The Wiliams sisters are two professional American tennis players: Venus Williams (b. 1980), a seven-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), and Serena Williams (b. 1981), twenty-three-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), both of whom were coached from an early age by their parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price.
 | This article possibly contains original research. (April 2011) |
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| Venus | Serena | ||
| Highest singles ranking: | No. 1 (February 25, 2002) | No. 1 (July 8, 2002) | |
| Highest doubles ranking: | No. 1 (June 7, 2010) | No. 1 (June 7, 2010) | |
| Women's singles titles: | 49 | 73 | |
| Women's doubles titles: | 22 | 23 | |
| Grand Slam Women's singles titles: | 7 (Wimbledon 2000/01/05/07/08, US Open 2000/01) |
23 (Aus Open 2003/05/07/09/10/15/17, French Open 2002/13/15, Wimbledon 2002/03/09/10/12/15/16, US Open 1999/2002/08/12/13/14) | |
| Grand Slam Women's doubles titles: | 14 (Aus Open 2001/03/09/10, French Open 1999/2010, Wimbledon 2000/02/08/09/12/16, US Open 1999/2009) | 14 (Aus Open 2001/03/09/10, French Open 1999/2010, Wimbledon 2000/02/08/09/12/16, US Open 1999/2009) | |
| Grand Slam mixed doubles titles: | 2 (Aus Open 1998, French Open 1998) | 2 (Wimbledon 1998, US Open 1998) | |
| Summer Olympics Singles titles: |  Gold (Sydney 2000) | Gold (London 2012) | |
| Summer Olympics Doubles titles: | Gold (Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, London 2012) | Gold (Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, London 2012) | |
| Fed Cup titles: | 1 (1999) | 1 (1999) | |
| Plays: | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | |
| Career Earnings: | $42,280,540 (2nd) | $94,518,971 (1st) | |
The Williams sisters partake in “one of the elite ‘country club’ sports in America,” a sport that wasn’t—along with many others—open to female participation in the past (Smith & Hattery, 75).[1] Their remarkable achievements in tennis are comparable to those seen by men, despite women’s involvement in sports as something unusual when compared to the former regulations within sports. When the sport was introduced as a form of leisurely activity in the United States, “many clubs would not allow women to be members” (Smith & Hattery, 76). Thus, the success of the Williams sisters is one that’s astonishing to the United States both professionally and socially.
Both sisters have been ranked by the Women's Tennis Association at the world No. 1 position in both singles and doubles. In 2002, after the French Open, Venus and Serena Williams were ranked world No. 1 and No. 2 on singles, respectively, marking the first time in history that sisters occupied the top two positions. On 21 June 2010, Serena and Venus again held the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings spots in singles, respectively, some eight years after first accomplishing this feat. At the time, Serena was three months shy of her 29th birthday and Venus had just celebrated her 30th birthday.
There was a noted professional rivalry between the sisters in singles — between the 2001 US Open and the 2017 Australian Open, they contested nine major finals. They became the first two players, female or male, to contest four consecutive major singles finals, from the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open; Serena famously won all four to complete the first of two "Serena Slams" (non-calendar year Grand Slams). Between 2000 and 2016, they collectively won 12 Wimbledon singles titles (Venus five, and Serena seven). Nonetheless, they remain very close, often watching each other's matches in support, even after one of them had been knocked out of a tournament.
By winning the 2001 Australian Open doubles title, they became the fifth pair of women to complete the career Grand Slam in doubles, and the first pair to complete the career Golden Slam in doubles. At the time, Venus and Serena were only 20 and 19 years old, respectively. Since then, they went on to add another two Olympic gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. Moreover, the duo achieved a non-calendar year Grand Slam in doubles between 2009 Wimbledon and 2010 Roland Garros, which made them the co-No. 1 doubles players on 7 June 2010. Their last major doubles title came at the 2016 Wimbledon Championships.
Both players won four gold medals at the Olympics, one each in singles and three in doubles— all won together— the most of any tennis players. Venus also won a silver in mixed doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. As a duo, they completed the double career Golden Slam in doubles. Between the two of them, they have completed the Boxed Set, winning all four major events in singles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles; they split the four mixed doubles titles in 1998.
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| Result | No. | Date | Tournaments | Surface | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1. | February 23, 1998 | Oklahoma City, United States (1) | Hard |  Cătălina Cristea Kristine Kunce |
7–5, 6–2 |
| Win | 2. | October 12, 1998 | Zürich, Switzerland (1) | Carpet |  Mariaan de Swardt Elena Tatarkova |
5–7, 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 3. | February 15, 1999 | Hanover, Germany (1) | Carpet |  Alexandra Fusai Nathalie Tauziat |
5–7, 6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 4. | May 24, 1999 | French Open, Paris, France (1) | Clay |  Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova |
6–3, 6–7(2–7), 8–6 |
| Loss | 1. | August 8, 1999 | San Diego, U.S. (1) | Hard |  Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu |
4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 5. | August 30, 1999 | US Open, New York City, U.S. (1) | Hard | Chanda Rubin Sandrine Testud |
4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 6. | June 26, 2000 | Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom (1) | Grass | Julie Halard-Decugis Ai Sugiyama |
6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 7. | September 18, 2000 | Summer Olympics, Sydney, Australia (1) | Hard |  Kristie Boogert Miriam Oremans |
6–1, 6–1 |
| Win | 8. | January 15, 2001 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (1) | Hard | Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu |
6–2, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 9. | June 24, 2002 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (2) | Grass |  Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez |
6–2, 7–5 |
| Win | 10. | January 13, 2003 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (2) | Hard | Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez |
4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 11. | July 5, 2008 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (3) | Grass | Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur |
6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 12. | August 17, 2008 | Summer Olympics, Beijing, China (2) | Hard | Anabel Medina Garrigues Virginia Ruano Pascual |
6–2, 6–0 |
| Win | 13. | January 30, 2009 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (3) | Hard | Ai Sugiyama Daniela Hantuchová |
6–3, 6–3 |
| Win | 14. | July 4, 2009 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (4) | Grass | Samantha Stosur Rennae Stubbs |
7–6(7–4), 6–4 |
| Win | 15. | August 2, 2009 | Stanford, U.S. (1) | Hard |  Chan Yung-jan Monica Niculescu |
6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 16. | September 14, 2009 | US Open, New York City, U.S. (2) | Hard |  Cara Black Liezel Huber |
6–2, 6–2 |
| Win | 17. | January 29, 2010 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (4) | Hard | Cara Black Liezel Huber |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 18. | May 15, 2010 | Madrid, Spain (1) | Clay | Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta |
6–2, 7–5 |
| Win | 19. | June 3, 2010 | French Open, Paris, France (2) | Clay |  Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik |
6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 20. | July 7, 2012 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (5) | Grass | Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká |
7–5, 6–4 |
| Win | 21. | August 5, 2012 | Summer Olympics, London, U.K. (3) | Grass | Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 22. | July 9, 2016 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (6) | Grass |  Tímea Babos Yaroslava Shvedova |
6–3, 6–4 |
Team competition finals: 1 (1 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Partners | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | September 18–19, 1999 | Fed Cup, Stanford, US | Hard | Lindsay Davenport Monica Seles |
Elena Makarova Elena Likhovtseva Elena Dementieva |
4–1 |
Performance timelines
Women's doubles
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | DNQ | A | Z# | PO | G | S | B | NMS | NTI | P | NH |
| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | Career W–L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 3R | SF | A | W | A | W | Absent | QF | W | W | Absent | QF | Absent | 36–4 | ||||||||||||
| French Open | Absent | W | Absent | 3R | W | Absent | 3R | A | 3R | Absent | 17–3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | A | W | 3R | W | 3R | Absent | 2R | W | W | QF | A | W | A | 2R | A | W | Absent | 45–5 | |||||||
| US Open | 1R | A | W | SF | 3R | Absent | W | Absent | 3R | SF | QF | Absent | 1R | 25–7 | |||||||||||||
| Win–loss | 0–1 | 2–1 | 16–1 | 10–0 | 10–1 | 6–0 | 8–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 9–1 | 20–1 | 14–1 | 0–0 | 8–1 | 7–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 8–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 125–15 |
| Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | Not Held | G | Not Held | A | Not Held | G | Not Held | G | Not Held | 1R | Not Held | A | Not Held | 15–1 | |||||||||||||
| Year-end championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WTA Finals | Did not qualify | A | Did not qualify | SF | A | Did not qualify | 0–1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
- Neither withdrawals nor walkovers are included in wins and losses.
Note: Serena Williams did not play at the 2004 Olympics because of injury. Venus partnered with American Chanda Rubin and lost in the first round to eventual gold-medalists Sun Tiantian and Li Ting.
Boycott of the Indian Wells Open
During the 2001 Indian Wells Open tournament in Indian Wells, California, Venus Williams withdrew four minutes prior to her semifinal match with her sister Serena.[2]
The following day, Serena played Kim Clijsters in the final. As Richard Williams and Venus made their way to their seats, the crowd booed, and some spectators yelled verbal jabs.[2] Serena was booed often during the match, which she won 4–6, 6–4, 6–2, and the booing continued into the presentation ceremony.[2]
Richard accused the crowds at Indian Wells of overt racism, saying, "The white people at Indian Wells, what they've been wanting to say all along to us finally came out: 'Nigger, stay away from here, we don't want you here'". When Venus was asked about her father's statements, she said, "I heard what he heard."[2][3] Oracene Price (mother and coach of Venus and Serena) accused the crowd of "taking off their hoods".[4]
Effects and criticism
After the initial controversy, neither Williams sister played the tournament in Indian Wells for 14 years. The Women's Tennis Association currently classifies the Indian Wells tournament as a Premier Mandatory event for all eligible players.[2] Exceptions are made when players engage in tournament promotions, but Venus and Serena both declined to promote the tournament; WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott agreed he would not, promotionally, "put them in a position that is going to be awkward", and tournament director Charlie Pasarell has stated he would accept the WTA tour's ruling.[2]
Allegations had been made before Venus's withdrawal that Richard Williams decided who won the matches between his daughters.[5] Those allegations continued and increased as a result of her withdrawal.[2]
Richard has said that racial epithets were used against him and Venus as they sat in the stands during the final.[6]
Serena discusses what happened in her view at Indian Wells in detail in an entire chapter titled "The Fiery Darts of Indian Wells" in her 2009 autobiography, On the Line. She says that on the morning of the semifinal, Venus told the tour trainer that she had injured her knee and didn't think she could play and tried for hours to get approval from the trainer to withdraw, but the tournament officials kept stalling.
What got me most of all was that it wasn't just a scattered bunch of boos. It wasn't coming from just one section. It was like the whole crowd got together and decided to boo all at once. The ugliness was just raining down on me, hard. I didn't know what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened to me. What was most surprising about this uproar was the fact that tennis fans are typically a well-mannered bunch. They're respectful. They sit still. And in Palm Springs, especially, they tended to be pretty well-heeled, too. But I looked up and all I could see was a sea of rich people—mostly older, mostly white—standing and booing lustily, like some kind of genteel lynch mob. I don't mean to use such inflammatory language to describe the scene, but that's really how it seemed from where I was down on the court. Like these people were gonna come looking for me after the match. ... There was no mistaking that all of this was meant for me. I heard the word nigger a couple times, and I knew. I couldn't believe it. That's just not something you hear in polite society on that stadium court ... Just before the start of play, my dad and Venus started walking down the aisle to the players' box by the side of the court, and everybody turned and started to point and boo at them ... It was mostly just a chorus of boos, but I could still hear shouts of 'Nigger!' here and there. I even heard one angry voice telling us to go back to Compton. It was unbelievable ... We refused to return to Indian Wells. Even now, all these years later, we continue to boycott the event. It's become a mandatory tournament on the tour, meaning that the WTA can fine a player if she doesn't attend. But I don't care if they fine me a million dollars, I will not play there again.
However, on February 3, 2015, Serena Williams wrote an exclusive column for Time magazine stating her intentions to return to Indian Wells for a tournament on March 9, 2015. She did indeed return and won her opening match.[7] Williams withdrew before her semi-final match with Simona Halep because of a knee injury.[8]
The WTA announced on January 27, 2016, that Venus would return to Indian Wells for the first time in 15 years.[9]
Best result in Grand Slam singles (combined)
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| W |
| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | QFV | QFV | 4RS | SFV | QFV | WS | 3RV | WS | 3RS | WS | QFSV | WS | WS | 3RV | 4RS | QFS | 4RS | WS | FS | WS | 1RV | QFS | 3RS | SFS | A | A | 7 / 24 |
| French Open | 2RV | QFV | 4RV | QFV | QFS | WS | SFS | QFSV | 3RV | QFV | QFS | 3RSV | QFS | QFS | A | 2RV | WS | 2RSV | WS | FS | 4RV | 4RS | 3RS | 2RS | 4RS | A | A | 3 / 23 |
| Wimbledon | 1RV | QFV | QFV | WV | WV | WS | WS | FS | WV | 3RV | WV | WV | WS | WS | 4RSV | WS | 4RS | 3RSV | WS | WS | FV | FS | FS | NH | 2RV | 1RS | 1RV | 12 / 26 |
| US Open | FV | SFV | WS | WV | WV | WS | A | QFS | QFV | 4RS | SFV | WS | SFS | SFV | FS | WS | WS | WS | SFS | SFS | SFV | FS | FS | SFS | A | 3RS | 1RV | 8 / 24 |
Year-end WTA ranking
See also
- Williams sisters rivalry
- Klitschko brothers – similarly dominant boxing brothers
References
Further reading
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