Williams sisters
 | 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: | 43 | 43 |
| Women's Doubles titles: | 21 | 22 |
| Grand Slam Women's Singles titles: |
7 (Wimbledon 2000/01/05/07/08, US Open 2000/01) |
14 (Aus Open 2003/05/07/09/10, French Open 2002, Wimbledon 2002/03/09/10/12, US Open 1999/2002/08) |
| Grand Slam Women's Doubles titles: |
13 (Aus Open 2001/03/09/10, French Open 1999/2010, Wimbledon 2000/02/08/09/12, US Open 1999/2009) |
13 (Aus Open 2001/03/09/10, French Open 1999/2010, Wimbledon 2000/02/08/09/12, US Open 1999/2009) |
| Grand Slam Mixed Doubles titles: |
2 (Aus Open 1998, French Open 1998) |
2 (Wimbledon 1998, US Open 1998) |
| Plays: | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
The Williams sisters are two professional American tennis players: Venus Williams born 1980, seven-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), and Serena Williams born 1981, fourteen-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), both of whom were coached from an early age by their father Richard Williams. There is a noted professional rivalry between them – between the 2001 US Open and the 2009 Wimbledon tournaments, they have met in eight Grand Slam singles finals. They remain very close, often watching each other's matches in support, even after one of them has been knocked out of a tournament.
Both sisters had the honor of being ranked by the Women's Tennis Association at the World No. 1 position. In 2002, after the French Open, Venus Williams and Serena Williams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. During the 2010 French Open, they became the Number 1 team in Doubles, in addition to holding the top two positions in Singles tennis as well.
Career Doubles Finals (21)
Wins (21)
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| No. | Date | Tournament Name | Tournament Location | Opponents in Final | Score in Final |
| 1. | February 23, 1998 | IGA Tennis Classic (1) | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |  Cătălina Cristea  Kristine Kunce
|
7–5, 6–2 |
| 2. | October 12, 1998 | Swisscom Challenge (1) | Zürich, Switzerland |  Mariaan de Swardt  Elena Tatarkova
|
5–7, 6–1, 6–3 |
| 3. | February 15, 1999 | Faber Grand Prix (1) | Hanover, Germany |  Alexandra Fusai Nathalie Tauziat
|
5–7, 6–2, 6–2 |
| 4. | May 24, 1999 | French Open (1) | Paris |  Martina Hingis  Anna Kournikova
|
6–3, 6–7(2), 8–6 |
| 5. | August 30, 1999 | US Open (1) | New York City |  Chanda Rubin Sandrine Testud
|
4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| 6. | June 26, 2000 | Wimbledon (1) | London | Julie Halard-Decugis  Ai Sugiyama
|
6–3, 6–2 |
| 7. | September 18, 2000 | Summer Olympic Games (1) | Sydney |  Kristie Boogert Miriam Oremans
|
6–1, 6–1 |
| 8. | January 15, 2001 | Australian Open (1) | Melbourne | Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu
|
6–2, 4–6, 6–4 |
| 9. | June 24, 2002 | Wimbledon (2) | London |  Virginia Ruano Pascual  Paola Suárez
|
6–2, 7–5 |
| 10. | January 13, 2003 | Australian Open (2) | Melbourne | Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez
|
4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| 11. | July 5, 2008 | Wimbledon (3) | London | Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur
|
6–2, 6–2 |
| 12. | August 17, 2008 | Summer Olympic Games (2) | Beijing | Anabel Medina Garrigues Virginia Ruano Pascual
|
6–2, 6–0 |
| 13. | January 30, 2009 | Australian Open (3) | Melbourne | Ai Sugiyama  Daniela Hantuchová
|
6–3, 6–3 |
| 14. | July 4, 2009 | Wimbledon (4) | London | Samantha Stosur Rennae Stubbs
|
7–6(4), 6–4 |
| 15. | August 2, 2009 | Bank of the West Classic (1) | Stanford, California, U.S. |  Chan Yung-jan Monica Niculescu
|
6–4, 6–1 |
| 16. | September 14, 2009 | US Open (2) | New York City |  Cara Black Liezel Huber
|
6–2, 6–2 |
| 17. | January 29, 2010 | Australian Open (4) | Melbourne | Cara Black Liezel Huber
|
6–4, 6–3 |
| 18. | May 15, 2010 | Mutua Madrid Open (1) | Madrid, Spain | Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta
|
6–2, 7–5 |
| 19. | June 4, 2010 | French Open (2) | Paris |  Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik
|
6–2, 6–3 |
| 20. | July 7, 2012 | Wimbledon (5) | London | Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecka
|
7–5, 6–4 |
| 21. | August 5, 2012 | Summer Olympic Games (2) | London | Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká
|
6–4, 6–4 |
Runner-up (1)
| No. | Date | Tournament Name | Tournament Location | Surface | Opponents in Final | Score in Final |
| 1. | August 8, 1999 | TIG Tennis Classic (1) | San Diego, California, U.S. | Hard | Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu
|
6–4, 6–1 |
Performance timelines
Women's doubles
Template:Performance timeline legend
To prevent confusion and double counting, information in this table is updated only once a tournament or the player's participation in the tournament has concluded.
| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | Career W/L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 3R | SF | A | W | A | W | Absent | QF | W | W | Absent | 33–3 | |||||
| French Open | Absent | W | Absent | 3R | W | Absent | 13–1 | |||||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | A | W | 3R | W | 3R | Absent | 2R | W | W | QF | A | W | 38–2 | |||
| US Open | 1R | A | W | SF | 3R | Absent | W | Absent | 18–2 | |||||||||
| 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 | 6–0 | 102–8 | |
| Olympic Games | ||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | Not Held | W | Not Held | A | Not Held | W | Not Held | W | 15–0 | |||||||||
| Year-End Championships | ||||||||||||||||||
| WTA Tour Championships | Absent | SF | Absent | 0–1 | ||||||||||||||
- Neither withdrawals nor walkovers are included in wins and losses.
Note: Serena Williams did not play at the 2004 Olympics due to 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 Masters
During the 2001 Tennis Masters Series tournament in Indian Wells, California, controversy erupted when Venus Williams withdrew four minutes prior to her semifinal match with her sister Serena.[1] Serena was subsequently booed during the championship match against Kim Clijsters and during the trophy presentation. Neither Williams sister has played this tournament since, in what has been termed the most famous boycott in modern tennis.[2]
Withdrawal and controversy
Four minutes before taking the court to play in the semifinals against her sister Serena, Venus Williams withdrew with tendinitis in her knee. Tournament director Charlie Pasarell was critical of the decision, saying "I only wish she had at least gone out and given it a try. … This hurts the game of tennis more than the individual tournament."[1]
The following day, Serena played Kim Clijsters in the final. Venus and her father (and coach to her and Serena) Richard Williams were booed as they made their way to their seats.[1] Serena was booed intermittently during the final, in which she defeated Clijsters 4–6, 6–4, 6–2.[1][3]
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.' " However, no other reports of verbal racism were reported to tournament officials, although Venus has stated without elaboration, "I heard what he heard."[1][4] Oracene Price (mother and coach of Venus and Serena) accused the crowd of "taking off their hoods."[5]
Effects and criticism
Since the initial controversy, neither Williams sister has played the tournament in Indian Wells. The Women's Tennis Association currently classifies the Indian Wells tournament as a Premier Mandatory event for all eligible players.[1] Exceptions are made when players engage in tournament promotions, but Venus and Serena have both declined to promote the tournament; Sony Ericsson 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.[1]
Allegations had been made before Venus's withdrawal that Richard Williams decided who won the matches between his daughters.[6] Those allegations continued and increased as a result of her withdrawal.[1]
Richard has said that racial epithets were used against him and Venus as they sat in the stands during the final, but no official complaints were recorded by the tournament. Venus and Serena have been criticized for refusing to discuss the controversy, as some believe that their silence perpetuates racism.[7]
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."
References
Further reading
- Edmondson, Jacqueline (2005). Venus and Serena Williams: A Biography. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-33165-0