public as a museum of immigration in 1990.


title: New York (state)

text: On September 11, 2001, two of four hijacked planes were flown into the Twin Towers of the original World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, and the towers collapsed. 7 World Trade Center also collapsed due to damage from fires. The other buildings of the World Trade Center complex were damaged beyond repair and demolished soon thereafter. The collapse of the Twin Towers caused extensive damage and resulted in the deaths of 2,753 victims, including 147 aboard the two planes. Since September11, most of Lower Manhattan has been restored. In the years since, over 7,000 rescue workers and residents of the area have developed several life-threatening illnesses, and some have died.


title: New York (state)

text: A memorial at the site, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, was opened to the public on September11, 2011. A permanent museum later opened at the site on March 21, 2014. Upon its completion in 2014, the new One World Trade Center became the tallest skyscraper in the Western Hemisphere, at , meant to symbolize the year America gained its independence, 1776. From 2006 to 2018, 3 World Trade Center, 4 World Trade Center, 7World Trade Center, the World Trade Center Transportation Hub, Liberty Park, and Fiterman Hall were completed. St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and Ronald O. Perelman Performing Arts Center are under construction at the World Trade Center site.


title: New York (state)

text: On October 29 and 30, 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused extensive destruction of the state's shorelines, ravaging portions of New York City, Long Island, and southern Westchester with record-high storm surge, with severe flooding and high winds causing power outages for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, and leading to gasoline shortages and disruption of mass transit systems. The storm and its profound effects have prompted the discussion of constructing seawalls and other coastal barriers around the shorelines of New York City and Long Island to minimize the risk from another such future event. Such risk is considered highly probable due to global warming and rising sea levels.


title: New York (state)

text: On March 1, 2020, New York had its first confirmed case of COVID-19 after Washington (state), a previous two months ago. Since March 28, New York had the highest number of confirmed cases of any state in the United States, which is outpaced the state as of February 1, 2021. Nearly 50 percent of known national cases were in the state as of March 2020, with one-third of total known U.S. cases being in New York City.


title: New York (state)

text: From May 19–20, Western New York and the Capital Region entered Phase1 of reopening. On May 26, the Hudson Valley began Phase1, and New York City partially reopened on June 8.


title: New York (state)

text: During July 2020, a federal judge ruled Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio exceeded authority by limiting religious gatherings to 25% when others operated at 50% capacity. On Thanksgiving Eve, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked additional religious restrictions imposed by Cuomo for areas with high infection rates.


title: New York (state)

text: New York's government released a new seal, coat of arms, and flag in April 2020, adding ""E pluribus unum"" below the state's motto. A bill utilizing newly designed flag, arms and seal went into effect in September.


title: New York (state)

text: The state of New York covers a total area of 54,555 square miles (141,297 km2) and ranks as the 27th largest state by size. The highest elevation in New York is Mount Marcy in the Adirondacks of Northern New York, at above sea level; while the state's lowest point is at sea level, on the Atlantic Ocean in Downstate New York.


title: New York (state)

text: In contrast with New York City's urban landscape, the vast majority of the state's geographic area is dominated by meadows, forests, rivers, farms, mountains, and lakes. Most of the southern part of the state rests on the Allegheny Plateau, which extends from the southeastern United States to the Catskill Mountains; the section in the State of New York is known as the Southern Tier. The rugged Adirondack Mountains, with vast tracts of wilderness, lie west of the Lake Champlain Valley. The Great Appalachian Valley dominates eastern New York and contains Lake Champlain Valley as its northern half and the Hudson Valley as its southern half within the state. The Tug Hill region arises as a cuesta east of Lake Ontario. The state of New York contains a part of the Marcellus shale, which extends into Ohio and Pennsylvania.


title: New York (state)

text: "Upstate" and "Downstate" are often used informally to distinguish New York City or its greater metropolitan area from the rest of the State of New York. The placement of a boundary between the two is a matter of great contention. Unofficial and loosely defined regions of Upstate New York include from the Southern Tier, which includes many of the counties along the border with Pennsylvania, to the North Country region, above or sometimes including parts of the Adirondack region.


title: New York (state)

text: Of the State of New York's total area, 13.6% consists of water. Much of New York's boundaries are in water, as is true for New York City: four of its five boroughs are situated on three islands at the mouth of the Hudson River: Manhattan Island; Staten Island; and Long Island, which contains Brooklyn and Queens at its western end. The state's borders include a water boundary in (clockwise from the west) two Great Lakes (Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, which are connected by the Niagara River); the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada, with New York and Ontario sharing the Thousand Islands archipelago within the Saint Lawrence River, while most of its border with Quebec is on land; it shares Lake Champlain with the New England state of Vermont; the New England state of Massachusetts has mostly a land border; New York extends into Long Island Sound and the Atlantic Ocean, sharing a water border with Rhode Island, while Connecticut has land and sea borders. Except for areas near the New York Harbor and the Upper Delaware River, New York has a mostly land border with two Mid-Atlantic states, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. New York is the only state that includes within its borders parts of the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean.


title: New York (state)

text: The Hudson River begins near Lake Tear of the Clouds and flows south through the eastern part of the state, without draining Lakes George or Champlain. Lake George empties at its north end into Lake Champlain, whose northern end extends into Canada, where it drains into the Richelieu River and then ultimately the Saint Lawrence River. The western section of the state is drained by the Allegheny River and rivers of the Susquehanna and Delaware River systems. Niagara Falls is shared between New York and Ontario as it flows on the Niagara River from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The Delaware River Basin Compact, signed in 1961 by New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the federal government, regulates the utilization of water of the Delaware system.


title: New York (state)

text: In general, New York has a humid continental climate, though under the Köppen climate classification, New York City and Long Island have a humid subtropical climate. Weather in New York is heavily influenced by two continental air masses: a warm, humid one from the southwest and a cold, dry one from the northwest. Downstate New York (comprising New York City, Long Island, and lower portions of the Hudson Valley) have rather hot summers with some periods of high humidity and cold, damp winters which are relatively mild compared to temperatures in Upstate New York, due to the downstate region's lower elevation, proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, and relatively lower latitude.


title: New York (state)

text: Upstate New York experiences warm summers, marred by only occasional, brief intervals of sultry conditions, with long and cold winters. Western New York, particularly the Tug Hill region, receives heavy lake-effect snows, especially during the earlier portions of winter, before the surface of Lake Ontario itself is covered by ice. The summer climate is cool in the Adirondacks, Catskills, and at higher elevations of the Southern Tier. Buffalo and its metropolitan area are described as climate change havens for their weather pattern in Western New York.


title: New York (state)

text: Summer daytime temperatures range from the high 70s to low 80s°F (25 to 28°C), over most of the state. In the majority of winter seasons, a temperature of or lower can be expected in the northern highlands (Northern Plateau) and or colder in the southwestern and east-central highlands of the Southern Tier. New York had a record-high temperature of 108°F (42.2°C) on July 22, 1926. Its record-lowest temperature during the winter was −52°F (−46.7°C) in 1979. Governors Island, Manhattan, in New York Harbor, is planned to host a US$1 billion research and education center poised to make New York the global leader in addressing the climate crisis.


title: New York (state)

text: Due to New York's relatively large land area and unique geography compared to other eastern states, there are several distinct ecoregions present in the state, many of them reduced heavily due to urbanization and other human activities: Southern Great Lakes forests (western New York), New England–Acadian forests (fringes on the New England border), Northeastern coastal forests (much of the lower Hudson Valley and western Long Island), Atlantic coastal pine barrens (small pockets of southern Long Island), Northeastern interior dry–mesic oak forest (eastern Southern Tier and upper Hudson Valley), Appalachian–Blue Ridge forests (pockets in the Hudson Valley), Central Appalachian dry oak–pine forest (also around the Hudson Valley), Eastern Great Lakes and Hudson Lowlands, Eastern forest–boreal transition (Adirondacks), Eastern Great Lakes lowland forests (around the Adirondacks), and Allegheny Highlands forests (most of the western Southern Tier).


title: New York (state)

text: Some species that can be found in this state are American ginseng, starry stonewort, waterthyme, water chestnut, eastern poison ivy, poison sumac, giant hogweed, cow parsnip and common nettle. There are more than 70 mammal species, more than 20 bird species, some species of amphibians, and several reptile species.


title: New York (state)

text: Species of mammals that are found in New York are the white-footed mouse, North American least shrew, little brown bat, muskrat, eastern gray squirrel, eastern cottontail, American ermine, groundhog, striped skunk, fisher, North American river otter, raccoon, bobcat, eastern coyote, red fox, gray fox white-tailed deer, moose, and American black bear; extirpated mammals include Canada lynx, American bison, wolverine, Allegheny woodrat, caribou, eastern elk, eastern cougar, and eastern wolf. Some species of birds in New York are the ring-necked pheasant, northern bobwhite, ruffed grouse, spruce grouse, Canada jay, wild turkey, blue jay, eastern bluebird (the state bird), American robin, and black-capped chickadee.


title: New York (state)

text: Birds of prey that are present in the state are great horned owls, bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, American kestrels, and northern harriers. Waterfowl like mallards, wood ducks, canvasbacks, American black ducks, trumpeter swans, Canada geese, and blue-winged teals can be found in the region. Maritime or shore birds of New York are great blue heron, killdeers, northern cardinals, American herring gulls, and common terns. Reptile and amphibian species that can be seen in land areas of New York are queen snakes, massassaugas, hellbenders, diamondback terrapins, timber rattlesnakes, eastern fence lizards, spotted turtles, and Blanding's turtles. Sea turtles that can be found in the state are the green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, leatherback sea turtle and Kemp's ridley sea turtle. New York Harbor and the Hudson River constitute an estuary, making the state of New York home to a rich array of marine life including shellfish—such as oysters and clams—as well as fish, microorganisms, and sea-birds.


title: New York (state)

text: Due to its long history, New York has several overlapping and often conflicting definitions of regions within the state. The regions are also not fully definable due to the colloquial use of regional labels. The New York State Department of Economic Development provides two distinct definitions of these regions. It divides the state into ten economic regions, which approximately correspond to terminology used by residents:


title: New York (state)

text: New York has many state parks and two major forest preserves. Niagara Falls State Park, established in 1885, is the oldest state park in the United States and the first to be created via eminent domain. In 1892, Adirondack Park, roughly the size of the state of Vermont and the largest state park in the United States, was established and given state constitutional protection to remain "forever wild" in 1894. The park is larger than Yellowstone, Everglades, Glacier, and Grand Canyon national parks combined. The Catskill Park was protected in legislation passed in 1885, which declared that its land was to be conserved and never put up for sale or lease. Consisting of of land, the park is a habitat for deer, minks, and fishers. There are some 400 black bears living in the region. The state operates numerous campgrounds, and there are over of multi-use trails in the Park.


title: New York (state)

text: The 1797 Montauk Lighthouse, commissioned under President George Washington, is a major tourist attraction in Montauk Point State Park at the easternmost tip of Long Island. Hither Hills State Park, also on the South Fork of Long Island, offers camping and is a popular destination with surfcasting sport fishermen.


title: New York (state)

text: The State of New York is well represented in the National Park System with 22 national parks, which received 16,349,381 visitors in 2011. In addition, there are four national heritage areas, 27 national natural landmarks, 262 national historic landmarks, and 5,379 listings on the National Register of Historic Places. Some major areas, landmarks, and monuments are listed below.


title: New York (state)

text: New York is divided into 62 counties. Aside from the five counties of New York City, each of these counties is subdivided into towns and cities, incorporated under state law. Towns can contain incorporated villages or unincorporated hamlets. New York City is divided into five boroughs, each coterminous with a county. The major cities of the state developed along the key transportation and trade routes of the early 19th century, including the Erie Canal and railroads paralleling it. Today, the New York Thruway acts as a modern counterpart to commercial water routes. Downstate New York (New York City, Long Island, and the southern portion of the Hudson Valley) can be considered to form the central core of the Northeast megalopolis, an urbanized region stretching from New Hampshire to Virginia.


title: New York (state)

text: There are 62 cities in New York. The largest city in the state and the most populous city in the United States is New York City, which comprises five counties (each coextensive with a borough): Bronx, New York County (Manhattan), Queens, Kings County (Brooklyn), and Richmond County (Staten Island). New York City is home to more than two-fifths of the state's population. Albany, the state capital, is the sixth-largest city in the State of New York. The smallest city is Sherrill, New York, in Oneida County. Hempstead is the most populous town in the state; if it were a city, it would be the second largest in the State of New York, with more than 700,000 residents. New York contains 13 metropolitan areas, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau. Major metro areas include New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, the Capital District (Albany, Schenectady, and Troy), Poughkeepsie, Syracuse, Utica, and Binghamton.


title: New York (state)

text: Having been the most populous state in the U.S. for a century and a half, from the 1810s until 1962, New York is now in fourth place behind California, Texas, and Florida. Growth has been distributed unevenly. The New York City metropolitan area is growing, along with Saratoga County and Buffalo, while cities such as Rochester, and Syracuse, among others, have been losing population for decades, but have actually grown according to the 2020 census. New York City gained more residents between April 2010 and July 2018 (223,615) than any other U.S. city.


title: New York (state)

text: According to immigration statistics, the state is a leading recipient of migrants from around the globe. In 2008 New York had the second-largest international immigrant population in the country among U.S. states, at 4.2million; most reside in and around New York City, due to its size, high profile, vibrant economy, and cosmopolitan culture. New York has a pro-sanctuary city law.


title: New York (state)

text: The United States Census Bureau tabulated in the 2020 census that the population of New York was 20,215,751 on April 1, 2020, a 4.3% increase since the 2010 census. Despite the abundance of open land in the state, New York's population is very urban, with 92% of residents living in an urban area, predominantly in the New York City metropolitan area.


title: New York (state)

text: Two-thirds of the state's population resides in the New York City metropolitan area. New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with an estimated record high population of 8,622,698 in 2017, incorporating more immigration into the city than emigration since the 2010 United States census. More than twice as many people live in New York City as in the second-most populous U.S. city, Los Angeles, and within a smaller area. Long Island alone accounted for a census-estimated 7,838,722 residents in 2015, representing 39.6% of the State of New York's population. Of the total statewide population, 6.5% of New Yorkers were under five years of age, 24.7% under 18, and 12.9% were 65 or older.


title: New York (state)

text: The state's historically most populous racial group, non-Hispanic whites, declined as a proportion of the state population from 94.6% in 1940 to 58.3% in 2010. , 55.6% of New York's population younger than age1 were minorities. New York's robustly increasing Jewish population, the largest outside of Israel, was the highest among states both by percentage and by absolute number in 2012. It is driven by the high reproductive rate of Orthodox Jewish families, particularly in Brooklyn and communities of the Hudson Valley.


title: New York (state)

text: New York is home to the second-largest Asian American population and the fourth-largest Black or African American population in the United States. New York's Black and African population increased by 2.0% between 2000 and 2010, to 3,073,800. In 2019, the Black and African American population increased to an estimated 3,424,002. The Black or African American population is in a state of flux, as New York is the largest recipient of immigrants from Africa, while established Blacks and African Americans are migrating out of New York to the southern United States. The New York City neighborhood of Harlem has historically been a major cultural capital for Blacks and African Americans of sub-Saharan descent, and Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn has the largest such population in the United States. Meanwhile, New York's Asian population increased by a notable 36% from 2000 to 2010, to 1,420,244; in 2019, its population grew to an estimated 1,579,494. Queens, in New York City, is home to the state's largest Asian American population and is the most ethnically diverse county in the United States and the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world.


title: New York (state)

text: New York's growing Hispanic and Latino American population numbered 3,416,922 in 2010, a 19% increase from the 2,867,583 enumerated in 2000. In 2020, it numbered an estimated 3,811,000. Queens is home to the largest Andean (Colombian, Ecuadorian, Peruvian, and Bolivian) populations in the United States. In addition, New York has the largest Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Jamaican American populations in the continental United States. The Chinese population constitutes the fastest-growing nationality in the State of New York, which is the top destination for new Chinese immigrants, and large-scale Chinese immigration continues into the state. Multiple satellites of the original Manhattan Chinatown, in Brooklyn, and around Flushing, Queens, are thriving as traditionally urban enclaves, while also expanding rapidly eastward into suburban Nassau County, on Long Island. Long Island, including Queens and Nassau County, is also home to several Little Indias and a large Koreatown, with large and growing attendant populations of Indian Americans and Korean Americans, respectively. Brooklyn has been a destination for West Indian immigrants of African descent, as well as Asian Indian immigrants. The annual New York City India Day Parade, held on or approximately every August 15 since 1981, is the world's largest Indian Independence Day parade outside of India.


title: New York (state)

text: In the 2000 U.S. census, New York had the largest Italian American population, composing the largest self-identified ancestral group in Staten Island and Long Island, followed by Irish Americans. Albany and the Mohawk Valley also have large communities of ethnic Italians and Irish Americans, reflecting 19th and early 20th-century immigration. According to the American Community Survey, New York had the largest Greek American population too, which counts 148,637 people (0.7% of the state). In Buffalo and Western New York, German Americans comprise the largest ancestry. In the North Country of New York, French Canadians represent the leading ethnicity, given the area's proximity to Quebec. Americans of English ancestry are present throughout all of upstate New York, reflecting early colonial and later immigrants.


title: New York (state)

text: In 2019, the U.S. Census Bureau reported that 69.5% of New York's population aged 5 years and older only spoke English, with 30.6% speaking a language other than English. Spanish remained the second most spoken non-English language with 2,758,925 speakers. Other Indo-European languages were spoken by 1,587,798 residents, and Asian and Pacific Islander languages were spoken by 948,959 people.


title: New York (state)

text: At the American Community Survey's 2017 estimates, nearly six million residents spoke a language other than English. Approximately 1,249,541 New York residents spoke Spanish, 386,290 Chinese, 122,150 Russian, 63,615 Haitian Creole, 62,219 Bengali, and 60,405 Korean. In 2018, 12,756,975 aged 5years and older spoke English alone and 10,415,395 aged 18 and older only spoke English. Spanish-speaking households by majority were not limited to English-speaking. An estimated 2.7million households with residents aged5 and older spoke Spanish. Chinese, Slavic, and French languages were the following largest household languages spoken in 2018.


title: New York (state)

text: In 2010, 70.72% (12,788,233) of New York residents aged five and older reported speaking only English at home, while 14.44% (2,611,903) spoke Spanish, 2.61% (472,955) Chinese (which includes Cantonese and Mandarin), 1.20% (216,468) Russian, 1.18% (213,785) Italian, 0.79% (142,169) French Creole, 0.75% (135,789) French, 0.67% (121,917) Yiddish, 0.63% (114,574) Korean, and Polish was spoken by 0.53% (95,413) of the population over the age of five. In total, 29.28% (5,295,016) of New York's population aged five and older reported speaking a language other than English.


title: New York (state)

text: In 2010, the most common American English dialects spoken in New York, besides General American English, were the New York City area dialect (including New York Latino English and North Jersey English), the Western New England accent around Albany, and Inland Northern American English in Buffalo and western New York State. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world.


title: New York (state)

text: Roughly 3.8 percent of the state's adult population self-identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. This constitutes a total LGBT adult population of 570,388 individuals. In 2010, the number of same-sex couple households stood at roughly 48,932. New York was the fifth state to license same-sex marriages, after New Hampshire. Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York City, said "same-sex marriages in New York City have generated an estimated $259million in economic impact and $16million in City revenues" in the first year after enactment of the Marriage Equality Act. Same-sex marriages in New York were legalized on June 24, 2011, and were authorized to take place beginning thirty days thereafter. New York City is also home to the largest transgender population in the United States, estimated at 25,000 in 2016. The annual New York City Pride March (or gay pride parade) traverses southward down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, ending at Greenwich Village, and is the largest pride parade in the world, attracting tens of thousands of participants and millions of sidewalk spectators each June. LGBT travel guide "Queer in the World" states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs"; LGBT advocate and entertainer Madonna stated metaphorically, “Anyways, not only is New York City the best place in the world because of the queer people here. Let me tell you something, if you can make it here, then you must be queer.”


title: New York (state)

text: The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent protests by members of the gay community against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in the Greenwich Village neighborhood within Lower Manhattan. They are widely considered to constitute the single most important event leading to the gay liberation movement, and the modern fight for LGBT rights. In June 2017, plans were announced for the first official monument to LGBT individuals commissioned by the State of New York, in contrast to the Stonewall National Monument, which was commissioned by the U.S. federal government. The state monument was planned to be built in Hudson River Park in Manhattan, near the waterfront Hudson River piers which have served as historically significant symbols of New York's central role as a meeting place and a safe haven for LGBT communities. Meanwhile, New York State's capital city of Albany annually hold the largest LGBTQ+ pride parade in Upstate New York.


title: New York (state)

text: Also as of 2017, plans were advancing by the State of New York to host the largest international LGBT pride celebration in 2019, known as Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. In New York City, the Stonewall 50–WorldPride NYC 2019 events produced by Heritage of Pride were enhanced through a partnership made with the I LOVE NY program's LGBT division and included a welcome center during the weeks surrounding the Stonewall 50 / WorldPride events that was open to all. Additional commemorative arts, cultural, and educational programming to mark the 50th anniversary of the rebellion at the Stonewall Inn took place throughout the city and the world; Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019 was the largest LGBT pride celebration held in history, drawing an estimated five million people. Brooklyn Liberation March, the largest transgender-rights demonstration in LGBTQ history, took place on June 14, 2020, stretching from Grand Army Plaza to Fort Greene, Brooklyn, focused on supporting Black transgender lives, drawing an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 participants.


title: New York (state)

text: Per the Pew Research Center in 2014, the majority of New York's religious population are Christian (60%), followed by the irreligious (27%), Judaism (7%), Islam (2%), Buddhism and Hinduism (1% each), and other faiths (0.5%). Through another study by the Public Religion Research Institute in 2020, the majority of New York's religious or spiritual population were 67% Christian, followed by the irreligious (22%), Judaism (4%), Islam (2%), Buddhism and Hinduism (1% each), and other faiths (1%).


title: New York (state)

text: Before the 1800s, Protestant sects dominated the religious life of New York, although religion did not play as large a role in the public life of New Netherland as it did in New England, with its Puritan population. Historically, New York served as the foundation for new Christian denominations in the Second Great Awakening. Non-Western Christian traditions and non-Christian religions did not grow for much of the state's history because immigration was predominantly from Western Europe (favored by the quotas in federal immigration law). The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 removed the quotas, allowing for the growth of other religious groups.


title: New York (state)

text: The Roman Catholic Church is the largest Christian denomination in New York as of 2014's study (31%). The largest Roman Catholic diocese is the Latin Church's Archdiocese of New York. The largest Eastern Catholic diocese is the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Passaic of the Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church. The United Methodist Church was the largest Mainline Protestant denomination and second largest overall, followed by the Episcopal Church in the U.S. and other Continuing Anglican bodies. The Presbyterian Church (USA), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and American Baptist Churches USA were the following largest Mainline denominations. Mainline Protestants together made up 11% of Christians in the state as of 2014. In Evangelical Protestantism the Baptists, non-denominational Protestants, and Pentecostals were the largest groups. The National Baptist Convention (USA) and Progressive National Baptist Convention were the largest historically black Protestant churches in New York. Roughly 10% of Christians in New York identify as Evangelical Protestants as of 2014. Additionally, the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox collectively comprised 1% of the religious demographic alongside Jehovah's Witnesses and other Christians; the Orthodox Christians in 2020's study made up 1% of the population, and Jehovah's Witnesses grew to 1% of the population as well.


title: New York (state)

text: Per 2014's study, non-Christian religions accounted for 12% of the population. Judaism is the second largest religion as of 2014 and 2020. In 2010, 588,500 practiced Orthodox Judaism. A little over 392,953 professed Islam. The Powers Street Mosque in New York City was the first Muslim organization in the state. New York is also home to the oldest Zoroastrian fire temple in the United States. Less than 1% of New York's population practice New Age and contemporary paganism. Native American religions are also a prominent minority. Statewide, 17% practiced nothing in particular and 5% each are atheists and agnostic.


title: New York (state)

text: New York's Gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022-Q2 was US$2.0trillion. If the State of New York were an independent nation, it would rank as the 11th largest economy in the world. However, in 2019, the multi-state, New York City-centered metropolitan statistical area produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of US$2 trillion, ranking first nationally by a wide margin and behind the GDP of only nine nations.


title: New York (state)

text: Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world. Lower Manhattan is the third-largest central business district in the United States and is home to the New York Stock Exchange, on Wall Street, and Nasdaq, at 165 Broadway, representing the world's largest and second largest stock exchanges, respectively, as measured both by overall average daily trading volume and by total market capitalization of their listed companies in 2013. Investment banking fees on Wall Street totaled approximately $40billion in 2012, while in 2013, senior New York City bank officers who manage risk and compliance functions earned as much as $324,000 annually. In fiscal year 2013–14, Wall Street's securities industry generated 19% of the State of New York's tax revenue. New York City remains the largest global center for trading in public equity and debt capital markets, driven in part by the size and financial development of the U.S. economy. New York also leads in private equity and the monetary volume of mergers and acquisitions. Several investment banks and investment managers headquartered in Manhattan are important participants in other global financial centers. New York is also the principal commercial banking center of the United States.


title: New York (state)

text: Many of the world's largest media conglomerates are also based in the city. Manhattan contained approximately 520million square feet (48.1million m) of office space in 2013, making it the largest office market in the United States, while Midtown Manhattan is the largest central business district in the nation.


title: New York (state)

text: Silicon Alley, once confined to Manhattan, has since evolved into a metonym for the sphere encompassing the New York City metropolitan region's high technology and entrepreneurship ecosystem; in 2015, Silicon Alley generated over $7.3billion in venture capital investment. High tech industries including digital media, biotechnology, software development, game design, and other fields in information technology are growing, bolstered by New York City's position at the terminus of several transatlantic fiber optic trunk lines, its intellectual capital, as well as its growing outdoor wireless connectivity. In December 2014, the State of New York announced a $50million venture-capital fund to encourage enterprises working in biotechnology and advanced materials; according to Governor Andrew Cuomo, the seed money would facilitate entrepreneurs in bringing their research into the marketplace. On December 19, 2011, then Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced his choice of Cornell University and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to build a two billion dollar graduate school of applied sciences on Roosevelt Island in Manhattan, with the goal of transforming New York City into the world's premier technology capital.


title: New York (state)

text: Meanwhile, Long Island has become a prominent nexus for STEM-based education and technology. Biotechnology companies and scientific research play a significant role in Long Island's economy,<ref name="LongIslandBioPharma">


title: Venus Williams

text: Venus Ebony Starr Williams (born June 17, 1980) is an American professional tennis player. A former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles, Williams has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, five at Wimbledon and two at the US Open. She is widely regarded as one of the all-time greats of the sport.


title: Venus Williams

text: Along with her younger sister, Serena, Venus Williams was coached by her parents Oracene Price and Richard Williams. Turning professional in 1994, she reached her first major final at the 1997 US Open. In 2000 and 2001, Williams claimed the Wimbledon and US Open titles, as well as Olympic singles gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She first reached the singles world No. 1 ranking on 25 February 2002, becoming the first African American woman to do so in the Open Era, and the second of all-time after Althea Gibson. She reached four consecutive major finals between 2002 and 2003, but lost each time to Serena. She then suffered from injuries, winning just one major title between 2003 and 2006. Williams returned to form starting in 2007, when she won Wimbledon (a feat she repeated the following year). In 2010, she returned to the world No. 2 position in singles, but then suffered again from injuries. Starting in 2014, she again gradually returned to form, culminating in two major final appearances at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017.


title: Venus Williams

text: Along with her seven singles major titles, Williams has also won 14 women's doubles major titles, all partnering Serena; the pair is unbeaten in Grand Slam doubles finals. She became the world No. 1 in doubles for the first time on June 7, 2010, alongside Serena, after the pair completed a non-calendar-year Grand Slam at the French Open. The pair also won three Olympic gold medals in women's doubles, in 2000, 2008, and 2012, adding to Venus' singles gold in 2000 and her mixed doubles silver in 2016. Williams has also won two mixed doubles major titles, both in 1998.


title: Venus Williams

text: The Williams sisters are credited with ushering in a new era of power and athleticism on the women's professional tennis tour. With 49 WTA Tour singles titles, Williams trails only her sister Serena among active players with the most singles titles. With 22 WTA doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles, her combined total of 73 WTA titles is also second among active players behind Serena. She is also one of only two active players to have reached the singles finals of all four majors, along with Serena. Williams was twice the season prize money leader (in 2001 and 2017), and ranks second behind Serena in all-time career prize money winnings, having earned over US$42 million as of March 2022.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams was born in Lynwood, California, to Richard Williams and Oracene Price. Her talents were apparent at the age of seven when a professional local tennis player named Tony Chesta spotted Williams and quickly identified her potential in the sport.


title: Venus Williams

text: The Williams family moved from Compton, California, to West Palm Beach, Florida, when she was thirteen, so that she and her sister Serena could attend the tennis academy of Rick Macci, who took notice of the sisters and who would provide additional coaching. He did not always agree with Williams' father but respected that "he treated his daughters like kids, allowed them to be little girls". Richard stopped sending his daughters to national junior tennis tournaments when Williams was eleven, since he wanted them to take it slowly and focus on schoolwork. Another motivation was racial, as he had allegedly heard parents of other players disparage the Williams sisters during tournaments. At that time, Williams held a 63–0 record on the United States Tennis Association junior tour and was ranked No. 1 among the under-12 players in Southern California. In 1995, Richard pulled his daughters out of Macci's academy, and from then on took over all coaching at their home.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams is an aggressive player, with an all-court game. Due to her assertive playing style, she typically accumulates large numbers of both winners and unforced errors. She possesses powerful groundstrokes on both sides, and is capable of hitting both her forehand and backhand flat, and with topspin. She is also adept at hitting her backhand with slice, to slow down rallies and disrupt pace within rallies. Her serve is powerful, allowing her to serve numerous aces in any match. At the peak of her career, her first serve would average 182 km/h (113 mph), and would frequently peak at 199 km/h (124 mph); her serve has slowed since then, averaging 172 km/h (107 mph), and peaking at 189 km/h (117 mph). She possesses effective kick and slice serves, which she deploys as second serves, preventing opponents from scoring free points. Up to 2014, she held the record for the fastest serve on the WTA Tour, recorded at the 2007 US Open, at 208 km/h (129 mph). She likes to approach the net, and finish points quickly. Her height, at , provides her with a long arm span, allowing her to reach difficult returns while positioned at the net. She has a repertoire of shots to perform at the net, which leads to many won points.


title: Venus Williams

text: Due to her all-court game, Williams can hit winners from any position. An exceptional tactical player with remarkable problem-solving skills, she also plays with sheer power and aggression. She relies on defense infrequently, rarely hitting drop shots and lobs, as her exceptional speed and court coverage allow her to hit with assertive power and strength from frequently defensive positions. Further strengths include her detailed and intricate footwork, and supreme athleticism. She has been noted for her elegant style of play, and she prefers to play on fast grass, hard, and carpet courts.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams turned professional on October 31, 1994, at the age of fourteen. In the first round of the tournament, Venus played former NCAA singles champion Shaun Stafford, who earlier that year had reached the fourth round of the French Open. Williams beat her fellow American 6–3, 6–4. In the second round of her first professional tournament, the Bank of the West Classic in Oakland, Williams was up a set and a service break against world No. 2 Arantxa Sánchez Vicario before losing the match. Vicario went on to win the title by defeating Martina Navratilova. That was the only tournament Williams played in 1994.


title: Venus Williams

text: In 1995, Williams played three more events as a wild card, falling in the first round of the tournament in Los Angeles and the tournament in Toronto but reaching the quarterfinals of the tournament in Oakland, defeating No. 18 Amy Frazier in the second round for her first win over a top 20 ranked player before losing to Magdalena Maleeva. Williams played five events in 1996, falling in the first round four times but reaching the third round in Los Angeles, before losing to No. 1 Steffi Graf.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams played 15 tour events in 1997, including five Tier I tournaments. She reached the quarterfinals in three of the Tier I events – the State Farm Evert Cup in Compton, California, the European Indoor Championships in Zürich, and the Kremlin Cup in Moscow. In Indian Wells in March, Williams defeated No. 9 Iva Majoli in the third round for her first win over a player ranked in the top 10. She then lost in the quarterfinals to No. 8 Lindsay Davenport in a third set tiebreak. Her ranking broke into the top 100 on April 14, 1997. She made her debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament at the French Open, reaching the second round before losing to Nathalie Tauziat. She then lost in the first round of Wimbledon to Magdalena Grzybowska. During her debut at the US Open, she lost the final to Martina Hingis after defeating Irina Spîrlea in a semifinal which saw Spîrlea and Williams collide during a changeover when neither would yield as they passed the umpire's chair. Richard Williams, her father, later claimed that this incident was racially motivated.


title: Venus Williams

text: She was the first woman since Pam Shriver in 1978 to reach a US Open singles final on her first attempt and was the first unseeded US Open women's singles finalist since 1958. On September 8, 1997, her ranking broke into the top 50 for the first time. She ended the year ranked No. 22.


title: Venus Williams

text: In her debut at the Australian Open, Williams defeated younger sister Serena Williams in the second round, which was the sisters' first professional meeting. Williams eventually lost in the quarterfinals to No. 3 Davenport.


title: Venus Williams

text: Three weeks later, Williams defeated No. 2 Davenport for the first time in the semifinals of the IGA Tennis Classic in Oklahoma City. Williams then defeated Joannette Kruger in the final to win the first singles title of her career. In her first Tier I event of the year, Williams lost in the semifinals of the State Farm Evert Cup in Indian Wells to No. 1 Hingis. The following week, Williams won the Tier I Lipton International Players Championships in Key Biscayne, Florida, defeating No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals. On March 30, 1998, her ranking broke into the top 10 for the first time, at No. 10.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams played only one tournament on clay before the 1998 French Open. At the Italian Open in Rome, she defeated her sister in the quarterfinals and No. 5 Sánchez Vicario in the semifinals before losing to No. 1 Hingis in the final. She lost again to Hingis in the quarterfinals of the French Open. She lost her first match at the Direct Line International Championships in Eastbourne on grass before losing to No. 3 and eventual champion Jana Novotná in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. On July 27, 1998, her ranking rose to No. 5.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams played three tournaments during the North American 1998 summer hard court season. She reached her fifth final of the year at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, defeating No. 6 Monica Seles in the semifinals before losing to No. 1 Davenport. Patellar tendonitis in her left knee caused her to retire from her quarterfinal match at the tournament in San Diego while trailing Mary Pierce 4–0 in the third set. At the US Open, Williams defeated fourth-seeded Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals before losing to second seeded and eventual champion Davenport in the semifinals. 1998 was the first year that Williams reached at least the quarterfinals of all slams.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams played four tournaments in the remainder of 1998. She won her third title of the year at the Grand Slam Cup in Munich in September, defeating No. 9 Patty Schnyder in the final. She lost in the second round of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Filderstadt before losing in the final of the Tier I Swisscom Challenge in Zürich to No. 1 Davenport and the semifinals of the Tier I Kremlin Cup in Moscow to Pierce. She had earned enough points during the year to participate in the year-ending Chase Championship but withdrew from the tournament because of tendonitis in her knee. She finished the year ranked No. 5.


title: Venus Williams

text: In 1998, Williams teamed with Justin Gimelstob to win the mixed doubles titles at the Australian Open and the French Open. Her sister Serena Williams won the other two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles that year, completing a "Williams Family Mixed Doubles Grand Slam". Williams won the first two women's doubles titles of her career, in Oklahoma City and Zürich. Both titles came with her sister, becoming only the third pair of sisters to win a WTA tour doubles title.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams started the 1999 tour in Australia, where she lost to No. 10 Steffi Graf in the quarterfinals of the Medibank International in Sydney and No. 1 Davenport in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. However, she rebounded at the Faber Grand Prix in Hanover, defeating Graf for the first time in the semifinals before losing the final to No. 3 Novotná. Williams then successfully defended her titles in both Oklahoma City and Key Biscayne. She defeated Novotná and Graf to reach the final in Key Biscayne, where she defeated her sister in three sets in the first final on the WTA Tour to be contested by two sisters.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams played four clay court events during the spring. She lost her first match at the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida. Three weeks later, however, she won her first title on clay at the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg, defeating Mary Pierce in the final. Williams then won the Tier I Italian Open in Rome, defeating No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and No. 8 Pierce in the final. At the French Open, she extended her winning streak to 22 matches before losing in the fourth round to No. 125 Barbara Schwartz. Williams teamed with Serena Williams to win the women's doubles title at this event, the first Grand Slam title the pair won together.


title: Venus Williams

text: At the 1999 Wimbledon Championships, Williams defeated No. 17 Anna Kournikova in the fourth round to reach the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, where she lost to eventual runner-up Graf.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams rebounded in the summer when she won two Fed Cup matches against Italy and lost in the final of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford to No. 1 Davenport. One week later, Williams defeated Davenport in the semifinals of the TIG Tennis Classic in San Diego before losing to No. 2 Hingis in the final. In her last tournament before the US Open, Williams won the Pilot Pen Tennis in New Haven, Connecticut, defeating No. 5 Seles in the semifinals and Davenport in the final. On August 30, 1999, her world ranking reached third for the first time. Seeded third at the US Open, Williams lost in the semifinals to No. 1 Hingis in three sets. However, she teamed with singles champion Serena Williams at this event to win their second Grand Slam women's doubles title.


title: Venus Williams

text: During the remainder of the year, Williams contributed to the USA's victory over Russia in the Fed Cup final, winning one singles rubber before joining her sister to win the doubles rubber. At the Grand Slam Cup in Munich, Williams defeated Hingis in the semifinals before losing to her sister Serena for the first time in the final. Williams won her sixth title of the year at the Tier I event in Zurich, defeating No. 1 Hingis in the final. Four weeks later, she lost to Davenport in the semifinals of the tournament in Philadelphia. Making her debut at the year-ending Chase Championships, Williams lost to Hingis in the semifinals. She finished the year ranked No. 3.


title: Venus Williams

text: In 2000, Williams missed the first five months of the year with tendinitis in both wrists. She returned to the tour during the European clay court season. She lost in the quarterfinals of the Betty Barclay Cup in Hamburg to Amanda Coetzer and in the third round of the Tier I Italian Open in Rome to Jelena Dokić. Although she had won only two of her four matches before the French Open, she was seeded fourth there. She won her first four matches in Paris without losing a set before losing in the quarterfinals to eighth-seeded and former champion Arantxa Sánchez Vicario in three sets.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams then won 35 consecutive singles matches and six tournaments. She won her first Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon, defeating No. 1 Martina Hingis in the quarterfinals, sister Serena in the semifinal and defending champion Lindsay Davenport in the final. She also teamed with her sister Serena to win the women's doubles title at this event.


title: Venus Williams

text: She won three Tier II events during the North American summer hard court season, defeating Davenport in the final of the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford and Monica Seles in the finals of both the Acura Classic in San Diego and the Pilot Pen Tennis championships in New Haven.


title: Venus Williams

text: At the US Open, Williams defeated No. 1 Hingis in the semifinals and No. 2 Davenport in the final. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she defeated Sánchez Vicario in the quarterfinals, Seles in the semifinals, and Elena Dementieva in the final to win the gold medal. She also won the gold medal in women's doubles with her younger sister Serena. Davenport eventually snapped her winning streak in October in the final of the Linz Open. Williams did not play a tournament the rest of the year because of anemia. She finished the year ranked No. 3 and with six singles titles.


title: Venus Williams

text: In 2001, Williams reached the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time, where she lost to No. 1 Hingis. However, Williams teamed with her sister to win the doubles title at the event, completing a Career Golden Slam in women's doubles for the pair.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams also reached the semifinals of the Tier I Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, California, where she controversially defaulted her match with her sister just before the match started. Williams had been suffering from knee tendinitis throughout the tournament and eventually this prevented her from playing. The following day, Williams and her father Richard were booed as they made their way to their seats to watch the final. Serena Williams was subsequently booed during the final with Kim Clijsters and during the trophy presentation. Due to this, neither Williams sister entered the tournament for 14 years, with her sister Serena entering in 2015 after appeals for forgiveness from the event and the WTA Tour. Williams rebounded from the Indian Wells 'boycott' controversy to win the next tournament on the tour calendar, the Tier I Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida. She defeated Hingis in the semifinals and No. 4 Jennifer Capriati in the final, after saving eight championship points. Because of this victory, her ranking rose to a career high of No. 2.


title: Venus Williams

text: During the European clay court season, Williams won the Tier II tournament in Hamburg but lost in the third round of the Tier I EUROCARD Ladies German Open to No. 18 Justine Henin and the first round of the French Open to Barbara Schett. This was only the second time that she had lost in the first round of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Williams then successfully defended her Wimbledon title, defeating third-seeded Davenport in the semifinals and eighth-seeded Henin in three sets in Henin's first Wimbledon final.


title: Venus Williams

text: During the North American summer hard court season, Williams won for the second consecutive year the tournaments in San Diego, defeating Seles in the final, and in New Haven, defeating Davenport in the final. Williams also won the US Open singles title for the second consecutive year, without dropping a set. In the quarterfinals, she beat fifth-seeded Clijsters, followed by a semifinal victory over No. 2 Capriati. She played her sister Serena in the final, which was the first Grand Slam singles final contested by two sisters during the open era. Venus won the match and her fourth Grand Slam singles title. Williams also became only the sixth woman in history to win the singles titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open in consecutive years, the others being Martina Navratilova (twice), Steffi Graf (twice), Althea Gibson, Maureen Connolly Brinker, and Helen Wills Moody (twice).


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams began 2002 by winning the Mondial Australian Women's Hardcourts in Gold Coast, Australia, defeating Henin in the final. However, she then lost for the first time in her career to Seles in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Williams then went on to win the Open Gaz de France in Paris when Jelena Dokić withdrew from the final, and the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium, defeating Henin in the final. As a result of her strong start to the season, Williams assumed the world No. 1 position for the first time on February 25, dislodging Capriati. Williams was the first African-American woman ever to hold the ranking. She held it for just three weeks before surrendering it back to Capriati.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams failed to defend her title in Miami after losing in the semifinals to her sister Serena. However, she made a strong start to the clay-court season, winning the Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, defeating Henin in the final. A week after winning that tournament, she once again replaced Capriati as the No. 1, before losing it again to Capriati after three weeks. During those three weeks, Williams had made the final in Hamburg, defeating Hingis in the semifinals before losing to Clijsters in the final. Seeded second at the French Open, Williams defeated former champion Seles to reach the semifinals for the first time. There, she defeated Clarisa Fernández. In the final, Williams met her sister Serena Williams for a second time in a Grand Slam final, with her sister winning. Williams once again replaced Capriati as the No. 1 as a result of reaching the final.


title: Venus Williams

text: As the top seed at Wimbledon, Williams defeated Henin in the semifinals to make the final for the third consecutive year. However, there, she lost to her sister Serena. This result meant Serena Williams replaced Venus as the No. 1. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the women's doubles title at the event, their fifth Grand Slam women's doubles title together.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams won the titles in San Diego and New Haven for the third consecutive year, defeating Davenport and Dokic to win the former and defeating Davenport in the final of the latter. At the US Open, Williams defeated Seles in the quarterfinals and Amélie Mauresmo in three sets to make the final. Playing her younger sister Serena for their third consecutive Grand Slam final, her sister won once again. After that, Williams played just four more matches during the season. She reached the semifinals at the year-ending Sanex Championships after defeating Seles in the quarterfinals, but she then was forced to retire against Clijsters due to injury. Williams finished the year ranked No. 2 having won seven titles, her best showing in both respects of her career.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams started 2003 by defeating fifth seed Justine Henin to make the final of the Australian Open for the first time. In the final, however, she lost to her sister Serena. This marked the first time in the open era that the same two players had met in four consecutive Grand Slam finals. Venus and Serena Williams teamed to win the women's doubles title at the event, their sixth Grand Slam title in women's doubles.


title: Venus Williams

text: In February, Williams won the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium for the second consecutive year, defeating Kim Clijsters in the final. However, shortly afterwards, she began to struggle with injury. She reached the final of the clay-court J&S Cup in Warsaw, before being forced to retire against Amélie Mauresmo. She then suffered her earliest exit at a Grand Slam tournament in two years when she lost in the fourth round of the French Open to Vera Zvonareva.


title: Venus Williams

text: At Wimbledon, Williams was seeded fourth. Williams defeated former champion Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals and Kim Clijsters in the semifinals to advance to her fourth consecutive Wimbledon final, where she lost again to sister Serena.


title: Venus Williams

text: Wimbledon was Williams's last event of the year as an abdominal injury that occurred during the Clijsters match prevented her from playing again. While she was recovering from the injury, her sister Yetunde Price was murdered. Williams finished the year ranked No. 11. It was the first time in nearly six years that she had dropped out of the top 10.


title: Venus Williams

text: In 2004, Williams came back to the tour suffering inconsistent results. As the third seed because of a protected ranking, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, where she lost to Lisa Raymond. She then lost in the quarterfinals of her next three tournaments.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams began to find her form at the beginning of the clay-court season. At the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, Williams defeated Conchita Martínez in the final to win her first title in over a year and the second Tier I title on clay of her career. She then won in Warsaw, defeating Svetlana Kuznetsova in the final, before reaching the final of the Tier I German Open in Berlin. She then withdrew from that match against Mauresmo due to injury. Going into the French Open, Williams had the best clay-court record among the women and was among the favorites to win the title; however, after making the quarterfinals to extend her winning streak on the surface to 19 matches, she lost to eventual champion Anastasia Myskina. Despite her defeat, she re-entered the top 10.


title: Venus Williams

text: In the Wimbledon Women's Singles, Williams lost a controversial second-round match to Croatian Karolina Šprem. The umpire of the match, Ted Watts, awarded Šprem an unearned point in the second-set tiebreak. Upon the conclusion of the match, he was relieved of his duties. This defeat marked the first time since 1997 that Williams had exited Wimbledon prior to the quarterfinals. After Wimbledon, Williams reached her fourth final of the year at the Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, California, where she was beaten by Lindsay Davenport for the first time since 2000.


title: Venus Williams

text: As the defending champion at the Athens Olympics, Williams lost in the third round to Mary Pierce. She then won three very close matches against Petra Mandula, Shikha Uberoi and Chanda Rubin to make the fourth round of the US Open where she lost to Davenport, the first time she had ever lost at the US Open prior to the semifinals. Williams completed the year by losing in the quarterfinals of three indoor tournaments in the fall, a period that included defeat in her first meeting with 17-year-old Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova at the Zurich Open. Williams finished the year as No. 9 and did not qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships.


title: Venus Williams

text: In 2005, Williams started the year by losing in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Alicia Molik. She then reached the final in Antwerp, defeating Clijsters and Myskina en route. In the final, Williams was a set and a service break up against Mauresmo before eventually losing.


title: Venus Williams

text: In March, at the NASDAQ-100 Open in Miami, Williams defeated sister and Australian Open champion Serena Williams in the quarterfinals, the first time she had defeated her sister Serena since 2001. Williams went on to lose in the semifinals to No. 3 Sharapova. In May, Williams won her first title in over a year at the clay-courts at the İstanbul Cup, defeating Nicole Vaidišová in the final. However, at the French Open, she lost in the third round to 15-year-old Sesil Karatantcheva, who subsequently tested positive for steroids and was suspended.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams was seeded 14th for the 2005 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles. In the quarterfinals of the tournament, she defeated French Open runner-up Pierce in a second-set tiebreak, winning it 12–10 to make the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time in two years. There, she defeated defending champion and second-seeded Maria Sharapova to make the Wimbledon final for the fifth time in six years. Playing top-seeded Davenport in the final, Williams saved a match point with a backhand winner en route to winning. This was Williams's third Wimbledon singles title, her fifth Grand Slam singles title overall and her first since 2001. It was the first time in 70 years that a player had won after being down match point during the women's final at Wimbledon. In addition, Williams was the lowest-ranked (No. 16) and lowest-seeded (14th) champion in tournament history. Williams returned to the top 10 following the victory.


title: Venus Williams

text: Following Wimbledon, Williams reached her fourth final of the year in Stanford, where she lost to Clijsters. At the US Open, Williams achieved her second consecutive win over her sister Serena in the fourth round, but then lost in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Kim Clijsters. Williams did not qualify for the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships because of an injury sustained during the tournament in Beijing. She finished the year ranked No. 10. It was the first year since 2001 that she had finished a year ranked higher than her sister Serena Williams.


title: Venus Williams

text: In 2006, Williams was upset in the first round of the Australian Open by Tsvetana Pironkova, which was her earliest loss ever at that tournament. After that loss, she did not play again for three months due to a wrist injury. She returned in late April on clay in Warsaw, where she defeated former No. 1 Martina Hingis in the second round, before losing to Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals. Williams completed the clay-court season by reaching the quarterfinals of the French Open, where she lost to Nicole Vaidišová.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams was the defending champion and one of the favorites to win the singles title at Wimbledon. However, she lost in the third round to 26th-seeded Jelena Janković. After the loss, Williams said that she was having pain in her left wrist, although she admitted that the injury was not the cause of her loss. Williams did not play in the US Open series or the US Open itself due to the wrist injury. In October, during her first tournament in almost three months, she reinjured her wrist at the tournament in Luxembourg and lost in the second round to qualifier Agnieszka Radwańska. Williams finished the season as No. 46, her lowest finish since she began to play on the WTA Tour full-time in 1997. It was the second consecutive year she finished higher than her sister Serena, who finished the year at No. 95.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams withdrew from the 2007 Australian Open, the second consecutive Grand Slam that she had missed due to her recurring wrist injury. She returned in February at the Cellular South Cup in Memphis, USA, defeating top-seeded Shahar Pe'er in the final, her first singles title since her victory at Wimbledon in 2005.


title: Venus Williams

text: At the beginning of the clay-court season, Williams reached the semifinals of the Tier I Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, where she lost to Jelena Janković on a third set tiebreak. She also lost to fourth seed Janković in the third round of the French Open, her third consecutive loss to Janković. During her second round win over Ashley Harkleroad, Williams hit a serve, which was the second fastest woman's serve ever recorded and the fastest ever recorded during a main draw match at the time.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams was ranked No. 31 going into Wimbledon and was seeded 23rd at the tournament due to her previous results at Wimbledon. Williams was a game away from defeat in her first round match against Alla Kudryavtseva and in her third round match against Akiko Morigami she was two points away from defeat, but she eventually won both 7–5 in the third set. She then advanced to reach her sixth Wimbledon final, after beating Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Ana Ivanovic in straight sets en route, where she defeated 18th seed Marion Bartoli also in straight sets. Williams thus became only the fourth woman in the open era to win Wimbledon at least four times, along with Billie Jean King, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf. She also became the lowest-seeded Wimbledon champion in history, breaking the record she herself set in 2005. Williams returned to the top 20 as a result of the win.


title: Venus Williams

text: At the US Open, after setting a Grand-Slam record serve in the opening round, Williams advanced to her first Grand Slam semifinal outside of Wimbledon since 2003. However she then lost to eventual champion Justine Henin. The tournament resulted in Williams's ranking moving up to No. 9. Williams then won her third title of the year at the Hansol Korea Open Tennis Championships in Seoul, South Korea, defeating Maria Kirilenko in the final, before then losing in the final of the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo to Virginie Razzano. Williams had earned enough points during the year to qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships in Madrid; however, she withdrew because of continuing problems with anemia. Williams finished the year as No. 8 with three titles, her best performance in both respects since 2002, and a winning percentage of 83 percent.


title: Venus Williams

text: In 2008, as the eighth seed at the Australian Open, Williams reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 2003. However, she then lost to eventual runner-up Ana Ivanovic. Williams made her first semifinal of the year at the Bangalore Open in Bangalore, India, where she met sister Serena for the first time since 2005 with Serena Williams winning despite Venus Williams holding a match point in the third set tie break.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams missed two tournaments at the beginning of the clay-court season due to undisclosed medical problems. At the French Open, Williams was seeded eighth but was eliminated by 26th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta in the third round.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams was the defending champion and seventh-seeded player at Wimbledon. Without dropping a set, she reached her seventh Wimbledon singles final. She then won her fifth Wimbledon singles title, and seventh Grand Slam singles title overall, by beating sister Serena in straight sets. This was the first time since 2003 that Venus and Serena Williams had played each other in a Grand Slam final and was the first time since 2001 that Venus had defeated her in a Grand Slam final. Venus and Serena Williams then teamed to win the women's doubles title, their first Grand Slam doubles title together since 2003.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams lost in the quarterfinals of the Beijing Olympics to Li Na. She did, however, earn a gold medal along with her sister Serena in women's doubles, their second gold medal as a team, having won together at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. At the US Open, Williams was playing some of her best tennis since dominating the circuit in 2003, However, she was defeated in two tiebreaks by Serena Williams (the eventual tournament winner) in a close quarterfinal match, after Williams had led 5–3 in both sets.


title: Venus Williams

text: At the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany in October, Williams defeated a player ranked in the top three for the first time that season by defeating No. 3 Dinara Safina to reach her third semifinal of the year. There, she lost to Janković. A fortnight later, Williams won the Zurich Open, defeating Ivanovic in the semifinals before defeating Pennetta in the final to claim her second title of the year and secure a position in the year-ending 2008 WTA Tour Championships in Doha, Qatar. There, Williams defeated No. 2 Safina, No. 3 Serena Williams and No. 5 Dementieva in the preliminary round-robin stage. In the semifinals, Williams defeated No. 1 Janković before winning the year-ending tournament for the first time by defeating Vera Zvonareva in the final. She ended the year ranked No. 6 with three titles and a winning percentage of 78 percent.


title: Venus Williams

text: As the sixth seed at the 2009 Australian Open, Williams lost in the second round to Carla Suárez Navarro after holding a match point in the third set. However, she teamed up with her sister Serena to win the women's doubles title at the event, their eighth Grand Slam doubles title together. Williams rebounded in singles play in February at the Premier 5 (formerly Tier I) Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating defending champion and No. 4 Dementieva in the quarterfinals and No. 1 Serena Williams in the semifinals on a third set tiebreak. The latter win meant that Williams led the head-to-head in career matches with her sister for the first time since 2002. Williams went on to defeat Virginie Razzano in the final. This win meant Williams was ranked in the top five for the first time since 2003, while it also marked her 40th professional singles title, only the twelfth player in the open era to achieve the feat. Williams won another title the following week at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel in Acapulco, Mexico, defeating Pennetta in the final. This was her first title on clay since 2005.


title: Venus Williams

text: On European clay, Williams reached the semifinals in Rome before losing to No. 1 Safina. This run meant Williams was ranked in the top three for the first time since 2003. Seeded third at the French Open, Williams lost to Ágnes Szávay in the third round, the third consecutive year she had exited at that stage.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams was seeded third at Wimbledon. She advanced to her eighth Wimbledon final, at which point she had won 34 straight sets (held since Wimbledon 2007). In the final, however, she lost the first set tie-break, and from then on lost in two sets to sister Serena. The Williams sisters teamed up to win the doubles title at the tournament for the fourth time.


title: Venus Williams

text: In Stanford, Williams defeated Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva to advance to the finals, where she would lose to Marion Bartoli. Teaming with her sister, she played doubles and won the title, defeating Monica Niculescu and Yung-Jan Chan.


title: Venus Williams

text: At the 2009 US Open, as the third seed, Williams made it to the fourth round before losing to Kim Clijsters in three sets. Williams then teamed up with Serena Williams to play doubles at the open, where they won the title over defending champions and No. 1s in doubles, Cara Black and Liezel Huber, claiming their third grand slam doubles title in 2009.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams's last tournament in 2009 was the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships, where she was the defending champion in singles. She was in the maroon group which includes her sister Serena Williams, along with Elena Dementieva and Svetlana Kuznetsova. She lost her first match against Dementieva, and her second match against her sister Serena- both in straight sets, after taking the first set. In her third and final RR match, Williams defeated Svetlana Kuznetsova. Because of Dementieva's loss to Kuznetsova in their round robin match, Williams advanced to the semifinal of the championships. In her semifinal match, she defeated Jelena Janković of Serbia to advance to her second consecutive final in the tournament. In the final, she lost to her sister Serena. In doubles, Williams teamed with her sister as the second seeds. However, they lost to Nuria Llagostera Vives and María José Martínez Sánchez in the semifinal. Their doubles record at the end of the year stood at 24–2.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams finished 2009 ranked No. 6 in singles (with a winning percentage of 70 percent) and No. 3 in doubles with Serena Williams, in spite of them playing only six events together that year.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams played at the Australian Open as the sixth seed. She defeated 17th-seeded Francesca Schiavone in the fourth round. She was two points from defeating 16th-seeded Li Na in the quarterfinals before losing in three sets. In doubles, she teamed with her sister Serena to successfully defend their title, defeating the top-ranked team of Cara Black and Liezel Huber in the final. She went onto the clay at the Abierto Mexico Telcel in Acapulco, where she was the defending champion. She reached the semifinals after recovering from a 1–5 third set deficit to Laura Pous Tió in the quarterfinals. In the final, she defeated first-time finalist Polona Hercog from Slovenia. This was her 43rd career title, the most among active female players.


title: Venus Williams

text: Her next tournament was the Premier Mandatory Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, where she was seeded third. She defeated No. 9 Agnieszka Radwańska in the quarterfinals and No. 13 Marion Bartoli in the semifinals to reach her third straight WTA tour final and fourth Sony Ericsson Open final. She was defeated by Kim Clijsters in the final in just 58 minutes, ending her 15-match winning streak. By reaching the final, her ranking improved to No. 4 and she crossed the $26 million mark in career prize money, the only player besides Serena Williams to do so.


title: Venus Williams

text: The knee injury that hampered her during the final of the Sony Ericsson Open forced her to skip the Fed Cup tie against Russia and the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. Williams returned to the tour at the Premier 5 Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. She suffered the worst defeat of her career in the quarterfinals, losing to No. 4 Jelena Janković. Despite this loss, Williams's ranking improved to No. 3 on May 10.


title: Venus Williams

text: Her next tournament was the Madrid Open, a Premier Mandatory tournament. She lost to Aravane Rezaï in the final. In doubles, she teamed with her sister Serena to win the title.


title: Venus Williams

text: On May 17, her ranking improved to No. 2, behind only Serena. This was the fourth time that the Williams sisters have occupied the top two spots, and the first time since May 2003.


title: Venus Williams

text: Her next tournament was the French Open, where she played both singles and doubles despite her knee injury. Seeded second in singles, she advanced past the third round at this tournament for the first time since 2006 before losing to Nadia Petrova in the round of 16. She also played doubles with Serena as the top seeds. Their defeat of Huber and Anabel Medina Garrigues in the semifinals increased their doubles ranking to No. 1. They then defeated 12th seeded Květa Peschke and Katarina Srebotnik in the final to win their fourth consecutive Grand Slam women's doubles title. By virtue of reaching the No. 1-ranking in doubles on June 7, 2010, Venus and Serena became just the 6th and 7th women to reach the No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles following in the footsteps of Martina Navratilova, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, and Kim Clijsters.


title: Venus Williams

text: Her next tournament was the Wimbledon Championships, where she had reached the final the previous three years. Despite her knee injury, she made it to the quarterfinals, where she lost to Tsvetana Pironkova. Pironkova was ranked No. 82 and had never gone past the second round of a Grand Slam event. As a result, Williams dropped to No. 4. She was the defending champion in doubles with her sister Serena, having won the tournament in the previous two years. However, they lost this time in the quarterfinals to Elena Vesnina and Vera Zvonareva.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams then missed all tournaments in the US Open Series because of a left knee injury but still participated at the US Open as the third seed. She won three matches to move into the fourth round. Williams became one of only two women in 2010 (along with Caroline Wozniacki) to reach at least the fourth round at all four Grand Slam singles tournaments. Williams then defeated Pe'er and French Open champion Schiavone en route to her eighth US Open semifinal, against defending champion Clijsters. Williams won the first set of their match and recovered from 5–2 down in the second set but ultimately double-faulted on a key point near the end of the match and lost in three sets. Because of Serena's withdrawal from the US Open, Williams did not participate at the doubles event, where she was the defending champion.


title: Venus Williams

text: The recovery of her left knee took longer than expected and it forced her to miss the rest of 2010, including the year-ending Sony Ericsson Championships and Fed Cup final. Williams ended the year ranked fifth in singles, the first time she ended a year in the top five since 2002, while playing only nine tournaments. She finished the year ranked eleventh in doubles.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams began the year at the final edition of Hong Kong Tennis Classic exhibition event. She lost both her singles matches against Vera Zvonareva and Li Na, but she helped Team America to win the silver group. At the Australian Open, Williams retired in the second game of her third round match against Andrea Petkovic after sustaining a hip muscle injury in her second round. This was Williams's first retirement during a match in a Grand Slam tournament since 1994 and thus ended her record of most Grand Slam matches without ever retiring, with 250 consecutive matches. This was also her first retirement from a match since LA Women's Tennis Championships in Los Angeles in 2004, ending her 294 consecutive matches without retiring. The injury forced Williams to pull out of the Fed Cup quarterfinal against Belgium, the Dubai Tennis Championships, and the Mexican Open, where she was the two-time defending champion in both tournaments. She subsequently withdrew from the Miami Open causing her ranking to drop to number fifteen. She also missed the clay court season which caused her ranking to drop to number twenty-nine. Her absence from the French Open marked the first Grand Slam tournament since the 2003 US Open where neither of the Williams sisters were competing.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams then made her first appearance since the Australian Open in Eastbourne. Unseeded, she lost for the first time in eleven meetings to Daniela Hantuchová in the quarterfinals. She was seeded 23rd at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships. She played for nearly three hours in her second round match against Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm, winning in three tough sets. She then defeated Spaniard María José Martínez Sánchez in the third round, but was defeated by Bulgarian 32nd seed Tsvetana Pironkova in the fourth round.


title: Venus Williams

text: Originally scheduled to participate in the 2011 Rogers Cup in Toronto and the 2011 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Williams withdrew due to viral illness. Her next scheduled tournament was the US Open. Unseeded at the US Open, Williams defeated Vesna Dolonts in the first round. She was scheduled to meet 22nd seed Sabine Lisicki in the second round, but withdrew before the match began after being diagnosed with Sjögren syndrome, an autoimmune disease which causes fatigue and muscle and joint pain. This was the first time in her career that she did not reach the quarterfinals or better in any of the Grand Slam tournaments in a season. As a result, her ranking dropped to one-hundred and five.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams did not play for the rest of the year at a competitive level; she appeared in three exhibitions tournaments in November and early December. She played against sister Serena in Colombia, which she won in straight sets. The week later, the sisters appeared in Milan, Italy to play exhibition against Italian duo Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta. Williams lost both her singles tie-break matches but won the doubles pairing with her sister. Williams played her third exhibition tournament in Barbados where she lost to Victoria Azarenka. She ended the year ranked No. 102. This was her first year-end finish ranked outside of the top 50 since 1997.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams was scheduled to play in Auckland in preparation for the Australian Open. but withdrew from both tournaments due to health problems, announcing that she would return to the WTA tour in February. This dropped her ranking to No. 135. In February, Williams returned to competition in the doubles match of the Fed Cup World Group II tie between USA and Belarus. Playing with Liezel Huber, she won the dead-rubber in straight sets.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams was granted wildcards to participate in the Miami and Charleston tournaments. In the first round of Miami — her first singles match since the 2011 US Open — Williams defeated Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm in straight sets. In the second round, she defeated No. 3 Petra Kvitová, her first top-3 victory since beating Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2009. In the third round, she saved a match point and defeated Aleksandra Wozniak in a three-set tiebreaker that ended a nearly three-hour match. In the round of 16, she bested No. 15 Ana Ivanovic in three sets to reach the quarterfinals, where she lost to the eventual champion, Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets. Her run improved her ranking to number 87. A week later in Charleston, she reached her second consecutive quarterfinal, where she lost in three sets to Samantha Stosur.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams was granted wildcards to participate in Madrid and Rome. In Madrid, she lost in the second round to Angelique Kerber, but still improved her ranking to No. 63. A week later in Rome, she reached her third quarterfinal of the four tournaments she had participated in with a straight-sets victory against Samantha Stosur in the third round. She lost in the quarterfinals in straight sets to the No. 2, defending and eventual champion Maria Sharapova. Her appearance in Rome increased her ranking to No. 52, placing her as the third-ranked American. She lost in the second round of the French Open to Agnieszka Radwańska in straight sets.


title: Venus Williams

text: At Wimbledon, Williams was unseeded for the first time since 1997. She lost to Elena Vesnina in the first round in straight sets. This was the first time Williams lost in the first round of a Grand Slam since the 2006 Australian Open, and her first opening round loss at Wimbledon since her debut in 1997. Williams fared better in her return to doubles competition where she played alongside her sister, Serena. In just the pair's first tournament since 2010 Wimbledon, the unseeded sisters advanced to the final with victories over fourth-seeds Maria Kirilenko and Nadia Petrova in the second round and top-seeds Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in the semifinals. The Williams sisters claimed their fifth Wimbledon doubles title after defeating sixth-seeds Andrea Hlaváčková and Lucie Hradecká in straight sets in the final, on the same day Serena Williams won her fifth Wimbledon singles title.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams's next stop was the 2012 London Summer Olympics which was held at the All England Club, Wimbledon. She entered the women's singles and women's doubles events, partnering with sister Serena in doubles. In singles, Williams defeated Sara Errani and Aleksandra Wozniak in convincing fashion to reach the third round where she faced Angelique Kerber. She lost to Kerber in two tiebreaks despite having three set points and leading 5–1 in the tiebreak in the first set. In doubles, the unseeded Williams sisters advanced to the final, which was a repeat of their final at Wimbledon against Hlaváčková and Hradecká. The sisters won their third gold medal in doubles after defeating the Czech pair in straight sets. With the win (and her sister Serena's win in the singles event), the Williams sisters claimed the most Olympic gold medals of any other tennis player, male or female.


title: Venus Williams

text: Next, Williams played at Cincinnati where she received a singles wild card entry. She defeated her first two opponents, Maria Kirilenko and Chanelle Scheepers, in three tight sets before crushing 8th seed Sara Errani in the third round. In the quarterfinal, she defeated her second top 10 opponent in a row Samantha Stosur in three sets to advance to her first semifinal since the 2010 US Open. In the semifinal Williams played through a back injury, eventually losing in three sets to Li Na in a match where her average first serve was between 80 and 90 miles per hour. Her semifinal run brought her ranking back within the top 50 for the first time in almost a year. At the US Open Williams lost in a second-round match against Angelique Kerber in three sets, despite having a 4–2 lead in the third set.


title: Venus Williams

text: Williams won her 44th WTA career title and her first title in over two and half years at the 2012 BGL Luxembourg Open, where she defeated Monica Niculescu in straight sets. Williams also qualified for the WTA Tournament of Champions in Sofia, but withdrew as the tournament clashed with her and her sister Serena's 'Breaking the Mould' tour in Africa. With her title in Luxembourg, her ranking rose to number 24. She ended the year with this ranking.


title: Venus Williams

text: At the 2013 Hopman Cup, and playing for USA (with John Isner), the first rubber was against South Africa. Williams beat Chanelle Scheepers and, with John Isner, they comfortably defeated the South African pair Chanelle Scheepers and Kevin Anderson. In USA's second rubber against France, she won both her singles and in mixed doubles defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mathilde Johansson. Next she faced Anabel Medina Garrigues of Spain and won in two sets.


title: Venus Williams

text: From there Williams went onto the Australian Open, seeded 25, after missing it the previous year due to injury. She beat Galina Voskoboeva and Alizé Cornet before losing to the second seed, Maria Sharapova. Her next tournament was Brasil Tennis Cup. She participated the tournament as the 1st seed. She defeated Mirjana Lučić-Baroni in the first round, Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round and Magdaléna Rybáriková during the quarterfinals. Reaching her first semifinal of the year, she was then defeated by Olga Puchkova in three sets. This tournament allowed Williams to strengthen her position in the Top 20. She retired from the 2013 Sony Open Tennis in the third round due to a lower back injury.


title: Venus Williams

text: One week after Miami, Williams participated in Charleston as the fifth seed. She reached the semifinals, after playing both her third round and quarterfinals matches on the same day, where she lost to her sister, Serena, in two sets in the sisters' first meeting since the 2009 WTA Tour Championships.A few weeks later she participated in Fed Cup, in a tie between the United States and Sweden. After Sloane Stephens lost the opening match, Williams stepped into her spot, winning a match against Johanna Larsson, after converting on her eighth match point. This was the first time in Williams's career that she clinched the winning match in a Fed Cup tie, leading the United States to a 3–2 victory over Sweden. Williams's next event was the Mutua Madrid Open where she withdrew just before playing her first round match, her next tournament was the Italian Open in Rome where she lost in the first round to Laura Robson. Williams then played at the 2013 French Open where she lost to Urszula Radwanska in the first round. She was also entered in Doubles with her sister Serena but pulled out just before their first round match. Williams pulled out of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships due to a back injury. It was the first time she has missed Wimbledon in her career.


title: Venus Williams

text: At the Roger's Cup, she lost in the first round to 13th seed Kirsten Flipkens in three sets. At the 2013 Western and Southern Open, she defeated qualifier Jana Cepelova in straight sets, before losing in the second round to Elena Vesnina in three sets. Her next tournament was the 2013 US Open. She pulled an upset in the first round by defeating 12th seed Kirsten Flipkens in a rematch of the Roger's Cup first round. She was defeated by Zheng Jie in three sets. She entered the doubles with Serena Williams. They beat Carla Suarez Navarro and Silvia Soler Espinosa in the first round. In the second round, the duo beat the 7th seeded team of Abigail Spears and Raquel Kops-Jones, and defeated the 11th seeded team of Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Lucie Safarova in the third round. In the quarterfinals, they defeated the 1st seeded team of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in a rematch of the Australian Open quarterfinals. Their run ended in the semifinals against the 5th seeded team and eventual champions Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova. Her next tournament was the Toray Pan Pacific Open. She defeated Mona Barthel in the first round, and upset the 1st-seeded and No. 2-ranked Victoria Azarenka in the second round. In the third round, she came back from a set down to beat the 13th seed Simona Halep in three sets to make it to the quarterfinals of the Premier 5 event. In the quarterfinals she defeated Canadian Eugenie Bouchard in three sets, but fell in the semifinals to Petra Kvitova in another three set match. Williams subsequently played at the 2013 China Open in Beijing where she played singles and doubles. Williams lost her second round match in singles losing to Sabine Lisicki and she also lost her first round match in doubles despite having two match points. Williams's last tournament of the season was the 2013 Kremlin Cup in Moscow, but she withdrew due to injury, bringing an end to her 2013 season.