WTA: The William era: How Serena’s advice changed Venus’ career

Together with her sister Serena Williams, Venus Williams is considered one of the best tennis players of all time. A piece of advice from her younger sister is said to have greatly influenced her career.

It is the most successful sister duo the tennis world has ever seen and will probably ever see. The Williams sisters have been providing exceptional tennis on the WTA Tour for almost 20 years. Often Serena and Venus confronted each other. Actually, 28 times since 1998. In the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, the older of the two sisters kept the upper hand and Venus won 7-5 and 6-1. Almost two decades later, Serena became the best tennis player of all time and owns 23 Grand Slam titles.

Both Americans will be present in the coming 2018 season. At 37 years of age, Venus is one of the oldest active players in the ranking, and her sister is only one year younger. After 28 duels, the balance sheet speaks for Serena clearly. 17 times the newly-baked mother went off the field as the winner, but Venus often had to give way in the early years. The older woman won five of the first seven duels, and one match was decisive for the relationship between the two exceptional artists.

In an interview with In Style, Venus explained how a statement from Serena would dictate the coming years,”Serena and I were both in the 1999 semi-finals at the US Open. I’ll ask her if she’s nervous. She replied that she wouldn’t be, because we had to show it to everyone and why shouldn’t we fight and duel at the same time?”, said the 37-year-old. According to Venus, that was “the best advice of her career”. Since then, both sisters have seen rivalry as something positive, according to the seven-time Grand Slam winner.

Her career has changed completely since then. The reason for the change is a simple one:”I didn’t take it seriously and lost it back then,”Venus added. The 37-year-old lost to Martina Hingis in three sets. Serena, on the other hand, beat Lindsay Davenport in the all-American semi-final and then clinched her first Grand Slam victory against Hingis in the final.

Meanwhile, Serena has been at the top of the women’s world rankings for 316 weeks and Venus managed to reach a total of eleven weeks. Last year the older sister experienced her second spring and ranked among the top five. The last meeting of the Williams sisters so far took place in the finals of the Australian Open 2017. Serena won in two sets – with a baby in her stomach. As a result, the current number 22 of the world ranking list announced its season out and gave birth to its first child in autumn.

Just in time for the new season, Serena wants to get back on the pitch and defend her title in Melbourne. The athletic rivalry with Venus has never strained the relationship between the most successful sister duo in history:”We love each other, take each other further and protect each other,”explained Venus.

The two sisters were not only on the opposite side of the net. 14 Grand Slam titles were won by Venus and Serena as doubles. In addition, there will be victories at the Olympic Games in 2000,2008 and 2012 in the women’s doubles competition.