No competition, no progress! Yes, this is exactly what Serena and Venus Williams’ father had instilled in their minds right from a very young age. In 2022, while talking about their competitive nature during the PBD podcast, their childhood coach, Rick Macci, said, “They were so competitive, if there’s a piece of bread on the table, they’d fight to get it. So, they didn’t need to compete to learn how to win and lose.” These two sisters first practiced together with Macci in 1991, before their father took over full coaching responsibilities for them. So, Macci has seen the rise of the “Compton Comets” pretty closely. He has often highlighted how their “thirst for the competition was brutal” while narrating various instances from the past. Talking about narration, well, recently, Venus explained what it was like to face her younger sister on tour.
Both Serena and Venus Williams are regarded as two of the greatest of all time in the history of the sport, bagging a total of 30 Grand Slam titles altogether. Both of them have been ranked number one in singles, with Venus for a total of 11 weeks and Serena for a total of 316 weeks. Now, if we take a look at their H2H record, these two have met each other 31 times in their careers. Their first meeting was in the R64 of the 1998 AO, and their last one came in Lexington in 2020. Venus had the last laugh in their first encounter, but it was Serena who got the edge in their last meeting. Serena Williams ended her career having a 19-12 lead in her H2H record against her sister.
How tough was it for her to beat someone like Serena? Well, replying to this question in a recent interview at Roland Garros, Venus Williams said, “Yeah, we were just saying, like, you hope Serena didn’t play well, right? Like in order to win, she had to play not her best, you had to play your best, and it was hard to walk on the court knowing that. And then, of course, there’s a sister factor! That’s my sister, my baby sister. I want her to win, too.” She also highlighted how difficult it was for her to celebrate her win against Serena Williams.
Then, further adding to this discussion, her peer, Caroline Wozniacki, chimed in, saying, “I never wanted to anger her (Serena) on court because I knew if I angered her, you’re done.” Wozniacki has faced Serena eleven times in her career but has won just one match out of those. Highlighting Serena Williams’ highly competitive nature, Venus replied to the Dane, saying, “You don’t do that. You don’t wake the beast. It’s like, you know, you don’t want to make Hulk angry. You don’t do that. She was the Hulk, you know. You just kept her sedated and hopefully, she would just beat you, not beat you like ten times in a row if you made her angry.”
What does Serena Williams have to say about her on-court battles with her elder sister? In July, Serena spoke about the toughest match in her career against Venus Williams. Which was it? “The most intense, for me, the most mentally, was the Australian Open 2003.” In that final match, Serena defeated Venus by 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4 to claim her fifth major singles title.
Speaking more of that match, she added, “That final was so huge as it was the first time I could win four Grand Slam titles in a row, which would be dubbed as a ‘Serena Slam.’” According to Serena, Venus Williams could have won double-digit Grand Slams if these two sisters hadn’t had to play against each other in their careers.
“We had this rule that if we played against each other before the final, we had to win the title. I think Venus would have had a minimum of 15 Grand Slams if we didn’t play. I would have had 30,” said the 23-time Grand Slam champion. Having said that, despite all these battles on the court, there was no fighting or separation between these two sisters; instead, the Williams sisters had lived together for quite a significant time. Now, one sister has already retired from the sport, while the other is trying out different ventures before hanging up her racket for one final time.
Venus Williams hasn’t played a singles match on the WTA Tour for more than a year now. The 44-year-old tennis star was last seen in action at the 2024 Miami Open, where she faced an early exit at the hands of Diana Shnaider. Although she has made it clear that she is “not done with the racket yet,” the tennis legend has been spotted trying her hand at multiple things in the last few years. For example, just a few weeks ago, she made an announcement saying, “I’m excited to join @tntsports as a commentator for @rolandgarros, alongside this incredible roster of athletes! Stay tuned for our coverage to start on Sunday, May 25. #RolandGarros 🎾“
Over the next two weeks, Venus Williams will provide insight and coverage of the French Open alongside other tennis greats like John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, Chris Evert, Jim Courier, and many more. Speaking about this new opportunity, she had then said, “While I haven’t retired and am still open to returning to the court when the time feels right, commentating allows me to stay immersed in the sport without the physical demands of competition.“
However, despite all this excitement surrounding her new role, the tennis star looks a bit “nervous.” Venus Williams recently revealed, “Listen, I’m really nervous. I’m like, am I going to cancel myself by saying something crazy? Everybody’s like, ‘Be yourself’—I’m trying. It’s interesting to be on this side, right? Because when you come as a player, your mind’s already on the next match. You’re not even thinking about this interview; you kind of get through it. But as a broadcaster, journalist, you want to do your best. Hopefully, people watch, and hopefully, the fans get some sort of insight into what it’s like to be a player or what it’s like to be out there.”
Venus Williams has failed to win a title here. Her best record in Paris was reaching the final in 2002. Interestingly, even there she was defeated by Serena Williams in just straight sets. But despite having failed to achieve success on Parisian clay, she believes the French Open “holds a special place” in her heart. Do you think she can achieve success with a mic in hand at the 2025 Roland Garros?
