By: Kylan Watson
Venus Williams and Serena Williams are scheduled to face each other once again on Saturday, January 28th, 2017 in the championship final of the 2017 Australian Open. This is the first time in eight years that a championship will be decided between the sisters. This could be the last time the sisters meet for a Grand Slam Title.
This will be a great match-up for two women who have carried Women’s Tennis for twenty years. The Williams sisters were synonymous with Women’s Tennis in the 90s and for most of the 2000’s. Williams last title win was in 2008 when she won a Wimbledon title. That was the last time Venus beat Serena. Most fans do not remember that it was Venus who blossomed early and was the dominant sister in tennis. Venus had an eight year reign of tennis dominance. Where she was the one who was in the finals of whatever tennis tournament was happening at the time. Then after 2008, Venus and Serena started their own fashion line and Venus took a couple of years off to focus on that. Venus was also diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome in 2015 this is an auto-immune disease. This disease also has played into Williams not playing tennis as much as she used to.
In Venus’ absence Serena went on to be the dominant tennis player, as she now has 22 championships, and she stepped in for Venus and became the best player in Women’s tennis. An argument can also be made that Serena is the best tennis player and athlete on the planet. Nobody in any sport has more titles than Serena Williams. Serena has been a dominant tennis player since her debut in 1999. Just like her sister for 20 plus years, Serena has been a dominant presence in the world of Tennis.
This maybe the last time we see the battle of the Williams sisters, Venus is already semi-retired and Serena has said she only has at least two to three good years of tennis left. Venus is 36 years- old and Serena is 35 years-old. This rivalry is not appreciated not just by tennis fans, but by most people, the Williams sisters have been dominating a sport that is largely dominated by white people. The Williams sisters have brought tennis to homes and to places that may not have been interested in tennis at all. Even now in 2017 the Williams sisters are still dominating the sport of tennis in their mid-30s.
