Venus Williams opened up about her reaction to learning about Serena Williams’ comeback to tennis. Venus said her role is to support her younger sister in whatever decisions she makes.
Serena returned to the sport after an absence of almost four years, teaming up with Victoria Mboko at the HSBC Championships. The pair won their opening match, but Mboko was then forced to pull out of the tournament due to injury. Serena then partnered Karolina Muchova in Berlin. The American-Czech duo suffered a first-round loss.
Serena is now preparing for Wimbledon, where she will make her return to the singles court as a wildcard. She will also partner Venus in the women’s doubles event.
In an interview with Grazia, published on Tuesday, Venus revealed what she told Serena after learning about her return.
“Nothing,” she said with a smile. “I always let her make her own decisions. Even when she stopped playing the first time, she was the best in the world. There is no doubt. And even now, she has the potential – and she does, if she wanted to. It’s about support – watching, waiting, seeing what happens and then just being her biggest cheerleader.”
She further opened up about the principles she believes in when it comes to maintaining close relationships:
“The people closest to you are the easiest to shut out or to get rough with. But those are the ones you can damage the most. So we’re always very careful about that, making sure home is always a place we can go to. Because out on the streets, it’s hard. The last thing you want is to come home and it’s hard too.”
Venus and Serena Williams will play together at Wimbledon for the first time in 10 years.
What did Venus Williams say about her upcoming partnership with Serena Williams at Wimbledon?
Ahead of her first-round appearance at the Bad Homburg Open, Venus Williams spoke to the media about the prospect of reuniting with her sister for the Wimbledon doubles event. Describing the opportunity as “surreal,” Venus said:
“It will be unbelievable to go out there. We know that both of us have the potential to play great. We hope that we can make that happen.”
Serena Williams also weighed in on the opportunity to play with her sister after her loss in Berlin. She also opened up about what motivated her to team up with her sister.
“Well, I think it’s going to be fun. My daughter Olympia told me that I should play with Venus. She’s always right. She’s like ‘Mom you should play with Venus.’ She’s very serious, she’s very smart. She’s very wise. I said ‘OK Olympia, we’ll see if we can do it,’” said Serena Williams.
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