Serena And Venus Williams • Today and Always • 10sBalls Tennis Shares Some Memories

Serena Williams of the United States returns to Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria during their third round match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 04 July 2018. EPA-EFE/SEAN DEMPSEY

 

 

By Nancy Gill Mc Shea

 

A friend told me he met the Williams sisters in Florida when Venus was 10 years old and Serena was 8. Venus graciously shook hands with the gentleman; Serena raised her arms and flexed her muscles.

 

No question Serena grew up to become one of the greatest tennis players of all time. And this year, Serena has earned extra cheers, along with Russia’s Evgeniya Rodina — both of them are “Moms” — and made news as they advanced to Wimbledon’s round of 16 in singles.

 

I feel a bit disappointed for Venus, though. I was cheering for her to add one more Wimbledon singles title to the dazzling collection of 5 trophies she won between 2000 and 2008. I remember the 1999 U.S. Open when women’s singles semifinals and finals were still scheduled on Friday and Saturday. On semifinal Friday, I watched Serena beat Lindsay Davenport in an afternoon 3-set match and later saw Venus surrender a long 3-set battle to the No. 1 seed, the Swiss Miss Martina Hingis, which ended late in the evening.

 

On Saturday afternoon, September 11, Hingis and Serena arrived on Arthur Ashe Stadium to compete for the ladies singles title, and I saw Venus sitting in the stands looking very pensive cloaked in a pale gray hoodie. Serena, just 17, was victorious, defeating Hingis, 6-3, 7-6, to become the first African American woman to win the U.S. Open singles title in the Open Era. Althea Gibson had won the women’s title in 1957 and 1958 when the final leg of the year’s 4 Grand SLAM majors headlined as the amateur U.S. National Championships.

 

• Manic Monday – the two tennis playing mom’s meet on center court in their round of 16 match.