Still very much one of tennis' world stars, Venus Williams has already established herself as one of the greatest players in the history of the women's game.

With 56 career titles, 17 Grand Slams and three Olympic gold medals, she is one of the most decorated players in the sport – male or female – and is still on the look-out for further success.

Venus Williams turned professional in 1994 and first tasted Grand Slam glory four years later with the mixed doubles titles at both the Australian and French Opens with Justin Gimelstob.

After more doubles success in 1995, she made her impact in singles competition in 2000 with an astonishing run of 35 straight match wins, which included her first singles Grand Slam title at Wimbledon.

She then headed home to America to claim the first of her two consecutive US Open crowns, before adding both singles and doubles gold in the Sydney Olympics.

Venus Williams retained her Wimbledon title as well as the US Open in 2001, but lost her only French Open singles final to date against her younger sister, Serena.

2003 saw another final defeat for the older Williams as she lost out to Serena again in the Australian Open.

However, after a quiet few years Venus Williams returned to the pinnacle of women's tennis in 2007, when she reclaimed her Wimbledon crown, breaking a record as the lowest-ranked and seeded player to win the championship.

She followed this up in 2008 with another win at SW19, before landing another doubles gold at the Beijing Olympics.