Venus Williams To Take Center Stage After 17 Years

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.