Serena Williams

All titles except 2002 Leipzig won with Venus Williams as partner. This is most likely a result of the merger with Enix, which was well-known for producing sequels and spinoffs associated with the Dragon Quest series. Williams was also on Punk'd when Williams was trying to save a Punk'd problem kid played by Rob Pinkston until Ashton Kutcher came out from the SUV with a baby. Starting with that game, however, several such sequels emerged, especially the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII series of games/movies, all of which continue the story of the game Final Fantasy VII. These controversies re-emerged in April 2005 as MTV announced plans to broadcast a reality show around the lives of Serena and Venus Williams. Until the release of Final Fantasy X-2 the idea of a "direct sequel," that is, a game which picked up directly from the story of a previous game in the series, was unprecedented in the series. However in 2005 she won her seventh Grand Slam event defeating Maria Sharapova and Lindsay Davenport en route to the title. The original Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II are released in Final Fantasy Origins, and for the Game Boy Advance as Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls. Final Fantasy III has not yet officially been released in the US, and never rereleased on any platform in any market, but Square-Enix currently plans to release it for the Nintendo DS.

Disappointing performances during 2004 have been cited as proof of this lack of focus. Final Fantasy IV was released in Final Fantasy Chronicles for the PlayStation, while Final Fantasy V and VI were released in Final Fantasy Anthology for PlayStation. Some believe that she is far too concerned with her fashion and acting careers, and has not focused enough recently on her tennis. Later ports include translations of the Japanese games with their original numbering. Controversy has arisen over Williams's level of dedication to the sport. FF3us or FF6j. The injury also forced her to pull out of the 2004 Summer Olympics. To solve this, many fans use the disambiguating suffixes "us" and "j" for American numbering and Japanese numbering respectively, e.g.

On August 1, she announced her withdrawal from the Rogers Cup due to the same injury. This has been a source of much confusion, with many American fans continuing to refer to IV and VI by their American numbers. On July 30, she withdrew from her quarterfinal match against Russia's Vera Zvonareva with a left knee injury joining her sister who had earlier pulled out due to a sprained right knee. Starting with Final Fantasy VII the pretense was dropped, and all subsequent games used their original numbering, leading to an apparent "jump" over 3 games. She reached the final of Wimbledon once again, but lost to the 17-year-old Russian player Maria Sharapova, heralded as one of the greatest young talents the game has seen. Final Fantasy IV became "II" and VI became "III". Serena withdrew from Australian Open 2004 to continue rehabilitating her left knee. Originally, Final Fantasy II and III for the Famicom and V for the Super Famicom were not released in America, so Square of America decided to change the numbers of the US releases to hide this fact.

Williams' older sister, Yetunde Price, was murdered on the morning of September 14, 2003, by gunshots as she passed by in a car driven by a man in the Compton area.
. The Williams siblings are the first two women in Grand Slam history to square off in four consecutive finals. On the other hand, the single-player Final Fantasy X-2 has attracted negative attention for its status as the first direct sequel to a previous Final Fantasy game, and for its supposed overreliance on fan service. Even this so-called "Serena Slam" is not a true Grand Slam—tennis purists demand that a player collect all four major titles in a single calendar year to be deemed to have achieved a Grand Slam—it was still a remarkable and rare accomplishment, made all the more remarkable for the fact that Serena had to beat her sister each time. A number of diehard fans have accused Final Fantasy XI for neglecting the traditions of the series by switching to a massively multiplayer online format. When Serena beat her sister Venus to win the Australian Open on January 24, 2003, that was only the sixth time a woman has held all four of tennis' major championships at the same time, and the first since Steffi Graf in 1994. Of the more recent installments in the series, Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy X-2 have been most frequently singled out for criticism.

At Wimbledon in the 2003 tournament, Serena Williams became back to back champion, by defeating Henin-Hardenne in the Semifinals, and her sister Venus in the Finals on July 5, with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. Fans of these games often argue that the nostalgia factor plays a significant role in many of the negative critical responses to post-Final Fantasy VII installments. Henin-Hardenne commented: "Everybody's happy today but the Williams sisters". Henin-Hardenne was responsible for two of Serena's three losses in 2003 (all on clay). Nintendo's Legend of Zelda, Konami's Suikoden, and Square Enix's own Dragon Quest franchises are strong competitors of Final Fantasy. Among boos and catcalls, frustrated Serena lost to Justine Henin-Hardenne of Belgium (Venus lost to Vera Zvonareva in the fourth round). More recent installments of the series (following its premiere on the Sony PlayStation in 1997) are especially attacked by critics within the video game community. For the first time since January 2002, the Grand Slam final did not read Williams-Williams at the French Open in June 2003. Some cite a lack of interactivity (overuse of full motion video), rigid and often linear story structure, and unoriginality.

Her feat was coined the "Serena Slam". Although the franchise is extremely popular, it is not without critics. She won the Australian Open in 2003, her fourth straight Grand Slam singles title becoming the fifth woman ever to hold all four titles after Connolly, Court, Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf and only the ninth woman ever to win all four Grand Slam events. This was not deemed a Grand Slam by tennis purists, as the four tournaments were not won in the same calendar year. Unlike previous games, battles in both Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XII take place on the world map, with no separate battle screen. She stated that she believes that Serena's powerful groundstrokes could be negated by extending the rallies and also hitting "junk"—keeping the ball low to make it harder to hit powerful shots. Early details suggest Final Fantasy XII will adopt a similar system. Martina Navratilova, in an article in June 2003, stated that, given equal equipment, at her peak she would have been able to beat Serena. Final Fantasy XI featured a fully real time combat system similar to that employed by the game EverQuest: when confronted with an enemy, a character would automatically perform basic physical attacks unless otherwise instructed by the player.

The main weaknesses in her game, similar to her sister Venus, include relatively weak volleying and, because she attempts so many winners, she can occasionally commit large numbers of unforced errors. As this ranking was displayed on screen during battle, it was possible to know when a character and/or enemy would move several combat turns in advance, and to plan battles accordingly. Serena is also very mobile for her size and power, unlike some of the earlier big hitters in the women's game (for example, Lindsay Davenport). In the CTB system, every creature in battle would be ranked according to speed. Her serve is also extremely powerful—in sheer speed, comparable to some of the male players on the tour. Final Fantasy X abandoned the ATB system in favor of the "Conditional Turn-Based Battle System" (CTB). Against most opponents, her sheer power is enough to win easily, forcing them back behind the baseline to hit their shots, at which point she is able to hit equally powerful winners. Generally each of these games included both "active" and "wait" modes: when "wait" mode was chosen, then all activity relating to the time gauge would pause whenever the player was using a submenu to choose a magic spell, item, or special attack.

By this stage, Serena had developed the most powerful groundstrokes of any women's tennis player ever (aided, like all players of the modern era, by the advances in racquet technology). When a specific character's time gauge was filled, the character could act, which would then reset the timer. In 2002, she won the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. The ATB system was semi-real time, and afforded every creature in combat a time gauge. 2001 was the third consecutive year in which she finished in the top 10 reaching her first Grand Slam singles final in two years. Starting with Final Fantasy IV, and continuing until Final Fantasy IX (and revived in Final Fantasy X-2), the "Active Time Battle" (ATB) system was introduced. In 2000, she won the doubles gold medal at the Olympics with sister Venus. The player would input all battle commands at the beginning of each combat round, which would then be carried out based on the speed rating of each character.

4 in just her third full season winning first five titles of her career including her first Grand Slam. Final Fantasy I through Final Fantasy III all featured a traditional turn based battle system. She finished 1999 in the top 5 at no. Often these special attacks are integrated into the "job system," which has appeared in several games in the series (Final Fantasy III, Final Fantasy V, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy X-2). The next day, she and sister Venus won the doubles championship at the same tournament. Most games in the series (from Final Fantasy III on) feature a variety of "special commands," over and beyond the traditional "Attack," "Defend," "Cast Magic," and "Run" battle commands, such as the ability to steal items from enemies, or performing a leap attack. On September 11 of 1999, Serena won her first Grand Slam tournament when she became US Open champion, becoming the first African American woman to win a Grand Slam tournament since Althea Gibson did it in 1958. Most games in the series utilize an experience level system for character advancement (although Final Fantasy II did not), and a point-based system for casting magical spells (though Final Fantasy I, Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy VIII all featured different approaches).

Serena has been the focus of many ad campaigns, including one with shoe and clothes maker Puma, which signed her to a 12 million dollar agreement. As such, Final Fantasy uses a menu-driven, turn-based battle system. 7 Steffi Graf in the final at Indian Wells. Final Fantasy borrowed many gameplay elements from its primary rival, the Dragon Quest franchise. 8 Mary Pierce in the quarter final, and world no. The games often feature various minigames with their own graphical engines. 2 Lindsay Davenport in the second round, world no. The games typically have several types of screens, or modes of interaction, broadly categorized as:.

Ranked number 21, she defeated 3 top 10 players: world no.
. She defeated Amélie Mauresmo in third set in a final the same day sister Venus won in Oklahoma City marking first time in professional tennis history two sisters won titles in the same week. Final Fantasy X-2 utilized the same game engine as Final Fantasy X, and was aesthetically not much different. In 1999, Serena was ranked number 21 worldwide, and she and sister Venus had become mainstream celebrities. Final Fantasy X was the first game in the series to use voice overs to any degree. She earned 2.6 million dollars in the season. Final Fantasy X was released on the PlayStation 2, and made use of the more powerful hardware to render certain cutscenes in real-time, rather than displayed in pre-rendered video.

She won her first pro title in doubles at Oklahoma City with sister Venus becoming the third pair of sisters to win a WTA tour women's doubles title. Final Fantasy IX returned briefly to the more stylized design of earlier games in the series, but maintained most of the graphical techniques utilized in the previous two games in the series. She won the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon and US Open with Max Mirnyi completing a Williams family 1998 mixed doubles Grand Slam as sister Venus won Australian Open and Roland Garros titles with Justin Gimelstob. The full motion video sequences utilized a display technique wherein video would play in the background while the polygon characters would be composited on top. 10 Spirlea in the 2nd round for her fifth top 10 victory becoming the fastest woman in tennis history to record five top 10 victories (in 16 matches) breaking the previous record set by Monica Seles in 1989 in her 33rd match. Starting with Final Fantasy VIII, the series adopted a more photo-realistic look. At Miami, she defeated world no. As the only real user-interaction outside of battle was menu-driven, the developers saw no need for fully 3D-rendered overhead graphics.

She reached six other quarterfinals during the season. Released shortly after Final Fantasy VII, the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, once again utilized sprites for the characters. 9 Irina Spirlea in the first. However, Final Fantasy VII's FMVs often lacked consistency, with characters appearing tiny and very indistinct in one scene, and extremely detailed in the next. Serena was then expected to do well in her first Grand Slam tournament, but she lost in the second round of the Australian Open to sister Venus after reaching the second round with a victory over world no. Final Fantasy VII was also the first Final Fantasy game to use full motion video sequences, part of the reason why the game spanned a full three CD-ROMs. Serena felt she had become a top professional after beating Lindsay Davenport in the semi-finals of a minor Australian tournament. The characters and entire game world were now 3-dimensional, with fully pre-rendered backgrounds.

3 Lindsay Davenport in the quarter final. 1997 saw the release of Final Fantasy VII for the Sony PlayStation and not Nintendo 64 as originally anticipated. 96 reaching semifinal winning over world no. This would continue to get more advanced in Final Fantasy VI, and the trend would continue to make the games much more erudite. She began the season in Sydney as a qualifier ranked no. Finally, in Final Fantasy V, the games began to use kanji. 1998 was the first year in which she finished in the WTA top 20. Much of the dialogue was simply clumps of text, making it especially hard for older gamers and foreigners learning Japanese.

99. The text of the Japanese language versions of early Final Fantasy games was comprised purely of kana. She finished 1997 in the top 100 at no. These games utilized updated graphics and effects, as well as higher quality music and sound than in previous games, but were otherwise similar to their predecessors in basic design. She did not give up, and she started winning matches: By 1997, ranked number 304 in the world, she upset Monica Seles and Mary Pierce at the Ameritech Open in Chicago, recording her first career wins over top 10 players. The same basic system was used in the next three games, Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy V, and Final Fantasy VI, for the Super Famicom (known internationally as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System). Her first professional event was the Bell Challenge in Quebec, and she was ousted in less than an hour of play. On the main world screen, small sprite representations of the leading party member were displayed because of graphical limitations, while in battle screens, more detailed, full versions of all characters would appear in a side view perspective.

Because of her age, she was banned from WTA sponsored tournaments, and had to participate in non-WTA events at first. Final Fantasy began on the Nintendo Family Computer ("Famicom," known internationally as the Nintendo Entertainment System) as Final Fantasy I in 1987, and was joined by two sequels, Final Fantasy II and Final Fantasy III, over the next three years. Serena became a professional in September 1995, at the age of 14.
. Soon Richard, who had struck a deal on behalf of his daughters with a major clothing company, was able to move the rest of the Williams family to West Palm Beach, to be near Serena and Venus. The battle sequences that end in victory for the player in the first ten installments of the series would be accompanied by a victory fanfare that used the same nine-note sequence to begin the fanfare, and it has become one of the most recognized pieces of music relating to the Final Fantasy series. Micci had already helped the careers of Jennifer Capriati and Mary Pierce, among others. The Prelude is actually based off of Bach's piece by the same name.

In 1991, Richard Williams, saying that he hoped to prevent his daughters from facing racism, stopped sending them to national junior Tennis tournaments, and Serena attended a Tennis school run by professional player Rick Micci instead. The games often open with a piece called Prelude, which was a simple arpeggio theme in the early parts, with further melody parts added in latter installments. At one point, she replaced sister Venus as the number one ranked tennis player aged 12 or under in California. While the music in games offers wide variety, there are some frequently reused themes. When Serena was four and a half, she won her first tournament, and she entered 49 tournaments before the age of 10, winning 46 of them. The Final Fantasy soundtracks have also joined the catalogue of the iTunes Music Store. Both Venus and Serena Williams would be taken to Compton area public tennis courts to practice when they were young, and they had to dodge bullets many times during the early practice days. Music from Final Fantasy was first performed outside of Japan as a part of the Symphonic Game Music Concert series in Germany.

There, her father dreamed of making at least one of his daughters a tennis superstar, hoping that involvement in sports would give them a way out of that neighborhood. The next performance was February 19, 2005 in Rosemont, Illinois by the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra, and currently, as of 2005, the "Dear Friends" concert is on tour in the US. Serena Williams was born in Saginaw, Michigan and when she and her four sisters were young, their parents, Richard and Oracene (also called Brandy), took them to the poor and sometimes violent Los Angeles suburb of Compton. That concert was a three-day sell out. She currently resides at Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, United States. An orchestral Final Fantasy music concert in the United States was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at Walt Disney Concert Hall on May 10, 2004. She is the younger sister of another female tennis champion, Venus Williams. Many video game and MIDI world wide web sites offer renditions of Final Fantasy musical pieces.

1 of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). launched an America Online radio station dedicated to music from the Final Fantasy series, initially carrying complete tracks from Final Fantasy XI in addition to samplings from Final Fantasy VII through Final Fantasy X. Serena Jamica Williams (born September 26, 1981) is a professional women's tennis player, who has been a former World No. On November 17, 2003, Square Enix U.S.A. 2003: Australian Open. Final Fantasy soundtracks and sheet music are increasingly popular amongst non-Japanese Final Fantasy fans and have even been performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. 2002: Leipzig (with Alexandra Stevenson). Other composers who have contributed to the series include Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano.

Open. Square Enix continues to outsource story and scenario work to Nojima and Stellavista. 1999: U.S. He partially or completely wrote the stories for Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy IX, Final Fantasy X, and Final Fantasy X-2. 1999: French Open. In October 2003, Kazushige Nojima, the series' principle scenario writer, resigned from Square Enix to form his own company, Stellavista. 1999: Hannover. Akihiko Yoshida, who served as character designer for the spinoff title Final Fantasy Tactics, as well as the Square-produced Vagrant Story, has been announced as the designer of the upcoming Final Fantasy XII.