Serena Williams won her record 23rd Grand Slam against her sister Venus, in 2016, officially cementing herself as the #1 tennis player in the world. Period. There is no other.
Serena, when she was 35, also became the oldest woman to win a Grand Slam singles title in the Open era, breaking her own record set at Wimbledon. Venus, when she was 36, became the oldest Australian Open finalist in the Open era.
It was Serena’s seventh win in nine all-Williams Grand Slam finals and the first since Wimbledon in 2009. But this match was even more special because it was the 20th time she faced her sister in a match.
“I’ve been chasing it for a really long time,” Serena said, now 37. “When it got on my radar, I knew I had an opportunity to get there, and I’m here. It’s a great feeling. No better place to do it than Melbourne.”
She and her sister made their first visit to Melbourne in 1998. They were teenagers with braces on their teeth and braids in their hair and a clear sense that they were special, but no idea of just how far their talents and confidence would carry them.
But their father knew. Richard Williams predicted it when the girls were under the age of 10. And Venus spoke it into existence. Just take a look at the video below:
Serena now has 23 major singles titles to her sister’s seven, and has won seven of their nine Grand Slam finals and eight of their last nine matches.
But it was the love that the sister’s share that is even more remarkable than any history-making win. The two sisters are truly proud of each other and happy whenever each one does something right.
“That’s my little sister, guys,” Venus said, pointing at Serena during the post-match ceremony.
“Congratulations Serena on No. 23,” Venus continued. “I have been there right with you. Some of them I lost right there against you. I guess that’s weird, but it’s been an awesome thing. Your win has always been my win. I think you know that. And all the time I couldn’t be there, wouldn’t be there, didn’t get there, you were there. I’m enormously proud of you. You mean the world to me.”
“There’s no way I would be at 23 without her; there’s no way I would be at 1 without her,” Serena said of…
… her sister in the on-court ceremony. “There’s no way I would have anything without her. She’s my inspiration. She’s the only reason I’m standing here today, and the only reason that the Williams sisters exist. So thank you Venus for inspiring me to be the best player I could be and inspiring me to work hard. Every time you won this week, I felt like I’ve got to win, too.”
“I felt like we both were able to win today. It was win for us, a win for women, a win for for all those who said that it couldn’t be done.”
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