Serena Williams absolutely agrees with the claim that her sister Venus Williams would have won a lot more Grand Slams if not for her.
The former 23-time Major winner, who retired from pro tennis during the 2022 US Open, was a guest at the New York Times DealBook summit. At one moment, the host read one of the X posts from their childhood coach – Rick Macci – who said that the elder sister would be sitting at 15 to 20 Slams if not for her younger sister.
Serena Williams and Venus Williams© YouTube screenshot
The five-time Wimbledon champion, who is still listed as an active player, has seven Majors in her collection.
“We had this rule that if we played against each other before the final, we had to win the title. I think Venus would have had a minimum of 15 Grand Slams if we didn’t play. I would have had 30,” Serena responded.
Serena speaking about Venus in recent interview :
“I think Venus would of have minimum 15 slams or even more”
If Serena never played tennis 🎾 pic.twitter.com/4eisP1DGzE
— inspirational ❤️ (@VeeSTARWilliams) December 5, 2024
Serena is indeed one of the reasons why her sister has seven Majors
During their careers, the two American tennis icons met 31 times, with the younger sister winning 19 times. Also, they clashed against each other eight times in Grand Slam finals – Serena won six times and twice lost in that department.
Although they were widely regarded as one of the best and two dominant forces in the 2000s, they always had an outstanding relationship.
Reflecting on it now, the younger sister admits she was surprised that they lived in the same house and pretty much did everything together all while being one of the biggest rivals on the court.
“There was no separation at all. Looking back, I don’t know how we dealt with that. We were so close, we grew up so close. My family was like, ‘No fighting, you girls are always going to be sisters and that’s that,’” Serena reflected.
Tennis World USA