Legendary tennis icons Venus and Serena Williams have shared one of the fiercest rivalries on the WTA Tour, competing against each other on a whopping 31 occasions. However, the seven-time Grand Slam champion once revealed how the contests against her younger sister were different from those against the other players on the tour.

In doing so, Venus Williams said that despite their intense on-court matches, she has a good relationship with Serena.

Venus once talked about her rivalry and relationship with her sister, Serena Williams

Venus Williams was featured in a CNN interview in 2008, where she was asked about her rivalry with her sister. She replied, “I don’t hold it against them or treat them badly if they beat me. So Serena is my flesh and blood, why would I do that to her?”

Her response also indicated that she took the same approach that she used while playing other opponents on the tour.

The five-time Wimbledon champion further revealed how they advised and praised each other after their meetings on the tennis court. She went on to refute a plethora of misconceptions about the Williams sisters’ on-court rivalry.

READ MORE- 41-Year-Old Serena Williams Sizzles Her Way Through a ‘Blurry’ Miami Reunion Alongside Khloe and Kim Kardashian

Stressing about the fact that the Williams sisters were not involved in an on-court feud, Venus said, “And I think most people should see in that way, and that’s the way it should be, but a lot of people don’t, they think we should fight, and we don’t.”

Venus Williams spoke about playing against her sister in the Wimbledon finals

During the interview, Venus Williams replied to a question about her matches against Serena at the Center Court of SW19. The five-time Wimbledon champion said, “There were two actually finals we played against each other. I think the toughest part about it was actually having to play Serena, you know, she’s playing awesome.”

“I was serving balls at 125, and it comes back at my feet faster, so you thinking to yourself ok, what do I do against that? And at that time she’s playing at a level that was above the clouds, so we had good matches and I came close…”

WATCH THIS STORY – Hilarious Meaning of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Serena Williams on Urban Dictionary! 

Venus also said that the fact that they achieved their goal of playing in a Grand Slam final was far more important than the result of the match.

What did you make of Venus Williams’ comments? Did that mindset help the Williams sisters improve collectively and push each other to greatness?