Serena and Venus Williams in pictures: From young tennis stars to Australian Open 2017
SERENA and Venus Williams will face each other in the Australian Open 2017 final tomorrow. But first, here is a look back at the sisters’ rise from young tennis prodigies to Grand Slam champions.
Serena Williams wins her seventh Wimbledon and 22nd Grand Slam title
Venus and Serena Williams’ final tomorrow morning marks the ninth time they have played against each other for a Grand Slam title.
Serena’s fiancée, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, will be cheering her on as she tries to win a record 23rd Grand Slam singles title.
The world number two says that her sister is her “toughest opponent”, explaining: “No-one has ever beaten me as much as Venus”.
Venus and Serena Williams have reached the Australian Open 2017 finals
Speaking after the semi-finals, she said: “I am really proud of Venus - she is a total inspiration. I am really happy for her and to be in the final together is a dream for us.
“I feel no matter what that we have both won after all we have been through. I know a Williams is going to win this tournament.”
Venus, ranked number 19, had similar praise for her sister and said: “It is unbelievable to watch Serena play tennis - the way she hits the ball and the competitor she is.”
Serena Williams hopes that the Australian Open 2017 will bring her 23rd Grand Slam win
Venus Williams at the Australian Open 2017
Serena Williams will be cheered on by her fiancee Alexis Ohanian
The sisters were coached as young girls by their father Richard Williams, a former sharecropper from Louisiana.
They grew up in Compton but moved to Florida in 1991 to be trained by tennis legend Rick Macci.
Venus turned pro in 1994, followed by her sister a year later.
Venus and Serena were coached by their father Richard Williams
Venus and Serena won their first Wimbledon doubles in 2000
Serena and Venus won gold at the Sydney Olympics 2000
In 1997, Venus became the first unseeded US Open women’s finalist of the Open era, and in 2000 returned to win the competition.
The same year she came top at Wimbledon, and in 2001 defended both titles.
Serena won her first US Open in 1999. In 2002 she won the French Open, US Open and Wimbledon – defeating her sister in each of the finals.
A few months later she won the Australian Open 2003, making her only one of six women to hold all four titles simultaneously – a feat she dubbed the 'Serena Slam’.
Over the course of their careers, both sisters have at one point been seeded world number one.
Serena holds a record-breaking 22 Grand Slam singles titles, while Venus has seven. The sisters have won fourteen Grand Slam doubles, and each hold two mixed double titles. Collectively they have nine Olympic gold medals.
Last year, Venus and Serena won the Wimbledon doubles championship, but suffered a shock defeat in the first round of the Rio Olympics – ending their 15-0 record.
Venus and Serena have redefined tennis
Venus and Serena won doubles again at Wimbledon 2016
Venus and Serena are close despite their rivalry
Off the court, the sisters are as close as can be and lived together for more than a dozen years in Florida.
They have both taken an interest in fashion and have launched their own separate clothing lines.
In 2009 they became the first African-American women to own part of an NFL football team when they purchased shares in the Miami Dolphins.
Venus has also ventured into interior design, while Serena has dabbled in acting.