S.Elena Williams often says she wouldn’t exist without Venus. So if this was really the last tournament, it’s only fitting that I attended doubles on Thursday night as I did when I arrived over 20 years ago. So, as a team, it’s the Williams sisters.
After they officially retire, you can find them on the pages of sports, business, health, fitness and fashion magazines.The Williams sisters are beyond sports. They have erased records, smashed barriers and precedents to the point where few successors like Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka remain. Any chance of becoming the first black woman to win a Career Grand Slam?First black woman to win an Olympic gold medal in singles When Doubles? gone. First black woman to win a Grand Slam title in singles, doubles or mixed doubles? The first black woman ranked No. 1?
What remains is a sporting legacy unparalleled in its impact and cultural significance. The Williams sisters changed the way games were played and who played them. It took her 41 years from Althea Gibson winning her last Grand Slam title to Serena winning her first. Today, her four black women playing at this year’s US Open combined have her 35 Grand Slam singles titles.
Venus has won five Olympic medals (one silver and four gold), the most by any male or female tennis player in the Open Era. Serena she is second and has four gold medals. They have a perfect 14-0 record in Grand Slam doubles finals. Black women – Serena (23), Venus (7) and Osaka (4) – hold the top three spots on the list of most major titles among active female players. There were more black women in the main draw than there were African Americans in last year’s World Series.
Venus and Serena are rebuilding the world of tennis, and it’s easy to forget what it was like before they arrived. Women’s tennis matches were rarely played in prime time in the United States before Venus and Serena. Billie Jean King fought hard for the same prize money at the majors. It didn’t happen at all four Grand Slam events until .
Indeed, Venus and Serena might be the greatest sports story ever told. Who can write the improbable? their father, Richard Williams.
Before Venus and Serena were born, Richard created a 75-page business plan for the Richard Williams Tennis Association, a blueprint for developing champions. He acted as architect and promoter for the Williams sisters, using the story “Straight from Compton” to hype his daughters.
Like any good promoter, Richard tapped into narratives bought and sold by the media. A poor black girl found success in a lily world. The reality was a little different. Things certainly haven’t been easy for the Williams family. However, his mother Olasen Price earned a steady income as a nurse, and serial entrepreneur Richard claims he made $52,000 a year in the early 1980s. Even in Southern California, a dual-income household earning $52,000 to $80,000 a year he was never poor.
Still, the “Hood” braid and beaded sisters made for a more compelling story. As the production company rolls out a potential blockbuster, Richard sports gave his journalists and fans a preview of the upcoming entertainment. He teased greatness in interviews, but kept his daughters out of the junior circuit and hid their game like a plot in a Marvel movie.As anticipation grew, Richard said the Williams sisters would be attending an upcoming tournament. promised to do he had his act. All he needed was for Venus and Serena to put on a show.
They didn’t disappoint.
Early in their careers, they packaged a sense of brotherhood as much as the Bee Gees. Together they appeared on the covers of magazines. On Oprah, together. Together in the “Got Milk” ad. in the major finals together. Together to the top of the WTA rankings.
They also endured racism and heartbreak together.
When Venus withdrew from the Indian Wells tournament in 2001, fans vented their frustration at Serena, booing the winner and praising her unforced error.
This undeserved contempt for Serena and Venus is matched only by the revisionist respect bestowed upon them today. Remind me how. While chasing Babe Ruth’s home run record, Aaron received death threats for simply rounding a base in a white space.
Richard and Oracen prepared Venus and Serena to receive dishonest praise and implored them not to measure their success or failure by what people gave them. Instead, solidarity had to transcend fame, fame, and fortune.
“Their mother was their ultimate role model when it came to focus. Cora Masters Barry once told me. “One time they were to face each other in the finals, as soon as the game was over, before I could look up, Olasin was in the locker. Not only do you go back to the room to make sure everyone is okay, but make sure the sisterhood survives.
In the early 2010s, with Serena’s best play and a few external factors, the Williams sisters’ unit was no longer the hottest ticket on the women’s tour. In 2011, Venus was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells. Illness left Venus weak and tired.
“I know her career might have been different if she had compromised my health,” Serena once told Vogue.
In 2012, Serena brought in Patrick Mouratoglou as her coach to take her to new heights. He made his first appearance in Serena’s player box at Wimbledon that year.It was also the last time Richard appeared in either of his daughter’s player boxes in a Grand Slam final.In 2013, Serena With a record of 78-4, she reigned supreme in women’s tennis.
Venus made a comeback in 2015. First, she reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. It was her first time in the top 8 of a major since 2010. She then reached the quarterfinals at the US Open, losing to her older sister. But that year was all for Serena, who narrowly missed out on a Grand Slam on the calendar after she lost in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows.
The beginning of this tournament was all about Serena. The U.S. Open then unveiled another first Venus and Serena could add to their seemingly never-ending accolades, with their first-round doubles match featured in primetime on Ash. A fitting honor for the Williams sisters Venus and Serena, the greatest siblings of all time.
