Williams sisters
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The Williams 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-one-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), both of whom were coached from an early age by their parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price. 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 have been 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 co-world no.1 players in women's doubles, in addition to holding the top two positions in singles tennis.
Both players have won four gold medals at the Summer Olympics Games, one each in singles and three in doubles - all won together - the most of any tennis players. As a duo, they have also completed the Career Golden Slam in doubles.
Doubles: 22 (21 titles, 1 runner-up)
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Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1. | February 23, 1998 | Oklahoma City, United States (1) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
7–5, 6–2 |
Winner | 2. | October 12, 1998 | Zürich, Switzerland (1) | Carpet | ![]() ![]() |
5–7, 6–1, 6–3 |
Winner | 3. | February 15, 1999 | Hannover, Germany (1) | Carpet | ![]() ![]() |
5–7, 6–2, 6–2 |
Winner | 4. | May 24, 1999 | French Open, Paris, France (1) | Clay | ![]() ![]() |
6–3, 6–7(2–7), 8–6 |
Runner-up | 1. | August 8, 1999 | San Diego, U.S. (1) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
6–4, 6–1 |
Winner | 5. | August 30, 1999 | US Open, New York City, U.S. (1) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
Winner | 6. | June 26, 2000 | Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom (1) | Grass | ![]() ![]() |
6–3, 6–2 |
Winner | 7. | September 18, 2000 | Summer Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia (1) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
6–1, 6–1 |
Winner | 8. | January 15, 2001 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (1) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
6–2, 4–6, 6–4 |
Winner | 9. | June 24, 2002 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (2) | Grass | ![]() ![]() |
6–2, 7–5 |
Winner | 10. | January 13, 2003 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (2) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
Winner | 11. | July 5, 2008 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (3) | Grass | ![]() ![]() |
6–2, 6–2 |
Winner | 12. | August 17, 2008 | Summer Olympic Games, Beijing, China (2) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
6–2, 6–0 |
Winner | 13. | January 30, 2009 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (3) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
6–3, 6–3 |
Winner | 14. | July 4, 2009 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (4) | Grass | ![]() ![]() |
7–6(7–4), 6–4 |
Winner | 15. | August 2, 2009 | Stanford, U.S. (1) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
6–4, 6–1 |
Winner | 16. | September 14, 2009 | US Open, New York City, U.S. (2) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
6–2, 6–2 |
Winner | 17. | January 29, 2010 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (4) | Hard | ![]() ![]() |
6–4, 6–3 |
Winner | 18. | May 15, 2010 | Madrid, Spain (1) | Clay | ![]() ![]() |
6–2, 7–5 |
Winner | 19. | June 3, 2010 | French Open, Paris, France (2) | Clay | ![]() ![]() |
6–2, 6–3 |
Winner | 20. | July 7, 2012 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. | Grass | ![]() ![]() |
7–5, 6–4 |
Winner | 21. | August 5, 2012 | Summer Olympic Games, London, U.K. (3) | Grass | ![]() ![]() |
6–4, 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 | ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() |
4–1 |
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 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 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 | 13–1 | ||||||||||||||
Wimbledon | A | 1R | A | W | 3R | W | 3R | Absent | 2R | W | W | QF | A | W | A | 2R | 39–5 | ||||
US Open | 1R | A | W | SF | 3R | Absent | W | Absent | 3R | SF | QF | 25–6 | |||||||||
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 | 115–12 | |
Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||||
Summer Olympics | Not Held | W | Not Held | A | Not Held | W | Not Held | W | Not Held | 15–0 | |||||||||||
Year-End Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||
WTA Tour Championships | Did Not Qualify | SF | 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 Masters
During the 2001 Indian Wells Masters 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.
The following day, Serena played 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]
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][2] Oracene Price (mother and coach of Venus and Serena) accused the crowd of "taking off their hoods."[3]
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.[1] 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.[1]
Allegations had been made before Venus's withdrawal that Richard Williams decided who won the matches between his daughters.[4] 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.[5]
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.[6] Williams withdrew before her semi-final match with Simona Halep because of a knee injury.[7]
Best result in Grand Slam singles (combined)
Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | SR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Australian Open | A | QF | QF | 4R | SF | QF | WS | 3R | WS | 3R | WS | QF | WS | WS | 3R | 4R | QF | 4R | WS | 6 / 18 |
French Open | 2R | QF | 4R | QF | QF | WS | SF | QF | 3R | QF | QF | 3R | QF | QF | A | 2R | WS | 2R | WS | 3 / 18 |
Wimbledon | 1R | QF | QF | WV | WV | WS | WS | F | WV | 3R | WV | WV | WS | WS | 4R | WS | 4R | 3R | WS | 11 / 19 |
US Open | F | SF | WS | WV | WV | WS | A | QF | QF | 4R | SF | WS | SF | SF | F | WS | WS | WS | 8 / 17 |
Year-end WTA ranking
Player | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venus | 205 | 216 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 46 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 102 | 24 | 49 | 18 |
Serena | 99 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 95 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g What Happened at Indian Wells?
- ^ Off-court distractions
- ^ A fortnight of firsts at the French
- ^ Woolsey, Garth (2009-03-22). "Williams sisters at Indian Wells? Forget it". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
- ^ Edmondson, p.91
- ^ http://www.wtatennis.com/SEWTATour-Archive/posting/2015/609/MDS.pdf
- ^ "Serena Williams WDs at Indian Wells". ESPN. 2015-03-21. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
Further reading
- Edmondson, Jacqueline (2005). Venus and Serena Williams: A Biography. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-33165-0
- Serena Williams
- Venus Williams
- Living people
- Sibling duos
- Tennis doubles teams
- Sportspeople from Compton, California
- People from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida
- People from Saginaw, Michigan
- Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida
- African-American tennis players
- American female tennis players
- Australian Open (tennis) champions
- French Open champions
- Wimbledon champions
- US Open (tennis) champions
- Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles
- Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles
- Grand Slam (tennis) champions in mixed doubles
- Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States
- Olympic medalists in tennis
- Olympic tennis players of the United States
- Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
- Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- World No. 1 tennis players