“That’s my little sister, guys,” a smiling Venus Williams told the audience at the Australian Open in January, before she congratulated Serena Williams on winning her 23rd Grand Slam title. Watching Venus beam with pride, it was easy to forget that her sister’s historic victory had come at her expense.
“Your win has always been my win,” Venus said to Serena, “and I think you know that.”
Serena wasted no time in returning the compliment.
“There’s no way I would be at 23 without her,” she said. “There’s no way I would be at one without her. She’s the only reason I’m standing here today, and the only reason the Williams sisters exist.”
Was Serena embellishing for dramatic effect? Only a little. It was Venus’s all-consuming love for tennis that inspired her younger sister to follow her onto those fabled cracked concrete courts in Compton, California in the 1980s. And it was Venus’s elegant way of gliding across those courts that motivated Serena to become the player she is now.
To Serena, the tall and lithe Venus was a “fierce swan,” while she was the “ugly duckling.” Serena wanted only to catch up to her sister, but she wanted it so badly that she ended up sprinting right past her.
Thirty years later, very little has changed between them. Since April, though, when Serena announced that she was pregnant and would take the rest of 2017 off, Venus has been the sister in the spotlight. At 37, after 20 years on tour, she probably doesn’t need the attention, but she’s more than ready for it.
Venus has only become more passionate about tennis in her 30s. Despite her struggles with injuries and an autoimmune disease, she’s still winning as many matches, against much younger opponents, as she ever has. And she’s still celebrating every one of those wins as if it’s her first. When the final point is over and victory is assured, Venus the stony, stoical competitor of 37 turns back into the grinning, twirling, ecstatic girl of 7.
Last summer, Williams reached a Wimbledon semi-final for the first time since 2009. She started 2017 by making it to her first Australian Open final since 2003. She played in her fifth Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and won’t rule out trying to qualify for her sixth, in Tokyo in 2020, at age 40. Does anyone doubt that she’ll be in the running?
Venus has gained perspective over the years, but she has never made any concessions to age. She has never stopped believing, deep down, that she can beat anyone, and that her rightful place is at the top of the sport.
Williams proved herself right again in Miami this spring, when she recorded a thrilling, turn-back-the-clock win over the woman who knocked her out of Wimbledon last year, Angelique Kerber. This wasn’t the victory of a crafty veteran; it was the victory of a woman who had dug deep and found that all of the commanding power of her glory years was still there, perfectly intact. It was Williams’ 15th win over a world No.1, and made her the oldest woman to beat a world No.1 in the Open era. A sign that more could be on the way, perhaps.
I’ve been really blessed to have this sister called Serena Williams. She’s so cool. She’s super inspiring, so I don’t really need to look much further
“I know no matter what,” Williams said in Miami, “I’m going to leave everything on the court: all my guts, blood, sweat, and tears.”
That, hopefully, won’t be necessary for her to capture her sixth Wimbledon title this year, and become the oldest singles champion at the All England Club in the Open era. Williams won her first Wimbledon in 2000, when she was 20; as Roger Federer showed in Australia this year, a return to the winner’s circle in her mid-30s is hardly out of reach.
She couldn’t ask for a better chance, either. Serena, who has beaten Venus at Wimbledon four times, won’t be there - the defending champion is due in the autumn of 2017. It would be some baby shower gift if Venus could keep the title in the family.
Serena won’t be with her in London this time, but that doesn’t mean Venus won’t be thinking about her.
“I’ve been really blessed to have this sister called Serena Williams,” Venus said earlier this year. “She’s so cool. She’s super inspiring, so I don’t really need to look much further [for motivation].”
When they were kids, Venus inspired Serena to follow her onto the courts of Compton. In her absence, it would only be fitting if Serena, who won Wimbledon in 2015 and 2016, returned the favor and inspired her older sister to win another title on Centre Court in 2017.
