Williams sisters

"Venus and Serena" redirects here. For the documentary, see Venus and Serena (film).

Venus and Serena

Venus

Serena

Highest singles
ranking:

No. 1
(February 25, 2002)

No. 1
(July 8, 2002)

Highest doubles
ranking:

No. 1
(June 7, 2010)

Women's Singles titles:

Women's Doubles titles:

Grand Slam
Women's Singles titles:

7
(Wimbledon 2000/01/05/07/08,
US Open 2000/01)

21
(Aus Open 2003/05/07/09/10/15,
French Open 2002/13/15,
Wimbledon 2002/03/09/10/12/15,
US Open 1999/2002/08/12/13/14)

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)

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)

Fed Cup
titles:

1
(1999)

Plays:

Right-handed
(two-handed backhand)

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)

Winner — Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (13–0)
Olympic Gold (3)
WTA Tour Championships (0–0)
Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 (2–0)
Premier (2–1)
International (1–0)

Finals by Surface
Hard (10–1)
Grass (6–0)
Clay (3–0)
Carpet (2–0)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	February 23, 1998	Oklahoma City, United States (1)	Hard	Cătălina Cristea Kristine Kunce	7–5, 6–2
Winner	2.	October 12, 1998	Zürich, Switzerland (1)	Carpet	Mariaan de Swardt Elena Tatarkova	5–7, 6–1, 6–3
Winner	3.	February 15, 1999	Hannover, Germany (1)	Carpet	Alexandra Fusai Nathalie Tauziat	5–7, 6–2, 6–2
Winner	4.	May 24, 1999	French Open, Paris, France (1)	Clay	Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova	6–3, 6–7^(2–7), 8–6
Runner-up	1.	August 8, 1999	San Diego, U.S. (1)	Hard	Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu	6–4, 6–1
Winner	5.	August 30, 1999	US Open, New York City, U.S. (1)	Hard	Chanda Rubin Sandrine Testud	4–6, 6–1, 6–4
Winner	6.	June 26, 2000	Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom (1)	Grass	Julie Halard-Decugis Ai Sugiyama	6–3, 6–2
Winner	7.	September 18, 2000	Summer Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia (1)	Hard	Kristie Boogert Miriam Oremans	6–1, 6–1
Winner	8.	January 15, 2001	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (1)	Hard	Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu	6–2, 4–6, 6–4
Winner	9.	June 24, 2002	Wimbledon, London, U.K. (2)	Grass	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	6–2, 7–5
Winner	10.	January 13, 2003	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (2)	Hard	Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez	4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Winner	11.	July 5, 2008	Wimbledon, London, U.K. (3)	Grass	Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur	6–2, 6–2
Winner	12.	August 17, 2008	Summer Olympic Games, Beijing, China (2)	Hard	Anabel Medina Garrigues Virginia Ruano Pascual	6–2, 6–0
Winner	13.	January 30, 2009	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (3)	Hard	Ai Sugiyama Daniela Hantuchová	6–3, 6–3
Winner	14.	July 4, 2009	Wimbledon, London, U.K. (4)	Grass	Samantha Stosur Rennae Stubbs	7–6^(7–4), 6–4
Winner	15.	August 2, 2009	Stanford, U.S. (1)	Hard	Chan Yung-jan Monica Niculescu	6–4, 6–1
Winner	16.	September 14, 2009	US Open, New York City, U.S. (2)	Hard	Cara Black Liezel Huber	6–2, 6–2
Winner	17.	January 29, 2010	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (4)	Hard	Cara Black Liezel Huber	6–4, 6–3
Winner	18.	May 15, 2010	Madrid, Spain (1)	Clay	Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta	6–2, 7–5
Winner	19.	June 3, 2010	French Open, Paris, France (2)	Clay	Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik	6–2, 6–3
Winner	20.	July 7, 2012	Wimbledon, London, U.K.	Grass	Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká	7–5, 6–4
Winner	21.	August 5, 2012	Summer Olympic Games, London, U.K. (3)	Grass	Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká	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	Lindsay Davenport Monica Seles	Elena Makarova Elena Likhovtseva Elena Dementieva	4–1

Performance timelines

Women's doubles

Key

LQ (Q#)

SF-B

F-S

NMS

Won tournament; reached the Finals; Semifinals; Quarterfinals; Rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a Round Robin stage; reached a Qualification Round; absent from tournament event; played in a Davis Cup or Fed Cup Zonal Group (with its number indication) or Play-off; won a Bronze, Silver (F or S) or Gold medal at the Olympics; a downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament (Not a Masters Series); or a tournament that was Not Held in a given year.

To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.

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	A	39–5
US Open	1R	A	W	SF	3R	Absent							W	Absent		3R	SF	QF	A	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			G	Not Held			A	Not Held			G	Not Held			G	Not Held			15–0
Year-End Championships
WTA Finals	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]

The WTA announced on January 27, 2016 that Venus would return to Indian Wells for the first time in 15 years.^[8]

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	2016	SR
Australian Open	A	QF	QF	4R	SF	QF	W^S	3R	W^S	3R	W^S	QF	W^S	W^S	3R	4R	QF	4R	W^S	F	6 / 19
French Open	2R	QF	4R	QF	QF	W^S	SF	QF	3R	QF	QF	3R	QF	QF	A	2R	W^S	2R	W^S		3 / 18
Wimbledon	1R	QF	QF	W^V	W^V	W^S	W^S	F	W^V	3R	W^V	W^V	W^S	W^S	4R	W^S	4R	3R	W^S		11 / 19
US Open	F	SF	W^S	W^V	W^V	W^S	A	QF	QF	4R	SF	W^S	SF	SF	F	W^S	W^S	W^S	SF		8 / 18

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	2015
Venus	205	216	22	5	3	3	3	2	11	9	10	46	8	6	6	5	102	24	49	18	7
Serena			99	20	4	6	6	1	3	7	11	95	7	2	1	4	12	3	1	1	1

References

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 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.
↑ "Venus books return to Indian Wells". WTA. 2016-01-27. Retrieved 2016-01-30.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Liezel Huber	World No. 1 (doubles) June 7, 2010 – August 1, 2010	Succeeded by Liezel Huber
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Martina Hingis & Anna Kournikova Cara Black & Liezel Huber	WTA Doubles Team of the Year 2000 2009	Succeeded by Lisa Raymond & Rennae Stubbs Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta
Preceded by Cara Black & Liezel Huber	ITF Women's Doubles World Champion 2009	Succeeded by Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta
Preceded by First Award Maria Kirilenko & Victoria Azarenka	WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year 2010 2012	Succeeded by Maria Kirilenko & Victoria Azarenka Incumbent