Serena Williams Shares Locker Room Talk She’s Overheard About Her, Venus Williams

Serena Williams told quite a story when she claimed she overheard other players in the locker room talking about wanting to beat her and her sister Venus Williams because they thought that was what you had to do to win a tournament .

The Williams sisters, who have won a combined 30 Grand Slam singles titles, are widely considered the greatest sister duo in tennis history and their dominance was at its highest level in the 2000s. After Serena Williams became Grand Slam champion at the 1999 US Open, the Williams sisters’ dominance began by winning 17 of the 37 Grand Slam tournaments held between Wimbledon 2000 and Wimbledon 2009.

At the time, the Williams sisters also often faced each other in the latter stages of tournaments and the fact that nine of their 31 meetings came in a Grand Slam final speaks volumes.

While women’s tennis was full of talent in the 2000s, some players managed to break through and win a Grand Slam. But for average players, the Williams sisters have always been a nightmare match.

That changed a bit after Venus was diagnosed with Sjögren’s disease in 2011. After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Venus managed to return to the top of tennis and play in another Grand Slam final, but she never regained her level of the 2000s. Meanwhile, Serena’s dominance continued as she won her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open and then competed in four more Grand Slam finals before retiring in 2022.

Serena Williams on her and Venus having a target on her back

“People were having a conversation like, ‘At the start of the tournament, I’m going to beat Venus if I play her, but you have to beat Serena (too).’ These are real conversations that I overheard,” Williams said in a conversation published on X.

“I don’t care. I would have done the same thing. Look, you have to win, but they literally wanted to eliminate us, and I mean, it’s a sport. It’s a game. What do you expect- you, they Would you like you to win?

But thinking about it now, Serena suggests that knowing the entire WTA Tour would still be highly motivated against them only pushed her and her sister Venus to work harder and approach every match at 100 to hundred. And that’s one of the reasons they’ve been able to dominate for so long.

“But I think the fact that they played us a lot harder than against each other was why we were so much better. Because, imagine someone playing, giving you their best- even every time and fighting so hard against you And then you’re a little lighter towards the next person who’s better I didn’t have that target on my back, so without them I wouldn’t have been me. ” Williams said.

Serena: “The fact that they played us a lot harder than they competed against each other was the reason we were so much better.” 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Serena and Venus against the WTA pic.twitter.com/zENylqU06y

– GlamSpinTennis (@GlamSpinTennis) June 14, 2024

Serena Williams retired two years ago and still misses tennis

Shortly after retiring at the 2022 US Open, Serena Williams repeatedly hinted that she was considering a comeback. Then, in one of her interviews from early 2023, Williams admitted that she was tempted to come back and was thinking about it. But the former 23-time Grand Slam champion was able to resist and remain retired.

Then, on May 1 of last year, Williams announced that she was expecting her second child and her second daughter Adira was born last August.

In a recent interview, Williams admitted that she started missing tennis again after giving birth.

“Everything was great when I was pregnant and now that I’m not, I’m like, ‘Ohhh I miss it so much!'” Williams said on Today with Hoda & Jenna in April.

“I do so many things with different companies. But tennis was obviously my first love and it will always be my first love and it’s something that I will always be passionate about. I’ll never love anything more than tennis, because it’s like you’re in front of the world and you don’t even realize it because there’s so much pressure and so much stress. But you go out to Center Court every day and they are there to see you. And there’s no adrenaline like that.

Meanwhile, Venus Williams – who turns 44 on Monday – has had a tough past few years but remains active and has competed in two tournaments this year. In those two appearances, Venus suffered first round defeats in Indian Wells and Miami.