Venus Williams, alongside her sister Serena Williams, ruled the court for years. Only they could challenge each other’s prowess. In fact, their hold on the sport was to the extent that if they were in different draws, people prepared to watch a finals clash between the two. Therefore, one can say that if they didn’t play in colliding timelines, they would have had many more records under their name.

Speaking of achievements. Venus, who lost many of her potential trophies to younger sister Serena, recently opened up about how it feels to give a runner-up speech. 

 Venus Williams about standing in the runner-up position

The seven-time Grand Slam champion, while in a Q and A session, stumbled upon the question of what goes inside a player’s mind when he/she has to give a speech after a Grand Slam finals defeat. “Not ideal lol,” she replied. 

Venus experienced the anger and pain of being the runner-up several times. She locked horns with her sister, Serena, 31 times. Out of that, she has 12 marked under her. Their first meeting as rivals was in the year 1998 on the hard courts of the Australian Open. There, she got the better of the 23-time Grand Slam champion in straight sets of 7-6 (4) 6-1.

Following this event, they both established each other on tours and clashed for a trophy for the first time in the hard courts of Miami. Venus pushed her score to a 3-0 lead by taking down Serena. However, this time she had to fight until the third set.

Read more: ‘They Say It’s Not About the Money’ – Venus Williams Sends a Strong Message as She Continues to Fight for Women’s Equality

Their first Majors finals meeting took place on the hard courts of the 2001 US Open. Venus, who was on her way to claiming the ranking of World No 1, thrashed Serena in straight sets of 6-2 6-4. Though, post that, Serena’s real caliber surfaced. She defeated Venus in the finals of the French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open next season. Thereafter, Serena slipped two Australian Open titles, two Wimbledon and one US Open title out of her elder sister Venus’ hands.

What was Venus’ tennis year like?

The former World No 1 made a comeback this season after almost a year’s gap due to a pestering leg injury. Since her return, she has taken part in several events. However, in not even one of those events, she secured an opening round victory.

Watch this story: Venus and Serena Williams’ 21-Year Broadcast Record Gets Finally Broken…

The 42-year-old has been through the entire American swing and is still looking for her first victory of this season. It seems like the gap has caused a near to irreversible damage. What are your thoughts on the same? Let us know in the comment section.