So far the 2022 US Open has been the Serena show. But as far as the Williams siblings go, it has always been a sister act.
Born just 15 months apart, the sisters have developed into individuals with very different personalities and interests as well as strengths and accomplishments as singles players. The elder, Venus, was first to burst onto the scene. But, just as their father Richard Williams predicted, Serena soon eclipsed her big sister.
But as a dynamic duo, the impact of Venus and Serena has been seismic: on tennis and on the culture, as models of strong, independent, Black women. They are women who emerged from an underprivileged background and seized the reins of a previously elite and largely inaccessible sport. They showed the world they would do things their way.
Luckily for tennis fans, Venus and Serena are once again sharing one side of the court, perhaps for one last time, playing doubles at the US Open. Their appearance in the doubles draw is likely to be nearly as outsized as Serena as a solo participant. The two sisters last played doubles in a major in 2018 at the French Open, and tonight the sisters will take to Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first prime-time appearance of women’s doubles on that enormous stage named for another Black pioneer.
While that may be new territory for women’s doubles, considering what the Williams sisters represent together it feels wholly appropriate. The two have formed an unbreakable unit almost since birth–certainly since they could each hold a racquet and first took to the cracked public courts of Compton, California. For most of their youth, as they eschewed the normal path of junior tennis, they were each other's only sparring partners.
Especially in the early years of their careers, their encounters in singles–where they most often met in late rounds of majors–were fraught affairs, filled with tension, intrigue and sisterly reluctance to do battle on a public stage. Many of those matches were disappointingly anticlimactic. The sisters were so close, with such a strong sororal bond forged from a tight family unit and years committed to a common mission, that the two great competitors ironically lacked competitive sizzle when they faced each other across the net.
That was not the case when they teamed up in doubles. As partners, Serena and Venus were free to revel in each other’s presence and complementary personalities and skills on court. And, for the most part, they were unbeatable.
The two Williamses have had an impact on doubles disproportionate to the number of tournaments they’ve entered as pros. The sisters own an astounding, unblemished 14-0 record in Grand Slam finals. They first won majors together in 1999, at Roland Garros and the US Open. They last won a slam in doubles in 2016, at Wimbledon. All told, Venus and Serena have amassed six Wimbledon crowns; four Australian Opens; two US Opens; and two French Opens. In other words, they have won all four slams at least twice. And the sisters share three Olympic gold medals in doubles as a team (Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, and London 2012).
All told, the Williams sisters have collected 22 doubles titles (and lost just one final, a small tournament in San Diego in 1999). From 2009 to 2010, the sisters won four consecutive Grand Slam championships (at a time when Serena was the No. 1 singles player in the world and Venus No. 2). Their overall record is 125-14–a winning percentage of 90%.
The closest thing to a similarly spotless record in Grand Slam finals is Rafael Nadal’s 14-0 record at the French Open (but that, of course, is at a single tournament; the Williams sisters have achieved that across four majors on three continents).
Some might understandably, even convincingly, argue that Venus and Serena are not the doubles GOAT, given that Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver won 20 major titles, 74 titles overall, and once went on a 109-match tear without a loss.
Regardless, there has never been anything like Venus and Serena as a doubles sister act. In this year’s US Open, which may or may not be their last, they are unseeded and needed a wild card to get into the draw.
If that makes them outsiders and presents an even bigger challenge, well that’s something the sisters are more than accustomed to.
