From Los Angeles Times: HOT PROPERTY

Tennis star is holding court in a Westside high-rise

By Ruth Ryon
Times Staff Writer
December 1 2002

Serena Williams, the world's top-ranked women's tennis player, has purchased a condo in a Westside high-rise for $1.4 million.

The unit, on one of the higher floors of the tower, has two bedrooms in an estimated 2,000 square feet. The building has security, valet parking, a concierge, a fitness center and a pool.

Williams--the reigning French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open champ--and her No. 2-ranked sister, Venus, also had a nine-bedroom home built in Florida, according to Ebony magazine.

The sisters were raised in Compton before their father sent them in 1991 to the Florida academy of tennis coach Rick Macci, who was known for his work with Jennifer Capriati and Mary Pierce.

Serena, 21, wanted to have a California condo so she could have a second home closer to the entertainment industry. Pursuing an acting career in her spare time, she appeared as a kindergarten teacher in an October episode of the ABC sitcom "My Wife and Kids" and has an acting coach, sources said.

In November, Venus, 22, launched her V Starr Interiors, an interior design and decorating company, but there was no word on whether she will decorate her sister's condo.