Venus Williams takes her role as big sister very seriously. It is, she says, the most important role she has ever played. But it cannot be easy being big sister to the most famous tennis player in the world, and to arguably the greatest athlete of her generation. She was the first Williams sister to turn pro, the first to reach a Grand Slam final, and the first to become world number one. And yet, over the years she has been forced to play a supporting role. In a world dominated by Serena Williams, it is easy to forget that in the beginning there was Venus.
Venus began playing professional tennis back in 1994, when she was just fourteen. This week, at thirty-seven, she is aiming to become the oldest Wimbledon singles champion since 1909. Astonishingly, she is the only former champion remaining in the ladies’ draw. Even more impressive is the fact that she is not just a sentimental favourite but actually has a realistic chance to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish – so aptly named – for a sixth time come Saturday. Her resurgence in the past year and Serena’s absence due to impending motherhood have conspired to put Venus back in the limelight where she deserves to be.
Of course, she will always be known as one half of the Williams Sisters. She has played Serena in nine slam finals. Serena says Venus is her greatest rival. The two have together completed a career doubles grand slam and won the Olympics doubles gold. In June 2002, Venus and Serena became the first sisters to hold the No. 1 and 2 spots in the singles rankings, respectively. There is no denying that Venus’ legacy will always be tied to that of her sister’s. However, her individual records and achievements are remarkable in their own right.
To date, Venus has won seven Grand Slam singles, fourteen doubles, and two mixed doubles titles. She also has five Olympic medals. In February 2002, she became the first African-American woman to achieve the world number one ranking in tennis in the open era. Venus is the only tennis player to have won a medal at four separate Olympic Games. This year’s Wimbledon is her 75th Grand Slam tournament, the most for any man or woman.when she reached the Australian Open final in January this year, Venus broke the record for the longest span between singles slam finals in the open era. She had reached her first slam final at the 1997 US Open, twenty years ago.
Venus’ longevity on the tour belies the many challenges she has had to overcome throughout her career. Some of these she shares with sister Serena in a sport dominated largely by white players until the Williams sisters arrived on the scene. The most famous racially charged incident occurred at the tournament in Indian Wells back in 2001. Venus, just nineteen at the time, had to withdraw from her semifinal match against Serena due to injury. The opponent she defeated in the quarterfinal match, Russia’s Elena Dementieva, implied that the Williams family predetermined outcomes of their matches against one another. Two days later, when Serena was playing the final – which she went on to win – the crowd booed Venus and her father Richard as they sat in the stands. The sisters boycotted the event for the next fifteen years.
More recently, during one of Venus’ matches at this year’s Australian Open, ESPN commentator Doug Adler said, “You see Venus move in and put the gorilla effect on, charging.” This was only the latest instance of numerous occasions in the past when Venus – or her sister – has been charged with racial epithets. On one occasion, during a second round match at Wimbledon’s Centre Court in 2004, the British chair umpire Ted Watts even erroneously granted Venus’ opponent an extra point in a tiebreak. Both Adler and Watts were discharged from their duties, but that did not solve the problem for Venus, who has had to contend with micro aggression throughout her career.
That was not the only kind of adversity Venus shared with Serena. In 2003, at age 31, Yetunde Price,Venus and Serena Williams’ older sister, was caught in a crossfire between rival gangs and shot dead in Compton, California. The family described that day as the saddest one of their lives.
Like most other athletes, Venus has faced health challenges over the years as well. Unlike most of them, hers is chronic. In 2011, she was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune disease which causes extreme fatigue as well as muscle and joint pain. Since the disease has no cure, Venus has had to manage it with medication and a vegan/raw food/sugar free diet.
Even during this year’s Wimbledon, she has been haunted by a tragic accident that occurred a few weeks ago when her car collided with another one at an intersection in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The 78-year-old passenger travelling in the other car later succumbed to his injuries, prompting his widow to sue Venus for negligence and wrongful death. An emotional Venus broke down when asked to talk about it after her first round match. Despite police now having absolved Venus of wrongdoing, the shadow of this tragedy hovers over her even as she happily anticipates the birth of Serena’s baby. Drama is never far from the lives of the Williams sisters.
Given all the ups and downs of the past twenty years, Venus’ resurgence in her late thirties is extraordinary. In 2015, she re-entered the top ten for the first time since 2011. The following year, she reached the semifinal at Wimbledon for the first time since 2009, and won the doubles title there with Serena. Despite her revival, no one really expected what came next. When Venus made it to the Australian Open final in January this year, where she would play her sister, her delight would have moved even the most jaded of tennis fans -
While Venus’ achievements on the tennis court make her one of the greatest players ever, what really makes her unique is her all-round development. She often talks about the need to do other things after tennis. In an interview she explained that her entrepreneurial spirit comes from her father who used to play tapes on buying foreclosure properties while driving his two little girls to tournaments. The early training seems to have worked well.
In 2007, Venus received her associate degree in fashion design from the Art Institute of Ford Lauderdale, and in 2015, she received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Indiana University East – She is currently studying for a Master’s degree in Interior Architecture.
The Williams sisters became part owners of the Miami Dolphins in 2009, thus becoming the first African American women to have ownership stake in an NFL franchise. In 2010, Williams co-authored with writer Kelly E. Carter the book, where she interviewed leaders such as Condoleezza Rice, Sir Richard Branson and Vera Wang. The book ended up on The New York Times bestseller list. Venus also owns four franchise locations of Jamba Juice.
But her best known and most visible venture is her active wear fashion line EleVen, so named to exceed the expectations of a one-to-ten scale. Keenly involved in all aspects of the company, Venus often debuts her creations on tennis courts around the world. Her passion for design is not limited to fashion. She is also the chief executive officer of her interior design firm V Starr Interiors located in Jupiter, Florida, which is run by seven designers, all of them women.
On the website of V Starr Interiors, Venus says “I have a love for design and the arts. It’s in my blood. If I could I would practice them all, architecture, fine arts, industrial design, fashion design, dance, just to name a few. There just isn’t enough time in life to pursue everything that I love.”
This passion for everything she does led to a groundbreaking change in women’s tennis. In 2006, Venus wrote an Op Ed forThe Times – on the eve of Wimbledon. In it, she accused Wimbledon of being on the “wrong side of history” for not paying men and women equal prize money. Elsewhere, she famously commented, “Somewhere in the world a little girl is dreaming of holding a giant trophy in her hands and being viewed as an equal to boys who have similar dreams.”
Many believe that it was Venus’ essay and her continued advocacy that finally led Wimbledon to begin paying men and women equal prize money starting in 2007. It was fitting that the first woman to benefit from this change was that year’s champion – Venus herself.
It has been twenty years since Venus first appeared at Wimbledon and seventeen since she first won the title. Throughout this time, she has conducted herself with courage and dignity, standing up for what she believes in, accepting both victory and defeat with grace. In recent times, she has lived in the shadow of her younger sister, without ever allowing it to impact their enviably close relationship. But now that Serena has broken all the records and has a happy reason to miss a slam, perhaps it’s time for her big sister to take centre stage once more. One thing’s for certain. As she gets closer and closer to the prize, her post-match celebrations will be as graceful and as charming as Venus herself.