By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Photograph credit score: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Serena Williams is aware of the way it feels to share the court docket with household.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena was pregnant when she beat older sister Venus Williams to win the 2017 Australian Open championship.
Collectively, the Williams sisters received 14 main doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals in doubles.
Nonetheless, Serena says her high reminiscence of dynamic doubles with Venus isn’t a win, it’s a loss. And never simply any loss.
In a brand new interview with Glamour Serena Williams Debunks Each Tennis Fantasy, Serena shares her high doubles reminiscence: The day Venus misplaced it on court docket prompting Serena to suits of uncontrollable laughter.
“Clearly profitable the Olympic gold [in doubles] 3 times was actually cool,” Serena informed Glamour. “One among my greatest reminiscences in doubles is definitely us shedding and Venus simply shedding her thoughts on the court docket as a result of she’s so calm.
“And I used to be laughing the entire time. And we misplaced like 4 factors as a result of I couldn’t cease laughing.”
Enjoying beside her older sister was each a blessing and a burden, Serena says.
“Truthfully, I believe for me doubles could have been just a little bit more durable [than singles] as a result of I by no means wished to let my associate down, which was Venus,” stated Serena, who additionally partnered James Blake to guide Staff USA to the Hopman Cup and was a stalwart Fed Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) competitor. “Like in singles, in case you make a mistake, it’s one factor, it’s on you. However in case you make a mistake in doubles, it’s like: Oh, I’m letting my associate down.
“That was loads of strain for me as a result of I by no means wished to let her down.”
The Williams Sisters famously pulled off the Verena Slam, sweeping 4 consecutive Grand Slam doubles championships—the 2009 Wimbledon, 2009 US Open, 2010 Australian Open and 2010 Roland Garros—to carry all 4 main doubles crowns concurrently.
Venus and Serena captured 14 main doubles championships collectively, together with six Wimbledon doubles titles.
One purpose why they received Wimbledon 4 extra instances than their house Slam, the place the sisters received two US Open doubles titles, is easy, says Venus. US Open schedule-makers typically put Williams sisters doubles matches on at night time, which Venus stated decreased their relaxation and restoration time for singles.
Consequently, the Williams sisters wound up pulling the plug on US Open doubles.
“We by no means performed as a lot on the US Open,” Venus Williams stated on her YouTube channel. “One of many causes was as a result of they’d give us actually troublesome schedules.
“So they’d put us to play an evening match in doubles. After which we’d have to show round—you’re going all the best way to Queens—and again to the town. You don’t end till midnight. Flip round subsequent day and should play a singles match and a doubles match.
“[The US Open] by no means gave us favorable scheduling for doubles. So we by no means obtained to play typically [at the US Open] since you bodily can’t try this….
“Truthfully, the scheduling price us generally in singles and in doubles due to the best way they’d schedule us. So we simply needed to cease enjoying [doubles at the US Open] as a lot.”
Responding to Glamour viewers questions, Serena affords her views on:
*Skirts vs. Shorts
*Why Grunting works
*The off-court locations you’ll see her sporting tennis gear
*Enjoying Wii Tennis
Serena Williams, who obtained a rousing standing ovation from Arthur Ashe Stadium followers on her return to the US Open earlier this month, additionally states her views on tennis vs. pickleball. Serena says most good tennis gamers can develop into good pickleball gamers, however she questions if the reverse is true.
“I don’t play pickleball. However I believe in case you play good tennis you may in all probability play pickleball very well,” Serena says. “In the event you do play pickleball, you’re in all probability not going to be pretty much as good at tennis. As a result of tennis is a special sport.
“Like you’ll be able to go from tennis to pickleball. I don’t suppose you’ll be able to essentially go from pickleball to tennis. So positively a fable there.”
