Celebrating Black History Month: The Incre …
February 28, 2005
Celebrating Black History Month: The Incredible Williams Sisters
Following in the footsteps of Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Zina Garrison and
Lori McNeil, two gangly sisters from California not only rewrote
African-American tennis history, they set a whole new standard of athleticism
and power for the sport worldwide, and became the first tennis players to
truly transcend the sporting world and become superstars in their own right.
Born 15 months apart, Venus and Serena famously took up tennis on the public
courts in Compton, guided by their father, Richard, who got the notion one
day after he watched Virginia Ruzici pick up a giant cheque after winning the
Florida Federal Open in 1977.
Not a player himself, Richard decided he and his wife should have two more
daughters and then studied tennis instruction books to pass on his knowledge
to the talented girls, who picked up the skills with ease. Their skills
became apparent to observers in the early 1990s when then moved to Pompano
Beach, Florida, and while they received instruction from acclaimed tutor Rick
Macci, their father remained the driving force behind their careers. Richard
certainly didn't follow the conventional route and decided that after playing
selected under-12 national tournaments, they would forgo any other junior
events.
Venus made her monumental debut at the age of 14 in Oakland, California,
where she defeated veteran Shaun Stafford and led then world No.2 Arantxa
Sanchez 62 31 before falling, but it wasn't until 1997 that the Venus
bandwagon got well and truly rolling, where she became the lowest-ranked
woman to ever reach a US Open final (at No.68). Sister Serena duly followed
in Moscow, and in just her second Tour event, shocked Top 10 players Monica
Seles and Mary Pierce in Chicago to reach the semis.
In 1998, the house of Williams claimed a mixed doubles Grand Slam, with Venus
claiming the Australian and French Opens with Justin Gimelstob, while younger
sis won the two remaining majors, Wimbledon and the US Open with Max Mirnyi.
In 1999, a number of sister firsts were accomplished with both winning a
singles title on the same day, February 28 (Serena in Paris, Venus in
Oklahoma City); both played a singles final (Miami) since the Watson sisters
battled it out at Wimbledon in 1884 and both simultaneously ranked in the
Top 10 in April (equaling the Maleevas' 1991 feat) and in the Top 5 following
the US Open. It was there at Flushing Meadows that Serena turned the
pundits' heads, coming back to win three-set thrillers against Clijsters,
Martinez, Seles and Davenport before toppling world No.1 Martina Hingis (who
had beaten Venus in the semis) in the final, to win her national title at the
age of 17, while Venus looked on from the stands.
For a while it looked like Serena might steamroll ahead as Venus took five
months off due to injury. But Venus used this to her advantage and when she
showed up at Wimbledon, with just three tournaments under her belt, she
overturned the world's Top 2 players, Hingis and Davenport, and her sister in
the semis to become the first African-American woman to conquer the
All-England Club's famed lawns since Gibson previously did so in 1958.
Venus went on a roll, winning the US Open and the Olympics and defending her
crowns at Wimbledon and New York the following year (only the sixth woman
ever to defend those crowns in consecutive years after Helen Wills-1929,
Maureen Connolly-1953, Gibson-1958, Martina Navratilova-1984/87 and Steffi
Graf 1989/96), defeating her sister Serena in a historic night final of the
latter, for the first all-sibling Grand Slam final in 117 years.
That was the impetus Serena needed, and following her sister's ascent to No.1
in February 2002 (the first African-American tennis professional - male or
female to be No.1 on the computer singles rankings), Serena conquered the
Miami title, becoming the only woman ever to beat the Top 3 players in the
world without the loss of a set in consecutive matches. That paved the way
for another all-Williams final at Roland Garros, where Serena fulfilled her
father's prophecy by both sisters occupying the Top 2 spots in the rankings
for the first time, and she overturned her sister for the first time in a
major tournament 75 63. The balance of power had shifted.
Four weeks later, Serena wrestled the Wimbledon title from her sister's grasp
and the No.1 ranking with it. It was a similar story in New York and again
the following January in Melbourne, as the younger sister competed the
'Serena Slam', holding all four majors at the same time, only the fifth woman
to do so after all-time greats Connolly, Margaret Court, Navratilova and Graf.
Just when critics were lamenting the lack of depth in the sport and the
supremacy of the sisters, along came two plucky Belgians into the mix,
to interrupt the run of four all-sister finals at Roland Garros, while at
Wimbledon order was restored where it was another all-family affair, with
Serena winning in three sets. That unfortunately was the last appearance of
the famed duo for the rest of the 2003 season when both were sidelined by
severe injuries – Serena a right knee quadriceps tendon which required
surgery and Venus an abdominal tear.
Both reappeared in 2004, but apart from brief glimpses of previous form
(Serena winning Miami for the third straight time, her comeback event, and
later in the year on the day of her 23rd birthday in Beijing, while Venus
won in Charleston and Warsaw), the road back from injury proved to be a
gruelling one. Both girls dropped outside the Top 10 for the first time in
over five years, but by season's end they had fought their way back in.
Season 2005 began with the hope that the sisters might reclaim their places
at the upper-echelons of the sport with Serena's stirring come from behind
wins to defeat Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova and world No.1 Lindsay
Davenport to win her first Grand Slam title in 18 months at the Australian
Open. Venus too defeated old rival Kim Clijsters and French Open champion
Anastasia Myskina to reach the final of the Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp,
before narrowly losing out to No.2 Amelie Mauresmo after serving for the
diamond racquet at 64 53.
But while tennis has remained the central focus, the sisters have branched
out into other areas of endeavor. Both are heavily involved in fashion
(Serena with her ANERES label, and Venus with the Venus Collection by
Wilson's Leather), while Serena has tested her acting skills in several
television series and movies, and Venus has started up her own interior
design company, V Starr Interiors. Whatever happens in the next few years,
the Williams sisters have left a truly indelible mark on the sport and
whenever they take to the courts it promises to be colourful, powerful,
trend -setting, athletic and exciting.
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