Serena Williams and Venus Williams are two of the greatest tennis players ever, but Serena feels she had a natural winning mentality that her sister did not.
The legendary sisters were at the top of the women’s game for many years. From 1998 until 2020, they played 31 professional matches against each other on the WTA Tour.
Despite Venus triumphing in their first three meetings, Serena won 19 of the 31 matches. The first final they contested was at the 1999 Miami Open, which saw Venus prevail after a three-set battle.
However, rumors have persisted since their father, Richard Williams, predetermined which of the sisters would win the final in Miami, although Williams vehemently denied doing that then and ever since.
Venus, the older of the pair, emerged on the WTA Tour first. She made her professional debut in 1994, recently celebrating 30 years since that moment, which was transformative for women’s tennis.
Serena and Venus ushered in a new era of power and athleticism never seen before on the WTA Tour. They also had an authenticity that became iconic, not being afraid to act like themselves despite receiving abuse.
In a recent interview, Serena discussed how she coped with receiving abuse earlier in her career, with many in the media making unpleasant remarks about her being a man, on drugs, or subjecting her to abuse based on her gender and race.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion also believes she would have won 30 major titles had Venus not been there to stop her. At the same time, Serena thinks she prevented Venus, who has seven Grand Slams, from winning a minimum of 15.
Although Venus deserves immense respect for her legendary career, Serena managed to distance herself, especially in the second half of her career, as the more successful of the two sisters.
In an appearance at the New York Times DealBook Summit, Serena outlined how she was born to win, while Venus had to learn those skills since they were not innate in the same way.
