Venus and Serena Williams Receive Yet Another Honor Following Their Unparalleled Contributions to Tennis

On Wednesday, The Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery announced the list of people receiving the honour of having their portraits hung at The Smithsonian. Tennis legends and American superstars, Serena and Venus Williams are among the ‘Portrait of a Nation’ honorees for this year.

This is the latest in a long list of accomplishments for the siblings, and they’re accompanied by stellar individuals, including the director of ‘When They See Us’, Ava DuVernay.

In a statement, Kim Sajet, the director of the National Portrait Gallery said, “The Portrait of a Nation Award is an expression of gratitude for the leaders in our country who have made a difference and continue to advocate for a better future.”

The Smithsonian could not conduct the award show last year because of the Coronavirus pandemic. However, this year’s exhibits are supposed to run from Nov. 10 through October 2023.

Serena and Venus Williams recognised for their ‘transformative contributions’

The Williams sisters introduced an era of power and athleticism in women’s tennis. They revolutionized the way women’s tennis was played and jumped from milestone to milestone. Armed with heavy groundstrokes and neat shots, they have been hugely successful in the circuit.

Read more: ‘Leggo’: Serena Williams and Husband Alexis Ohanian Cheer for Stefanos Tsitsipas at Australian Open 2022

Serena Williams has been the best tennis player in the open era, winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles. She is behind only Margaret Court, who has 24. Serena is also the most recent woman to have held all four major singles titles simultaneously.

Venus Williams too is a former world number 1, in both singles and doubles. She has won 7 Grand Slam singles tournaments and has played in the finals of 16. Along with her sister, she is undefeated in the doubles category in Grand Slam finals. Together they have 14 grand Slam doubles titles. They are also the only tennis players in history with four Olympic gold medals.

Other than Serena Williams and Venus Williams, White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci, World Central Kitchen founder José Andrés, record executive Clive Davis, director Ava DuVernay and Children’s Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman will also be among the honorees at the gala at the Washington arts institution.

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