Williams Sisters (2023) Movie Script
The
Williams sisters.
Never before has the
surname rang so synonymously
with the sport of tennis.
Dominating the game
for over three decades,
winning every title imaginable.
Few players will ever achieve
the heights of the famed duo.
With 14 Grand Slam titles
and three Olympic gold
medals as a doubles team
and 30 combined Grand
Slam singles titles,
winning almost seems
like second nature
for Serena and Venus.
From inexperienced
teenagers to seasoned vets,
nobody could have predicted
the sister's careers,
or could they?
Welcome to viewers
from British Eurosport.
It's an amazing sound here,
a crescendo of boos
for Serena Williams.
And there's father Richard
coming down, it's quite amazing.
Jo Durie alongside me,
Simon Reed, there's Venus.
And the crowd, an American
crowd booing an American family.
And you have to say
that it does smack
of a little bit of racism.
Oh wow, I'm
just speechless.
I've never heard
this before, ever.
And I've been on the circuit,
or was on circuit for
quite a long time.
Known as
the sport of kings,
tennis is rooted
in the upper class.
From its origins in
the 12th century,
tennis has become synonymous
with wealth and social status.
Rod Laver, Pete Sampras,
Steffi Graf and Chris Everett,
the game has given us some
of the greatest athletes
to ever live.
However, from the players,
to the umpires, to the fans,
there is one thing
that stands out.
- I think tennis
is still perceived
as a bit of a posh sport,
bit of a middle class sport.
So that one of the
reasons for that is
its royal roots, if you like.
It started off, you know,
as a real tennis and
I think that it's got
a royal connections
in that respect.
Tennis is a sport that
started history hazard.
It started the monks playing
in French monasteries
in the 12th century, a
game called jeu de paume,
which was they
are hitting a ball
with the palm of their hands
in the cloisters
against the wall.
Now this developed
in the 16th century.
They started playing with
rackets, and it, that's why,
that's when the Royal
Association started.
Henry the Fifth and,
and Henry the Eighth
really loved the sport.
You know, there are
perceived barriers to it,
so it's perceived as a
middle class white sport.
So there weren't many
role models for that,
for the Williams
sisters to go into.
Also, it's an expensive sport,
so it can be an expensive sport.
You've got to hire your courts,
you've gotta' buy rackets.
And then once you've
started, you reach a level.
Junior events, you go around,
you gotta' travel around to
play with different events
all around the country
and then internationally.
So the, there are the,
there are these barriers
that are for,
that prevented many people
entering the sport before them.
This is Hollywood.
A fantasy land of
glamour and beauty.
It stars our jewels
in the golden setting
of exquisite homes,
monumental studios and
sparkling atmosphere.
Los Angeles
means the city of the angels,
but down below,
the glittering lights of
Hollywood and Bel-Air,
the streets are
far from angelic.
For just a few blocks
from the Olympic sites and
the tourist hotels,
the glamour quickly gives
way to the grubby world
of Gangland.
Los Angeles has the worst
gang problem in the States
with some 20,000 thugs
dedicated to violence.
- I mean, going to
jail back and forth,
I mean, killing and also
watching brothers get killed.
I mean, it can take
a toll on your life,
can take a toll on your mind.
You just standing right
next to a brother and
you just see him get
his head blown off.
Although
only 20 miles
from the glamour and
glitz of Hollywood,
Compton is a world away.
The 1980s were difficult
times for the city of Compton.
Having exceeded the middle
class bliss of the sixties,
Compton had become a
hardened working class hub,
tarnished by gun
violence and drug dealing
by criminal gangs.
On Saturday night,
recently, five people died.
All of them victims of
what they call here,
drive-by shootings.
- To me, it's very shocking
to talk to these youngsters.
And I'm talking about a 15
or 16 year old young man
that has the ability to go
by and just indiscriminately
fire a weapon,
not really caring if an
innocent bystander is struck and
then not feeling any
sort of remorse for it.
Growing up
in the chaos and poverty
that was 1980s Compton,
the Williams sisters were
determined from a young age
to not be another statistic.
And with encouragement
from their father, Richard,
the girls chose their path.
- I mean the film King Richard,
the Oscar winning film,
shows a little bit about this,
this history and
how he took them,
the two sisters onto
these tennis courts,
public tennis courts
in Compton and LA and
coached them, and coached
them, and coached them,
and turned them into stars.
He did it in a different way.
So not only that's the,
the traditional country
club way of doing it.
Also, during their
younger years,
he decided they weren't
gonna play junior events.
You know, the events,
that's the traditional path you
play against contemporaries,
people of your age.
You learn to play,
you learn to win.
That, he didn't, decided his
daughters wouldn't do that.
He wanted them to have
education as well, you know,
a formal education.
He wanted them to be at home.
He wanted them to learn.
And then, when the
time was right,
he released them on
the tennis world.
- I put that one
so long ago, sir.
Me too.
Here's
a, here's a question.
I'm sure you've been
asked more than once.
Yes.
What do you
want to be when you grow up?
Tennis player.
- I would like to
be a tennis player.
If you
were a tennis player,
who would you want to be like?
- Well, I'd like other
people to be like me.
That's a good answer.
From
the age of four,
Richard began
coaching the girls,
spending countless
hours on the courts,
mapping out a path to stardom,
training in harsh conditions
with used equipment in the
heart of gang territory.
The girls quickly
developed their skills,
drawing in crowds to
watch them practice
on the courts of Compton.
By 1992,
Venus and Serena were
playing on the Junior Circuit
across the country,
all under the watchful eye
of their protective father.
- Richard Williams, not only
the father to Serena and Venus,
he was their original coach and
he was a driving force
behind their early successes.
So there were
barriers to, you know,
African-Americans, people of
colour accessing the sport.
He decided that it was
a, it was an investment,
it was a job, and money
could be made out of this.
So he decided to
train champions and
he took that on himself.
Very confident.
I'm very confident.
You say it so easily.
Why?
Because I believe it.
All right, cut
that here if you don't mind,
and let me tell you why.
What she said,
she said it was so much
confidence the first time,
but if you keep
going on and on...
We
can't keep interrupting.
I mean, if you want...
- You got to understand that
you dealing with an image
of a 14 year old child and
this child gonna' be out
there playing when
your old ass and me
gonna' be in the grave.
When she say something, we
done told you what's happening,
You dealing with a little
black kid and let her be a kid.
She done answer it with
a lot of confidence,
leave that alone.
By 1997,
Serena and Venus had
propelled themselves
from the Junior Circuit to
playing professional tennis.
- Well, it's interesting
because at our level it's,
we still have a lot of
things that we wanna work on,
like basic techniques.
And you have to have a
strong foundation, I believe,
and my parents and
my dad taught us
that in order to be at a level
of a professional tennis,
you need to have a really,
really strong foundation
so it can, it won't
break and it won't crack
under any type of pressure.
So sometimes my dad says,
"Okay, remember
when we were young,"
we used to always have this
saying, you know, "turn back."
And we would always say,
"yeah", so we'd go back to that.
So I think that's
really important.
Making
their mark early,
Venus reached five quarter
finals, one semifinal,
and one final at
Grand Slam Tournaments
in her first three years.
Painstakingly close
to lifting gold,
Venus looked set to
achieve her lifetime goal,
however,
it would be Serena that would
get the opportunity first.
Defeating world number one,
Hingis, in the US Open final,
Serena captured the
first Grand Slam
of the sister's careers.
It is my great
pleasure to present to you
the 1999 US Open Women Singles
trophy to Serena William.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the 1999 US Open Women's Singles
champion, Serena Williams.
Serena's
Win would make her the
first African-American woman
to win a Grand Slam since
Althea Gibson in 1958,
making her first
mark in history.
Althea Gibson
of New York became the
first of her race to win the
title at Wimbledon, England.
And she won the
US Nationals, too.
Sportsmen everywhere
applauded Althea's triumph
and shared in her
moment of glory
when Queen Elizabeth
herself presented the
symbol of victory to
the girl from Harlem who
became the toast of the
tennis world in 1957.
I think it was a motivation.
I think it was a motivation,
'cause it wasn't, you know,
it was expected that, you know,
Venus was the elder one and
she would achieve
more and earlier and
the fact that
Serena came through,
and it was quite a shock for
her to win the 1999 US Open,
to do that.
So, you know,
I'm sure it was a
motivation to her that,
your little sister or little
brother does something
before you, you want to
go out and do it as well.
It's a family affair
that's gripped the nation.
One of the Williams
sisters has to lose today,
but which one?
It's only happened twice
before in Wimbledon history.
It's the first time
in the semifinals
of a modern Grand Slam event.
The experts forecast
a close match.
- Sometimes when
you get two players
that are too emotionally high,
you can be too
emotionally high and,
and maybe just be
a little tight.
But I think once you get a
couple of games out the way,
I think they'll settle
into their games and,
and I think we're gonna see
some pretty good tennis.
I think we're gonna see
an extremely aggressive
tennis match.
- The big question tomorrow
is how the umpire is going
to address the two sisters.
First names have been ruled out.
The only solution appears
to be the full Monty,
Miss Venus Williams and
Miss Serena Williams.
Well all the excitement
over the sisters has rather
overshadowed the men's
quarter finals this afternoon.
- I don't know,
they just have a,
a presence around that no
one else seems to have.
For once though,
it was a less than
glamorous entrance
for Serena and Venus,
the brightest stars of
the ladies tournament.
- We're feeling pretty
good about today.
I'm ready to go home.
- Which of these
two remarkable women
would you put your
money on tomorrow?
- Well, I picked Venus
to win the tournament
at the beginning,
so I gotta' stick with her now.
I like her serve.
I like the fact that she's
a little more mature,
a little more experienced.
But Serena has been
playing the better tennis,
but she hasn't been
playing anybody.
- Now of course,
these two are sisters.
They're very close.
They clearly love
each other very much.
Will they be able to
be aggressive enough
on court tomorrow
against each other?
Well, they do, but they say
that when they're on the
court, they're not related.
Their previous four matches
have not been very good to watch
because there's a tremendous
psychological block in there.
You can't deny that.
But I think as they
play each time,
they realise they're
professional athletes,
they're watching,
the world is watching now.
- So how is this
playing out in America?
Has it gone Wimbledon
crazy over there?
Very much so.
This is a bigger story
in the United States
than Agassi or Samprus.
And if one of them
wins the title, woo!
Well, no black person,
no Black American has
won since Althea Gibson
among the women in 1958.
- I know when I had to
play my brother John,
we tried to be friends,
but when we got on call,
we had obviously, had to try
and win and beat each other.
After the match, well,
we'd go and have a drink.
If I won, I would buy him
a drink and vice versa.
So it's gonna be tremendously
tough for both, both girls.
But I just got a feeling
Venus is gonna come through
on this one.
- Whoever comes through
this afternoon's semifinal,
the Williams family
will be the winner.
And of course, both Venus
and Serena could yet
appear in a final together
in that ladies doubles.
- I hope that they
both could win,
but I know that can't happen.
To see where we come from,
out of the worst ghetto,
to be here at the finest
club in the world.
It's just phenomenal.
Other words, if I was
writing a script for a movie,
I would say it'll never happen.
What don't, what
can't you love about Wimbledon?
The grass, I mean,
wearing the white,
playing one, the biggest
Grand Slam in the world.
It's the biggest stadium and
you just gotta' get up for.
On the
7th of July, 2000,
for the first time in the
history of the Open Era,
two sisters would face off
in a Grand Slam semifinal.
From the public
courts of Compton,
to the grandest stage of all,
only one of the sisters can
make it through to the final.
- So Lindsay Davenport will
be back on Center Court
on Saturday to defend her
title against Venus Williams.
This time Richard Williams
says he will be there
to cheer his daughter on,
and Venus expects
younger sister Serena
to be rooting for her as well.
- I didn't cry, but I
was pretty close to it.
I sympathise with Serena
because Serena hates to lose,
and she got to learn
that in this sport,
you are gonna lose sometime.
It must be very difficult.
I remember 2000 Wimbledon when
they played in the semifinal,
and be honest, it
was an awful match.
You know, they both
looked nervous.
They both looked like they
didn't want to beat each other.
You know, it wasn't
a great spectacle.
I mean, it was a great occasion,
but the quality of the tennis,
there was so many errors,
et cetera, out that.
Venus went on to win
that and went on,
went to win Wimbledon that year.
But, you know,
it must be difficult,
especially, you know,
if you leave aside the
emotional side of it,
the briefing someone
you love and shared
so much of your life with,
it's also the fact that they
prayed, trained and practiced
together so many years.
So they know each
other's game inside out.
So it's very difficult
to surprise each other.
So, you know that,
it, on so many levels,
it was difficult for them.
Serena watched
on from the grandstands
as sister, Venus, went on to
win her first Grand Slam title,
the 2000 Wimbledon Championship.
And unfortunately,
it wasn't the last time
she'd be watching her sister
from there.
On the 9th of September, 2000,
Venus won her second Grand
Slam title, the US Open.
10 months later,
she would go on to win her
third Grand Slam title.
However,
Serena wouldn't
have to wait long
for another chance at glory
when the two sisters were
scheduled to face each other
in the Indian Wells Semi-final.
Four minutes before the match,
Venus pulled out sparking
allegations of match-fixing and
racial abuse towards the
sisters and their dad.
But Serena,
has been put out,
no doubt about it.
but I don't like it.
I don't like the
atmosphere at all.
I do think it smacks of a
certain amount of racism
by a certain proportion
of the crowd,
and that is distasteful.
Serena
would go on to say,
"I looked up and all I could
see was a sea of rich people,
mostly older, mostly white."
Although she won the match,
Serena felt more disconnected
from the sport than ever.
Richard would later state that,
"I think Indian Wells
disgraced America."
After the controversial
Indian Wells Tournament,
allegations of
match-fixing continued
as people began to question
the sister's other encounters.
However, on the 10th
of September 2001,
the sister had a chance
to prove the world wrong,
when for the first time
in Open Era history,
two sisters would face each
other in a Grand Slam final,
the 2002 US open.
Losing out once
again to her sister,
Serena was determined to make
her mark on the tennis world.
Facing off against
Venus, yet again,
at the 2002 French open,
Serena pulled through to win
her first Grand Slam final
against her sister.
And it wouldn't be the last.
Meeting each other yet again
at the 2002 Wimbledon final,
Serena once again
beat her sister
in a tightly contested match.
At the final Grand Slam of
the year, the Australian Open,
Serena and Venus met
once again in the final.
Winning the match,
Serena now held three out
of four possible Grand Slams
and had the chance to
do the unimaginable,
when she faced her
sister once again
at the 2003
Australian Open final.
Serena prevailed in a
tightly contested match,
winning by tie break,
to claim four out of a possible
four Grand Slam titles,
dubbed the Serena Slam.
- So to hold all four Grand
Slam titles simultaneously
shows not only your mastery
of all the three surfaces
in the four Grand Slams,
it also shows your consistency
during this period.
You know,
it's so easy to have a
bad day and an off day and
if someone else comes out and
plays out of this
world and beats you.
She was able to do that
for a consistent period.
The night before,
they'd been turning heads at
the Wimbledon Champions Ball,
and we're as pleased with
their performance there
as at the tournament itself.
Serena also,
I think Serena enjoys the
limelight a little bit more.
I think she's more at
ease in press conferences.
I think she enjoys that
side of it slightly more,
where Venus is
slightly more guarded.
I don't think she
enjoys sharing so much.
Red carpets,
charity events, and gala dinners
all became the norm for
tennis' newest stars.
Some people
suggest that you've got
so many extra side
interests that since
have become more of a
hobby, how do you react?
- I think that basically
you just have to listen
to what Serena and I say.
Any other person's suggestion
would just be opinion.
They became megastars,
they became known
outside the sport.
What you're always looking
through in tennis and
all sports is, you know, we
talk about a breakthrough.
So most tennis fans will
watch all tennis events,
you know, come what may.
Now the sports fans,
who have got a general
interest in sport,
will watch, you know, the
Grand Slams, the bigger events,
as well as a tennis fan.
Now, what Serena Williams
and Venus Williams did,
it helped transform the sport,
is to make it across,
the crossover,
to have an appeal for
everyone in society,
to everybody that wanted to
know what they were doing.
And Serena's achievement of the,
the Serena Slam in '02, '03,
winning Wimbledon
without dropping a set.
I mean that impact in the UK,
that made her into
an instant star.
The way the way
she did it as well,
was just a style of
tennis with people,
made people step
up, look up and say,
"Wow, that is something else,
I've never seen anything
like that before."
Having
established themselves
as two of the most dominant
female tennis players
in the world,
Serena and Venus
transformed the sport.
Taking on major brand
deals with Nike and Reebok,
the sisters have become
the biggest names
in the world of tennis.
Finishing the year ranked
number one and two in the world.
- I think it reflects
the consistency
of your performances as well.
So, I mean, the Grand Slam
you go down in history for,
for winning Grand Slam.
Your name will always be there,
but if you are a number one,
get to become world
number one and
certainly the end
of the year to say
you were the best
player in that year,
you need to be perform, to
get to world number one,
you need to perform
on all the serves.
You can't just be a
clay court specialist.
You can't just be a
grass court specialist.
You've gotta' perform
all around the world
all through the year.
So that's why people
value that honour.
The
sisters were now two
of the biggest names in tennis.
By the end of 2003,
Serena had claimed
six Grand Slam titles
compared to Venus's four,
dominating the sport
with an unstoppable serve
like nothing the tennis
world had seen before.
Let anyone dispute.
She has the biggest serve
in the history of
the women's sport and
also, you know, has dominated it
during certain periods
like no other player.
So she has been,
when she's been fit
and mentally tuned in,
she is undoubtedly the
best player in the world.
Shortly
after winning
her second Wimbledon title,
Serena suffered a partial
tear of her quadriceps tendon
in her left knee
requiring surgery.
At the same time Venus
suffered an abdominal injury
requiring her to step
away from the game.
At the heartbreak
of the US fans,
neither Venus nor Serena
competed in the 2003 US Open.
- Yeah, the US open's the
last event of the year
in August, September.
It's in New York City.
It's also the noisiest one.
That for me at the US open
is the buzz of the crowd.
So there's this thing at
Wimbledon where they say,
"Quiet please," before play.
They like it to be
perfect silence.
It doesn't happen in New York.
So there's the biggest
tennis arena in the world,
the Arthur Ashe Arena, it's
like 23, 24,000 people.
And the noise during a match
is just like nothing else.
So there's that constant
hum and the, you know,
the street, the vendors, the
hotdog sellers, all that.
That's sort of, the
smells, everything.
It's just like
nothing else for me.
And the crowd get
into it as well and
the crowd can give
players a hard time or
get behind the
Americans or singing.
The crowd atmosphere is
very special at the US Open.
Justine
Henin went on
to claim her first US Open title
as the sisters struggled
to return to winning form.
- They have been unlucky and
I think they would've won
an awful lot more if they
hadn't suffered these injuries.
They've kept going.
I mean that's the big thing
about these Williams sisters.
They had various chances
during their career
to say, "I've had a great
career, thanks very much.
I'm gonna, I'm
gonna leave it now."
But they've had this, you know,
inner drive, inner belief,
to keep coming back.
I think that differentiates
the great sports people
that go on and win,
again and again,
have the motivation
to do that and
overcome obstacles like that.
I think that's one of
the defining things
about their careers.
- We definitely will
miss tennis one day,
but not any time soon
'cause Venus and I are like,
okay, we're gonna keep playing,
we've had a lot of
time off in our career,
so maybe we can just keep
going and keep doing some.
On the
14th of September 2003,
the sisters were forced to deal
with a different type of loss.
The loss of their half
sister, Yetunde Price.
While Serena and Venus had been
conquering the tennis world,
Yetunde had stayed in Compton
finding success as a nurse,
opening her own
business and working
as a part-time assistant
to Venus and Serena.
However, on the night of
the 14th of September 2003,
in a case of mistaken identity,
Yetunde was shot while in the
passenger seat of her car.
The Williams family
had fallen victim
to the exact environment
they had escaped
over 10 years previous.
One
Saturday night recently,
five people died.
All of them victims of
what they call here,
drive-by shootings.
- To me, it's very shocking
to talk to these youngsters.
And I'm talking about a 15
or 16 year old young man
that has the
ability to go by and
just indiscriminately
fire a weapon,
not really carrying if an
innocent bystander is struck and
then not feeling any
sort of remorse for it.
The death
had a profound effect
on Venus and Serena,
who were already struggling
to get back to winning form.
With Serena stating that,
"She was a wonderful person.
We're dealing with
it however we can.
Some days are
better than others."
And in 2016,
the Williams sister opened a
community centre in Compton
for victims of violence
and their families
called the Yetunde
Price Resource Center.
Yetunde's murder would
have a prolonged effect
throughout the sister's careers,
often acting as inspiration
and motivation to succeed.
- They were very close
family, so raised, you know,
coached by Richard, the father.
The two of them became
the two big stars,
but the other sisters as well,
and they worked for them as
you know, as a PA, et cetera.
So the impact it had, the
death had, on the family
was quite, you
know, quite great.
And I think Serena dedicated
her victory though afterwards,
she dedicated to
her dead sister.
And most of all,
I would like to dedicate
this win to my sister,
who's not here.
Her name is Yetunde and
I just love her so much.
I'll try not to get teary eyed,
but couple days ago I said,
if I win this, it's
gonna be for her.
So thanks Tundi.
Spurred on
by her sister's death,
Serena won her first Grand
Slam title in two years,
as well as completing
a near impossible feat,
winning the tournament
as an unseeded player.
If you are unseeded,
you can play anybody at
the beginning of the event.
So you can draw the number
one seed in the first round.
Now, if you are seeded an
event, the top 32 is seeded,
the idea is you get an
easier introduction into it,
so your first two rounds,
you'll draw an unseeded player.
By definition, they're
not ranked as high say,
should be easy, you'll ease
your way into the tournament.
So being unranked
is very rare and
the times it has happened,
but when Serena did
it, when was that,
in 2007, Australia was it?
That's when she did it.
And she was ranked
number 81 at the time.
They're memorable.
You can identify when it's
happened because it's so rare.
Serena had the
chance to build on her success
when she faced
Daniela Hantuchov
at the 2007
Wimbledon Tournament.
A match that would go on
to epitomise her career.
The green grass at
Wimbledon is a different look
from the hard courts
and the clay as well.
Certainly British society
and British sport,
has a very special
place as well.
So tennis is a popular
sport in the UK.
I wouldn't pretend it's
the most popular sport,
but for those two weeks,
especially when there's not
a big football tournament on,
it's the biggest sporting
event in the country,
arguably the world.
And it's also become, you know,
Wimbledon is a sexy sport.
People want to go
along and see it.
And so the royal box is full
of other sports stars, actors,
film stars, et
cetera, like that.
People want to go
to the tennis and
wanna' be seen at the tennis.
Serena's
starting to cramp here.
She
is. Serena is cramping.
Left calf.
And that...
we are,
from our location
very close to that.
And it's visual.
Very visible that her left
calf was up in a ball.
It must have been,
I'm starting to wonder if
this is more than a cramp.
And that's an awful shriek that,
what certainly looked to be,
and there was a
visible knot and ball
in the back of her calf.
May have been something
more than a cramp.
Think about individual sports.
Generally, there's
no hiding place.
Now, the individual
sports, if you,
you are, it's down
to you what you do.
If you can play in a rugby
team or a football team,
you can have a bad day.
You can play badly
and you can still win.
Everyone else can carry you.
But when you're out there
on a tennis court playing,
it's one-on-one, man on man,
there's no hiding place.
It's what you do on the day.
And if you don't
perform, you lose.
And that's your job.
It's your career.
All the pressure's on you and
all the responsibility is yours.
I cannot imagine
Serena Williams
coming back from this.
After
a short rain break,
an injured Serena returned
back onto the court,
bandaged and limping, determined
to see the game through.
Just refused to give in,
so that any normal person
wouldn't have been able
to continue in that match.
You know,
the injury issue that
she was suffering.
But she got a little bit lucky
with the rain break,
et cetera, as well.
But she managed to get herself
strapped up and go out again
and then come back out
and win that match.
Defying sort of medical
science, if you like.
So that, I think that sort of,
that kind of performance showed
that how different she was,
how special she was.
I mean, the extent of her injury
where she lost in the
next round just based,
she wasn't fit.
So how she managed to
get through that match
against Hantuchova
given the injuries,
it is sheer adrenaline
and sheer will to win.
Although Serena's
injuries prevented her
from yet another
Grand Slam title,
sister Venus prevailed to claim
her fourth Wimbledon title
and sixth Grand Slam overall,
setting the sisters up for
one of the greatest periods
in their careers.
Between 2008 and 2010,
Serena and Venus
dominated world tennis.
Between them, they took home
six, out of a possible 12,
Grand Slam titles.
This meant that for three years,
half of all Grand
Slam tournaments were
won by a Williams,
making them two of the
most decorated players
on the WTA circuit.
The Williams sisters were back.
Not only were the sisters at
the height of their careers,
they were also changing the
very fabric of the sport.
- I think that Serena Williams
has dominated women's tennis
ever since her
first Grand Slam win
at the 1999 US Open,
along with her sister.
You know, there's nobody to
compare with her and her sister.
And they're still
the person that they,
you want to, everyone
wants to see.
Everybody wants to
know their result.
I always make the comparison
with Tiger Woods and
his impact on golf and
similar unusual backgrounds,
in fact, not used
to having, you know,
an African American
dominate that sport.
And so they changed the way
that people, it became sexy.
It became, you know,
more than just, you know,
golf and tennis have
got these perceptions
of being quite stuffy,
middle class, white sport.
But Tiger was for golf
and these Williams sisters
in tennis have changed that
and changed it for the better.
I would say even,
basically they're similar
and they've achieved,
you know, similar,
Serena's taken it to a
different level though.
Serena's always been a
more explosive player and
able to play at a, I think
her, Serena's best play,
what she's been able to
achieve is, has eclipsed Venus.
I mean, it's strange
to say that, you know,
Venus Williams,
for all her amazing
achievements she's achieved,
she's not even the best
tennis player in her family.
By the end of 2010,
Serena had begun to establish
herself as the dominant sister
with 13 Grand Slam
titles under her belt,
compared to Venus' seven.
Now at the height
of their careers,
nothing would prepare
the sisters for what
was to come next.
Serena
didn't even know
if she'd ever play tennis again.
She severed a tendon in her foot
stepping on a piece of
broken glass in a restaurant
celebrating last
year's Wimbledon win,
and then had emergency
surgery to remove blood clots
from her lungs just before
heading out to an Oscar's party.
- Yeah, I definitely
dodged a bullet.
I mean, literally,
I definitely view tennis
maybe a little different.
I mean, I view like, okay,
I just wanna' be healthy and
nothing can keep one
healthy no matter,
no titles, no money, nothing.
- Well, Serena's career
was known for its highs and
also its lows, usually
through injuries.
So she had lots of
injuries during the year.
She also admitted
suffering with depression
after a knee injury
early in her career.
So it was always, you know,
she never knew what to expect.
It was all a rollercoaster
ride through her career.
Suffering
from yet another injury,
Serena was forced to miss the
first half of the 2011 season.
Absent from the Australian
and French Opens,
Serena saw her rankings plummet.
By the first week in May 2011,
Serena was ranked
175th in the world.
Her lowest ranking since 1997.
Yeah, well, Venus,
she was diagnosed with an
autoimmune disease in 2011.
So this had a huge impact
on not just her career,
but her life.
So she had to
adopt a vegan diet,
control her calories, et cetera.
She was fatigued, everything.
So really she had to
evaluate, you know,
how she had to rebuild
her game and sort of
adapt her training and
her calendar to do this.
So, you know, on various levels,
it's really interesting
that it just goes to show
that even with a
condition like this,
you could still be
successful sportsman
if you're careful and get
the right sports science.
It also showed her
incredible drive
to keep continuing to play,
'cause it would be
very easy, you know,
she'd already won, you
know, countless Grand Slams,
she'd already achieved
anything, most,
a career that most players,
the envy of most players.
But she decided, no,
I'm not gonna stop here.
I'm gonna' keep going.
I'm gonna' learn how
to cope with this.
I'm gonna' adapt to it.
I'm gonna' come back again.
With both
Serena and Venus absent
from the game,
questions were
beginning to be asked
about the state
of women's tennis.
- Just in case it
escaped your notice,
every single one of the
Women's Quarter finalists
at Wimbledon this
year were European,
most of them
Eastern European and
with the Williams
sisters gone as well,
what does it say about the
state of women's tennis?
- But it's similar
on the men's side,
there was always a
new generation of
players threatening
to come through to replace them.
So, you know,
the constant talking point
during the 2010s was,
when's the changing of
the guard going to happen?
When are these new guys
gonna come through and
start dominating the sport
like the old guard have done?
As young new
talent began to break through,
Serena was determined
to prove she was still
the greatest player
in world tennis.
- Now, 2015 was one
of the highs again,
when she established herself
as the best player in the world.
So this, you know,
the longevity of
Williams' career is shown
that she first completed the
Serena Slam, which is holding
all four Grand Slam singles
titles simultaneously.
2002, 2003, she won
Wimbledon for the first time,
it was the dominant force.
She did it again, you
know, 14 years later.
So 2014, 2015, she did it again.
By the end of 2015,
Serena has cemented her position
as the number one
player in the world.
So you could argue
that her game, in that period,
in '14 or '15, was
the best she ever had.
So you know, when
she was in '02,'03,
she had the youth,
she had the athleticism
and explosiveness.
2014, '15, she
also had game plan,
she knew what she was doing,
she had the experience to do it,
and she was, you know,
she blew away everyone else.
- Next year something I
definitely wanna' continue to do
is just really focus on
breaking records in the Slam.
Having completed
her second Serena Slam,
Serena had the chance
to make history and
complete a calendar
year Grand Slam
when she reached the
2015 US Open final,
Losing in a shock
defeat to Roberta Vinci,
Serena would go on to lose
another two consecutive
Grand Slam finals,
the Australian and French Opens.
However, she didn't have to
wait long to achieve her goals
when on the 9th of July 2016,
Serena claimed her 22nd
Grand Slam at Wimbledon,
equaling Steffi
Graf's Open Era record
for Grand Slam titles
and weeks at number one.
On the 28th of January 2017,
the tennis world was treated
to a match they had longed for
when the sisters were
scheduled to face each other
in the Australian Open final.
- Well, the 2017
Australian Open,
is known as the Golden
Oldie Grand Slam
because on the men's side
you had Roger Federer and
Rafael Nadal reaching the final.
On the women's side,
you had Serena and Venus
reaching the final.
It was like the
throwback Grand Slam.
It was like you know, a time
warp going back 10 or 15 years.
It was the first time
that they'd met in a,
the sisters had met
in a Grand Slam final
since 2009 Wimbledon, and they
renewed their rivalry again.
I don't think many people
expected to see them back again.
So for, for various reasons.
Championship
point for Serena Williams.
And Serena smashes
Steffi's record.
It's number 23,
an iconic number.
And like Michael Jordan,
she's in Rare Air.
The sisters embrace,
they share a moment.
What a special moment.
A moment we might not
see again in history.
Having won
the Australian Open final,
Serena was now the most
successful female tennis player
in Open Era history.
Boasting an impressive
23 Grand Slam titles,
etching her name into
the history books.
Her success between
2015 and 2017
was unlike any
player in history,
reaching seven Grand
Slam finals and
two Grand Slam semifinals,
claiming five, out of a
possible nine, titles.
Everybody wants to
be the greatest of all time.
So you are known as the GOAT and
the most objective way of
defining who is the best player
is the number of
Grand Slam titles.
So everyone can have an opinion
on who's their favourite player,
who's your favourite backhand?
What the way, who's
the funniest person?
Whatever like that.
If you want to get down
to the cold hard facts,
it's how many Grand
Slam titles you've won.
So Chris Evert and Martina
Navratilova both won 18,
they ended up their
careers on the same level.
Steffi Graf, you know,
came past them and took,
won 22 in the Open Era.
So for Serena to
overtake those three
was a huge significant event,
you know, in the
context of what,
the history of Open Tennis.
Serena's
success made her
the highest paid women's
athlete of all time,
cementing her name as the
greatest female tennis player
to ever live.
The 2017 Australian
Open on the women's side
was it showed that Serena
and Venus were still
the two players to beat.
It was also sort of like
a full stop, if you like,
'cause it was, you know,
the high point and it
was very emotional.
It was, you know,
it was great fun for
everybody to watch that.
It was the last Grand
Slam final Venus got to,
and it was also the last Grand
Slam title that Serena won.
So it came out after the event,
she was actually eight weeks
pregnant with her first child.
So she gave birth
later that year and
she came back and she
got through to four
Grand Slam finals
and never won one of them.
So the 2017 Australian Open
final on the tournament
generally, is just remarkable.
Having
given birth shortly
after the 2017 Australian Open,
Serena took time
away from the game,
returning eight months later
after a number of pregnancy
related health issues.
Serena so
good to see you back here.
Can you explain
how hard it's been
to get back in shape
after having Alexis?
What it's like to
have her here as well?
It's amazing.
It was definitely hard, but
it's also so fulfilling and
it's like just goals after
goals after goals and,
you know, just amazing,
and just, I just feel like
life is just better now.
Even though I've had so
much success in my life,
I just feel like
it's just better now.
Having
made her way back
to professional tennis,
the tennis world would
be given one of the most
heartwarming matches in
the history of the sport.
When on the 13th of March, 2018,
the sisters would return to
the infamous Indian Wells
to face each other
after 17 years.
17 years
on in the same arena
where these two legends of the
game were scheduled to meet.
Tonight, they come
together again.
This time it is safe to
say the atmosphere is one
of love, joy, and
positivity for two sisters
who have transcended a sport.
Venus and Serena Williams.
Their
return to Indian Wells
reflected the admiration
they had built up
over the course
of their careers.
The two young teens who were
once booed out of the arena,
were now welcomed with
standing ovations and applause.
Venus and
Serena Williams
are two American tennis players
who have changed the face of
tennis during their career.
They're African American
players who have dominated the
sport over the last 20 years
and made tennis change it
in the way that the
physicality of the sport and
the access to the
sport and become two
of the greatest
players of all time.
With careers
spanning over three decades,
winning a combined
30 Grand Slam titles,
it's hard to say if any
players will ever come close
to the success and longevity
of the Williams sisters.
So Pete Sampras
retired when he was 32,
and that at the time was
seen as quite normal.
32, 33, early thirties.
That's your career, done.
We've now got Serena
Williams and Roger Federer,
they played into their forties,
which is just remarkable.
After 27 years
of tennis, in September 2022,
to the heartbreak of tennis
fans all over the world,
Serena Williams announced her
retirement from the sport.
- It's always
difficult to decide
for these top sports people
when to say goodbye and
choosing the right moment.
There's also, you know,
you want to go out,
you still, you're still
enjoying the sport,
but you don't want to be
losing every week and sort of,
you know, tainting your
legacy is probably too strong,
but you want to be
remembered as a great player.
So there's always this
balancing act, whereas playing,
as long as you still
enjoy it and still,
you still feel you
can achieve something.
Whereas in retiring before,
you still lose sort
of your great powers.
So I don't think it's gonna
be long for Venus either.
- I think the time
to retire is when
you're just going backwards
and the level of the game is,
you can't maintain it
or you can't improve or
when you've had enough.
So I'm at neither
of those points yet.
And I don't think
we will ever see
their story again.
So it's not just the fact
that they've dominated,
you know, tennis for over
a couple of decades and
not only though the way
they've performed on the court,
it's the social impact
or the, you know,
they've changed the sport.
They've changed
perception of the sport.
They have become role models
for the African American
community, people of colour,
in the United States
and around the world.
And they've also developed
and used their platform
to speak on political issues.
And now Serena, you
know, has got investment.
She invests in
different companies.
She's one of the investors in
the LA women's football team.
She wants to empower
other women in the future.
So I think they've had a,
an impact beyond tennis in
society in a positive way.
As the sisters'
careers come to an end,
the legacy left
behind is undoubted.
Two icons in the
world of tennis,
an unrivalled story,
which we are unlikely
to ever see again.
Williams sisters.
Never before has the
surname rang so synonymously
with the sport of tennis.
Dominating the game
for over three decades,
winning every title imaginable.
Few players will ever achieve
the heights of the famed duo.
With 14 Grand Slam titles
and three Olympic gold
medals as a doubles team
and 30 combined Grand
Slam singles titles,
winning almost seems
like second nature
for Serena and Venus.
From inexperienced
teenagers to seasoned vets,
nobody could have predicted
the sister's careers,
or could they?
Welcome to viewers
from British Eurosport.
It's an amazing sound here,
a crescendo of boos
for Serena Williams.
And there's father Richard
coming down, it's quite amazing.
Jo Durie alongside me,
Simon Reed, there's Venus.
And the crowd, an American
crowd booing an American family.
And you have to say
that it does smack
of a little bit of racism.
Oh wow, I'm
just speechless.
I've never heard
this before, ever.
And I've been on the circuit,
or was on circuit for
quite a long time.
Known as
the sport of kings,
tennis is rooted
in the upper class.
From its origins in
the 12th century,
tennis has become synonymous
with wealth and social status.
Rod Laver, Pete Sampras,
Steffi Graf and Chris Everett,
the game has given us some
of the greatest athletes
to ever live.
However, from the players,
to the umpires, to the fans,
there is one thing
that stands out.
- I think tennis
is still perceived
as a bit of a posh sport,
bit of a middle class sport.
So that one of the
reasons for that is
its royal roots, if you like.
It started off, you know,
as a real tennis and
I think that it's got
a royal connections
in that respect.
Tennis is a sport that
started history hazard.
It started the monks playing
in French monasteries
in the 12th century, a
game called jeu de paume,
which was they
are hitting a ball
with the palm of their hands
in the cloisters
against the wall.
Now this developed
in the 16th century.
They started playing with
rackets, and it, that's why,
that's when the Royal
Association started.
Henry the Fifth and,
and Henry the Eighth
really loved the sport.
You know, there are
perceived barriers to it,
so it's perceived as a
middle class white sport.
So there weren't many
role models for that,
for the Williams
sisters to go into.
Also, it's an expensive sport,
so it can be an expensive sport.
You've got to hire your courts,
you've gotta' buy rackets.
And then once you've
started, you reach a level.
Junior events, you go around,
you gotta' travel around to
play with different events
all around the country
and then internationally.
So the, there are the,
there are these barriers
that are for,
that prevented many people
entering the sport before them.
This is Hollywood.
A fantasy land of
glamour and beauty.
It stars our jewels
in the golden setting
of exquisite homes,
monumental studios and
sparkling atmosphere.
Los Angeles
means the city of the angels,
but down below,
the glittering lights of
Hollywood and Bel-Air,
the streets are
far from angelic.
For just a few blocks
from the Olympic sites and
the tourist hotels,
the glamour quickly gives
way to the grubby world
of Gangland.
Los Angeles has the worst
gang problem in the States
with some 20,000 thugs
dedicated to violence.
- I mean, going to
jail back and forth,
I mean, killing and also
watching brothers get killed.
I mean, it can take
a toll on your life,
can take a toll on your mind.
You just standing right
next to a brother and
you just see him get
his head blown off.
Although
only 20 miles
from the glamour and
glitz of Hollywood,
Compton is a world away.
The 1980s were difficult
times for the city of Compton.
Having exceeded the middle
class bliss of the sixties,
Compton had become a
hardened working class hub,
tarnished by gun
violence and drug dealing
by criminal gangs.
On Saturday night,
recently, five people died.
All of them victims of
what they call here,
drive-by shootings.
- To me, it's very shocking
to talk to these youngsters.
And I'm talking about a 15
or 16 year old young man
that has the ability to go
by and just indiscriminately
fire a weapon,
not really caring if an
innocent bystander is struck and
then not feeling any
sort of remorse for it.
Growing up
in the chaos and poverty
that was 1980s Compton,
the Williams sisters were
determined from a young age
to not be another statistic.
And with encouragement
from their father, Richard,
the girls chose their path.
- I mean the film King Richard,
the Oscar winning film,
shows a little bit about this,
this history and
how he took them,
the two sisters onto
these tennis courts,
public tennis courts
in Compton and LA and
coached them, and coached
them, and coached them,
and turned them into stars.
He did it in a different way.
So not only that's the,
the traditional country
club way of doing it.
Also, during their
younger years,
he decided they weren't
gonna play junior events.
You know, the events,
that's the traditional path you
play against contemporaries,
people of your age.
You learn to play,
you learn to win.
That, he didn't, decided his
daughters wouldn't do that.
He wanted them to have
education as well, you know,
a formal education.
He wanted them to be at home.
He wanted them to learn.
And then, when the
time was right,
he released them on
the tennis world.
- I put that one
so long ago, sir.
Me too.
Here's
a, here's a question.
I'm sure you've been
asked more than once.
Yes.
What do you
want to be when you grow up?
Tennis player.
- I would like to
be a tennis player.
If you
were a tennis player,
who would you want to be like?
- Well, I'd like other
people to be like me.
That's a good answer.
From
the age of four,
Richard began
coaching the girls,
spending countless
hours on the courts,
mapping out a path to stardom,
training in harsh conditions
with used equipment in the
heart of gang territory.
The girls quickly
developed their skills,
drawing in crowds to
watch them practice
on the courts of Compton.
By 1992,
Venus and Serena were
playing on the Junior Circuit
across the country,
all under the watchful eye
of their protective father.
- Richard Williams, not only
the father to Serena and Venus,
he was their original coach and
he was a driving force
behind their early successes.
So there were
barriers to, you know,
African-Americans, people of
colour accessing the sport.
He decided that it was
a, it was an investment,
it was a job, and money
could be made out of this.
So he decided to
train champions and
he took that on himself.
Very confident.
I'm very confident.
You say it so easily.
Why?
Because I believe it.
All right, cut
that here if you don't mind,
and let me tell you why.
What she said,
she said it was so much
confidence the first time,
but if you keep
going on and on...
We
can't keep interrupting.
I mean, if you want...
- You got to understand that
you dealing with an image
of a 14 year old child and
this child gonna' be out
there playing when
your old ass and me
gonna' be in the grave.
When she say something, we
done told you what's happening,
You dealing with a little
black kid and let her be a kid.
She done answer it with
a lot of confidence,
leave that alone.
By 1997,
Serena and Venus had
propelled themselves
from the Junior Circuit to
playing professional tennis.
- Well, it's interesting
because at our level it's,
we still have a lot of
things that we wanna work on,
like basic techniques.
And you have to have a
strong foundation, I believe,
and my parents and
my dad taught us
that in order to be at a level
of a professional tennis,
you need to have a really,
really strong foundation
so it can, it won't
break and it won't crack
under any type of pressure.
So sometimes my dad says,
"Okay, remember
when we were young,"
we used to always have this
saying, you know, "turn back."
And we would always say,
"yeah", so we'd go back to that.
So I think that's
really important.
Making
their mark early,
Venus reached five quarter
finals, one semifinal,
and one final at
Grand Slam Tournaments
in her first three years.
Painstakingly close
to lifting gold,
Venus looked set to
achieve her lifetime goal,
however,
it would be Serena that would
get the opportunity first.
Defeating world number one,
Hingis, in the US Open final,
Serena captured the
first Grand Slam
of the sister's careers.
It is my great
pleasure to present to you
the 1999 US Open Women Singles
trophy to Serena William.
Ladies and gentlemen,
the 1999 US Open Women's Singles
champion, Serena Williams.
Serena's
Win would make her the
first African-American woman
to win a Grand Slam since
Althea Gibson in 1958,
making her first
mark in history.
Althea Gibson
of New York became the
first of her race to win the
title at Wimbledon, England.
And she won the
US Nationals, too.
Sportsmen everywhere
applauded Althea's triumph
and shared in her
moment of glory
when Queen Elizabeth
herself presented the
symbol of victory to
the girl from Harlem who
became the toast of the
tennis world in 1957.
I think it was a motivation.
I think it was a motivation,
'cause it wasn't, you know,
it was expected that, you know,
Venus was the elder one and
she would achieve
more and earlier and
the fact that
Serena came through,
and it was quite a shock for
her to win the 1999 US Open,
to do that.
So, you know,
I'm sure it was a
motivation to her that,
your little sister or little
brother does something
before you, you want to
go out and do it as well.
It's a family affair
that's gripped the nation.
One of the Williams
sisters has to lose today,
but which one?
It's only happened twice
before in Wimbledon history.
It's the first time
in the semifinals
of a modern Grand Slam event.
The experts forecast
a close match.
- Sometimes when
you get two players
that are too emotionally high,
you can be too
emotionally high and,
and maybe just be
a little tight.
But I think once you get a
couple of games out the way,
I think they'll settle
into their games and,
and I think we're gonna see
some pretty good tennis.
I think we're gonna see
an extremely aggressive
tennis match.
- The big question tomorrow
is how the umpire is going
to address the two sisters.
First names have been ruled out.
The only solution appears
to be the full Monty,
Miss Venus Williams and
Miss Serena Williams.
Well all the excitement
over the sisters has rather
overshadowed the men's
quarter finals this afternoon.
- I don't know,
they just have a,
a presence around that no
one else seems to have.
For once though,
it was a less than
glamorous entrance
for Serena and Venus,
the brightest stars of
the ladies tournament.
- We're feeling pretty
good about today.
I'm ready to go home.
- Which of these
two remarkable women
would you put your
money on tomorrow?
- Well, I picked Venus
to win the tournament
at the beginning,
so I gotta' stick with her now.
I like her serve.
I like the fact that she's
a little more mature,
a little more experienced.
But Serena has been
playing the better tennis,
but she hasn't been
playing anybody.
- Now of course,
these two are sisters.
They're very close.
They clearly love
each other very much.
Will they be able to
be aggressive enough
on court tomorrow
against each other?
Well, they do, but they say
that when they're on the
court, they're not related.
Their previous four matches
have not been very good to watch
because there's a tremendous
psychological block in there.
You can't deny that.
But I think as they
play each time,
they realise they're
professional athletes,
they're watching,
the world is watching now.
- So how is this
playing out in America?
Has it gone Wimbledon
crazy over there?
Very much so.
This is a bigger story
in the United States
than Agassi or Samprus.
And if one of them
wins the title, woo!
Well, no black person,
no Black American has
won since Althea Gibson
among the women in 1958.
- I know when I had to
play my brother John,
we tried to be friends,
but when we got on call,
we had obviously, had to try
and win and beat each other.
After the match, well,
we'd go and have a drink.
If I won, I would buy him
a drink and vice versa.
So it's gonna be tremendously
tough for both, both girls.
But I just got a feeling
Venus is gonna come through
on this one.
- Whoever comes through
this afternoon's semifinal,
the Williams family
will be the winner.
And of course, both Venus
and Serena could yet
appear in a final together
in that ladies doubles.
- I hope that they
both could win,
but I know that can't happen.
To see where we come from,
out of the worst ghetto,
to be here at the finest
club in the world.
It's just phenomenal.
Other words, if I was
writing a script for a movie,
I would say it'll never happen.
What don't, what
can't you love about Wimbledon?
The grass, I mean,
wearing the white,
playing one, the biggest
Grand Slam in the world.
It's the biggest stadium and
you just gotta' get up for.
On the
7th of July, 2000,
for the first time in the
history of the Open Era,
two sisters would face off
in a Grand Slam semifinal.
From the public
courts of Compton,
to the grandest stage of all,
only one of the sisters can
make it through to the final.
- So Lindsay Davenport will
be back on Center Court
on Saturday to defend her
title against Venus Williams.
This time Richard Williams
says he will be there
to cheer his daughter on,
and Venus expects
younger sister Serena
to be rooting for her as well.
- I didn't cry, but I
was pretty close to it.
I sympathise with Serena
because Serena hates to lose,
and she got to learn
that in this sport,
you are gonna lose sometime.
It must be very difficult.
I remember 2000 Wimbledon when
they played in the semifinal,
and be honest, it
was an awful match.
You know, they both
looked nervous.
They both looked like they
didn't want to beat each other.
You know, it wasn't
a great spectacle.
I mean, it was a great occasion,
but the quality of the tennis,
there was so many errors,
et cetera, out that.
Venus went on to win
that and went on,
went to win Wimbledon that year.
But, you know,
it must be difficult,
especially, you know,
if you leave aside the
emotional side of it,
the briefing someone
you love and shared
so much of your life with,
it's also the fact that they
prayed, trained and practiced
together so many years.
So they know each
other's game inside out.
So it's very difficult
to surprise each other.
So, you know that,
it, on so many levels,
it was difficult for them.
Serena watched
on from the grandstands
as sister, Venus, went on to
win her first Grand Slam title,
the 2000 Wimbledon Championship.
And unfortunately,
it wasn't the last time
she'd be watching her sister
from there.
On the 9th of September, 2000,
Venus won her second Grand
Slam title, the US Open.
10 months later,
she would go on to win her
third Grand Slam title.
However,
Serena wouldn't
have to wait long
for another chance at glory
when the two sisters were
scheduled to face each other
in the Indian Wells Semi-final.
Four minutes before the match,
Venus pulled out sparking
allegations of match-fixing and
racial abuse towards the
sisters and their dad.
But Serena,
has been put out,
no doubt about it.
but I don't like it.
I don't like the
atmosphere at all.
I do think it smacks of a
certain amount of racism
by a certain proportion
of the crowd,
and that is distasteful.
Serena
would go on to say,
"I looked up and all I could
see was a sea of rich people,
mostly older, mostly white."
Although she won the match,
Serena felt more disconnected
from the sport than ever.
Richard would later state that,
"I think Indian Wells
disgraced America."
After the controversial
Indian Wells Tournament,
allegations of
match-fixing continued
as people began to question
the sister's other encounters.
However, on the 10th
of September 2001,
the sister had a chance
to prove the world wrong,
when for the first time
in Open Era history,
two sisters would face each
other in a Grand Slam final,
the 2002 US open.
Losing out once
again to her sister,
Serena was determined to make
her mark on the tennis world.
Facing off against
Venus, yet again,
at the 2002 French open,
Serena pulled through to win
her first Grand Slam final
against her sister.
And it wouldn't be the last.
Meeting each other yet again
at the 2002 Wimbledon final,
Serena once again
beat her sister
in a tightly contested match.
At the final Grand Slam of
the year, the Australian Open,
Serena and Venus met
once again in the final.
Winning the match,
Serena now held three out
of four possible Grand Slams
and had the chance to
do the unimaginable,
when she faced her
sister once again
at the 2003
Australian Open final.
Serena prevailed in a
tightly contested match,
winning by tie break,
to claim four out of a possible
four Grand Slam titles,
dubbed the Serena Slam.
- So to hold all four Grand
Slam titles simultaneously
shows not only your mastery
of all the three surfaces
in the four Grand Slams,
it also shows your consistency
during this period.
You know,
it's so easy to have a
bad day and an off day and
if someone else comes out and
plays out of this
world and beats you.
She was able to do that
for a consistent period.
The night before,
they'd been turning heads at
the Wimbledon Champions Ball,
and we're as pleased with
their performance there
as at the tournament itself.
Serena also,
I think Serena enjoys the
limelight a little bit more.
I think she's more at
ease in press conferences.
I think she enjoys that
side of it slightly more,
where Venus is
slightly more guarded.
I don't think she
enjoys sharing so much.
Red carpets,
charity events, and gala dinners
all became the norm for
tennis' newest stars.
Some people
suggest that you've got
so many extra side
interests that since
have become more of a
hobby, how do you react?
- I think that basically
you just have to listen
to what Serena and I say.
Any other person's suggestion
would just be opinion.
They became megastars,
they became known
outside the sport.
What you're always looking
through in tennis and
all sports is, you know, we
talk about a breakthrough.
So most tennis fans will
watch all tennis events,
you know, come what may.
Now the sports fans,
who have got a general
interest in sport,
will watch, you know, the
Grand Slams, the bigger events,
as well as a tennis fan.
Now, what Serena Williams
and Venus Williams did,
it helped transform the sport,
is to make it across,
the crossover,
to have an appeal for
everyone in society,
to everybody that wanted to
know what they were doing.
And Serena's achievement of the,
the Serena Slam in '02, '03,
winning Wimbledon
without dropping a set.
I mean that impact in the UK,
that made her into
an instant star.
The way the way
she did it as well,
was just a style of
tennis with people,
made people step
up, look up and say,
"Wow, that is something else,
I've never seen anything
like that before."
Having
established themselves
as two of the most dominant
female tennis players
in the world,
Serena and Venus
transformed the sport.
Taking on major brand
deals with Nike and Reebok,
the sisters have become
the biggest names
in the world of tennis.
Finishing the year ranked
number one and two in the world.
- I think it reflects
the consistency
of your performances as well.
So, I mean, the Grand Slam
you go down in history for,
for winning Grand Slam.
Your name will always be there,
but if you are a number one,
get to become world
number one and
certainly the end
of the year to say
you were the best
player in that year,
you need to be perform, to
get to world number one,
you need to perform
on all the serves.
You can't just be a
clay court specialist.
You can't just be a
grass court specialist.
You've gotta' perform
all around the world
all through the year.
So that's why people
value that honour.
The
sisters were now two
of the biggest names in tennis.
By the end of 2003,
Serena had claimed
six Grand Slam titles
compared to Venus's four,
dominating the sport
with an unstoppable serve
like nothing the tennis
world had seen before.
Let anyone dispute.
She has the biggest serve
in the history of
the women's sport and
also, you know, has dominated it
during certain periods
like no other player.
So she has been,
when she's been fit
and mentally tuned in,
she is undoubtedly the
best player in the world.
Shortly
after winning
her second Wimbledon title,
Serena suffered a partial
tear of her quadriceps tendon
in her left knee
requiring surgery.
At the same time Venus
suffered an abdominal injury
requiring her to step
away from the game.
At the heartbreak
of the US fans,
neither Venus nor Serena
competed in the 2003 US Open.
- Yeah, the US open's the
last event of the year
in August, September.
It's in New York City.
It's also the noisiest one.
That for me at the US open
is the buzz of the crowd.
So there's this thing at
Wimbledon where they say,
"Quiet please," before play.
They like it to be
perfect silence.
It doesn't happen in New York.
So there's the biggest
tennis arena in the world,
the Arthur Ashe Arena, it's
like 23, 24,000 people.
And the noise during a match
is just like nothing else.
So there's that constant
hum and the, you know,
the street, the vendors, the
hotdog sellers, all that.
That's sort of, the
smells, everything.
It's just like
nothing else for me.
And the crowd get
into it as well and
the crowd can give
players a hard time or
get behind the
Americans or singing.
The crowd atmosphere is
very special at the US Open.
Justine
Henin went on
to claim her first US Open title
as the sisters struggled
to return to winning form.
- They have been unlucky and
I think they would've won
an awful lot more if they
hadn't suffered these injuries.
They've kept going.
I mean that's the big thing
about these Williams sisters.
They had various chances
during their career
to say, "I've had a great
career, thanks very much.
I'm gonna, I'm
gonna leave it now."
But they've had this, you know,
inner drive, inner belief,
to keep coming back.
I think that differentiates
the great sports people
that go on and win,
again and again,
have the motivation
to do that and
overcome obstacles like that.
I think that's one of
the defining things
about their careers.
- We definitely will
miss tennis one day,
but not any time soon
'cause Venus and I are like,
okay, we're gonna keep playing,
we've had a lot of
time off in our career,
so maybe we can just keep
going and keep doing some.
On the
14th of September 2003,
the sisters were forced to deal
with a different type of loss.
The loss of their half
sister, Yetunde Price.
While Serena and Venus had been
conquering the tennis world,
Yetunde had stayed in Compton
finding success as a nurse,
opening her own
business and working
as a part-time assistant
to Venus and Serena.
However, on the night of
the 14th of September 2003,
in a case of mistaken identity,
Yetunde was shot while in the
passenger seat of her car.
The Williams family
had fallen victim
to the exact environment
they had escaped
over 10 years previous.
One
Saturday night recently,
five people died.
All of them victims of
what they call here,
drive-by shootings.
- To me, it's very shocking
to talk to these youngsters.
And I'm talking about a 15
or 16 year old young man
that has the
ability to go by and
just indiscriminately
fire a weapon,
not really carrying if an
innocent bystander is struck and
then not feeling any
sort of remorse for it.
The death
had a profound effect
on Venus and Serena,
who were already struggling
to get back to winning form.
With Serena stating that,
"She was a wonderful person.
We're dealing with
it however we can.
Some days are
better than others."
And in 2016,
the Williams sister opened a
community centre in Compton
for victims of violence
and their families
called the Yetunde
Price Resource Center.
Yetunde's murder would
have a prolonged effect
throughout the sister's careers,
often acting as inspiration
and motivation to succeed.
- They were very close
family, so raised, you know,
coached by Richard, the father.
The two of them became
the two big stars,
but the other sisters as well,
and they worked for them as
you know, as a PA, et cetera.
So the impact it had, the
death had, on the family
was quite, you
know, quite great.
And I think Serena dedicated
her victory though afterwards,
she dedicated to
her dead sister.
And most of all,
I would like to dedicate
this win to my sister,
who's not here.
Her name is Yetunde and
I just love her so much.
I'll try not to get teary eyed,
but couple days ago I said,
if I win this, it's
gonna be for her.
So thanks Tundi.
Spurred on
by her sister's death,
Serena won her first Grand
Slam title in two years,
as well as completing
a near impossible feat,
winning the tournament
as an unseeded player.
If you are unseeded,
you can play anybody at
the beginning of the event.
So you can draw the number
one seed in the first round.
Now, if you are seeded an
event, the top 32 is seeded,
the idea is you get an
easier introduction into it,
so your first two rounds,
you'll draw an unseeded player.
By definition, they're
not ranked as high say,
should be easy, you'll ease
your way into the tournament.
So being unranked
is very rare and
the times it has happened,
but when Serena did
it, when was that,
in 2007, Australia was it?
That's when she did it.
And she was ranked
number 81 at the time.
They're memorable.
You can identify when it's
happened because it's so rare.
Serena had the
chance to build on her success
when she faced
Daniela Hantuchov
at the 2007
Wimbledon Tournament.
A match that would go on
to epitomise her career.
The green grass at
Wimbledon is a different look
from the hard courts
and the clay as well.
Certainly British society
and British sport,
has a very special
place as well.
So tennis is a popular
sport in the UK.
I wouldn't pretend it's
the most popular sport,
but for those two weeks,
especially when there's not
a big football tournament on,
it's the biggest sporting
event in the country,
arguably the world.
And it's also become, you know,
Wimbledon is a sexy sport.
People want to go
along and see it.
And so the royal box is full
of other sports stars, actors,
film stars, et
cetera, like that.
People want to go
to the tennis and
wanna' be seen at the tennis.
Serena's
starting to cramp here.
She
is. Serena is cramping.
Left calf.
And that...
we are,
from our location
very close to that.
And it's visual.
Very visible that her left
calf was up in a ball.
It must have been,
I'm starting to wonder if
this is more than a cramp.
And that's an awful shriek that,
what certainly looked to be,
and there was a
visible knot and ball
in the back of her calf.
May have been something
more than a cramp.
Think about individual sports.
Generally, there's
no hiding place.
Now, the individual
sports, if you,
you are, it's down
to you what you do.
If you can play in a rugby
team or a football team,
you can have a bad day.
You can play badly
and you can still win.
Everyone else can carry you.
But when you're out there
on a tennis court playing,
it's one-on-one, man on man,
there's no hiding place.
It's what you do on the day.
And if you don't
perform, you lose.
And that's your job.
It's your career.
All the pressure's on you and
all the responsibility is yours.
I cannot imagine
Serena Williams
coming back from this.
After
a short rain break,
an injured Serena returned
back onto the court,
bandaged and limping, determined
to see the game through.
Just refused to give in,
so that any normal person
wouldn't have been able
to continue in that match.
You know,
the injury issue that
she was suffering.
But she got a little bit lucky
with the rain break,
et cetera, as well.
But she managed to get herself
strapped up and go out again
and then come back out
and win that match.
Defying sort of medical
science, if you like.
So that, I think that sort of,
that kind of performance showed
that how different she was,
how special she was.
I mean, the extent of her injury
where she lost in the
next round just based,
she wasn't fit.
So how she managed to
get through that match
against Hantuchova
given the injuries,
it is sheer adrenaline
and sheer will to win.
Although Serena's
injuries prevented her
from yet another
Grand Slam title,
sister Venus prevailed to claim
her fourth Wimbledon title
and sixth Grand Slam overall,
setting the sisters up for
one of the greatest periods
in their careers.
Between 2008 and 2010,
Serena and Venus
dominated world tennis.
Between them, they took home
six, out of a possible 12,
Grand Slam titles.
This meant that for three years,
half of all Grand
Slam tournaments were
won by a Williams,
making them two of the
most decorated players
on the WTA circuit.
The Williams sisters were back.
Not only were the sisters at
the height of their careers,
they were also changing the
very fabric of the sport.
- I think that Serena Williams
has dominated women's tennis
ever since her
first Grand Slam win
at the 1999 US Open,
along with her sister.
You know, there's nobody to
compare with her and her sister.
And they're still
the person that they,
you want to, everyone
wants to see.
Everybody wants to
know their result.
I always make the comparison
with Tiger Woods and
his impact on golf and
similar unusual backgrounds,
in fact, not used
to having, you know,
an African American
dominate that sport.
And so they changed the way
that people, it became sexy.
It became, you know,
more than just, you know,
golf and tennis have
got these perceptions
of being quite stuffy,
middle class, white sport.
But Tiger was for golf
and these Williams sisters
in tennis have changed that
and changed it for the better.
I would say even,
basically they're similar
and they've achieved,
you know, similar,
Serena's taken it to a
different level though.
Serena's always been a
more explosive player and
able to play at a, I think
her, Serena's best play,
what she's been able to
achieve is, has eclipsed Venus.
I mean, it's strange
to say that, you know,
Venus Williams,
for all her amazing
achievements she's achieved,
she's not even the best
tennis player in her family.
By the end of 2010,
Serena had begun to establish
herself as the dominant sister
with 13 Grand Slam
titles under her belt,
compared to Venus' seven.
Now at the height
of their careers,
nothing would prepare
the sisters for what
was to come next.
Serena
didn't even know
if she'd ever play tennis again.
She severed a tendon in her foot
stepping on a piece of
broken glass in a restaurant
celebrating last
year's Wimbledon win,
and then had emergency
surgery to remove blood clots
from her lungs just before
heading out to an Oscar's party.
- Yeah, I definitely
dodged a bullet.
I mean, literally,
I definitely view tennis
maybe a little different.
I mean, I view like, okay,
I just wanna' be healthy and
nothing can keep one
healthy no matter,
no titles, no money, nothing.
- Well, Serena's career
was known for its highs and
also its lows, usually
through injuries.
So she had lots of
injuries during the year.
She also admitted
suffering with depression
after a knee injury
early in her career.
So it was always, you know,
she never knew what to expect.
It was all a rollercoaster
ride through her career.
Suffering
from yet another injury,
Serena was forced to miss the
first half of the 2011 season.
Absent from the Australian
and French Opens,
Serena saw her rankings plummet.
By the first week in May 2011,
Serena was ranked
175th in the world.
Her lowest ranking since 1997.
Yeah, well, Venus,
she was diagnosed with an
autoimmune disease in 2011.
So this had a huge impact
on not just her career,
but her life.
So she had to
adopt a vegan diet,
control her calories, et cetera.
She was fatigued, everything.
So really she had to
evaluate, you know,
how she had to rebuild
her game and sort of
adapt her training and
her calendar to do this.
So, you know, on various levels,
it's really interesting
that it just goes to show
that even with a
condition like this,
you could still be
successful sportsman
if you're careful and get
the right sports science.
It also showed her
incredible drive
to keep continuing to play,
'cause it would be
very easy, you know,
she'd already won, you
know, countless Grand Slams,
she'd already achieved
anything, most,
a career that most players,
the envy of most players.
But she decided, no,
I'm not gonna stop here.
I'm gonna' keep going.
I'm gonna' learn how
to cope with this.
I'm gonna' adapt to it.
I'm gonna' come back again.
With both
Serena and Venus absent
from the game,
questions were
beginning to be asked
about the state
of women's tennis.
- Just in case it
escaped your notice,
every single one of the
Women's Quarter finalists
at Wimbledon this
year were European,
most of them
Eastern European and
with the Williams
sisters gone as well,
what does it say about the
state of women's tennis?
- But it's similar
on the men's side,
there was always a
new generation of
players threatening
to come through to replace them.
So, you know,
the constant talking point
during the 2010s was,
when's the changing of
the guard going to happen?
When are these new guys
gonna come through and
start dominating the sport
like the old guard have done?
As young new
talent began to break through,
Serena was determined
to prove she was still
the greatest player
in world tennis.
- Now, 2015 was one
of the highs again,
when she established herself
as the best player in the world.
So this, you know,
the longevity of
Williams' career is shown
that she first completed the
Serena Slam, which is holding
all four Grand Slam singles
titles simultaneously.
2002, 2003, she won
Wimbledon for the first time,
it was the dominant force.
She did it again, you
know, 14 years later.
So 2014, 2015, she did it again.
By the end of 2015,
Serena has cemented her position
as the number one
player in the world.
So you could argue
that her game, in that period,
in '14 or '15, was
the best she ever had.
So you know, when
she was in '02,'03,
she had the youth,
she had the athleticism
and explosiveness.
2014, '15, she
also had game plan,
she knew what she was doing,
she had the experience to do it,
and she was, you know,
she blew away everyone else.
- Next year something I
definitely wanna' continue to do
is just really focus on
breaking records in the Slam.
Having completed
her second Serena Slam,
Serena had the chance
to make history and
complete a calendar
year Grand Slam
when she reached the
2015 US Open final,
Losing in a shock
defeat to Roberta Vinci,
Serena would go on to lose
another two consecutive
Grand Slam finals,
the Australian and French Opens.
However, she didn't have to
wait long to achieve her goals
when on the 9th of July 2016,
Serena claimed her 22nd
Grand Slam at Wimbledon,
equaling Steffi
Graf's Open Era record
for Grand Slam titles
and weeks at number one.
On the 28th of January 2017,
the tennis world was treated
to a match they had longed for
when the sisters were
scheduled to face each other
in the Australian Open final.
- Well, the 2017
Australian Open,
is known as the Golden
Oldie Grand Slam
because on the men's side
you had Roger Federer and
Rafael Nadal reaching the final.
On the women's side,
you had Serena and Venus
reaching the final.
It was like the
throwback Grand Slam.
It was like you know, a time
warp going back 10 or 15 years.
It was the first time
that they'd met in a,
the sisters had met
in a Grand Slam final
since 2009 Wimbledon, and they
renewed their rivalry again.
I don't think many people
expected to see them back again.
So for, for various reasons.
Championship
point for Serena Williams.
And Serena smashes
Steffi's record.
It's number 23,
an iconic number.
And like Michael Jordan,
she's in Rare Air.
The sisters embrace,
they share a moment.
What a special moment.
A moment we might not
see again in history.
Having won
the Australian Open final,
Serena was now the most
successful female tennis player
in Open Era history.
Boasting an impressive
23 Grand Slam titles,
etching her name into
the history books.
Her success between
2015 and 2017
was unlike any
player in history,
reaching seven Grand
Slam finals and
two Grand Slam semifinals,
claiming five, out of a
possible nine, titles.
Everybody wants to
be the greatest of all time.
So you are known as the GOAT and
the most objective way of
defining who is the best player
is the number of
Grand Slam titles.
So everyone can have an opinion
on who's their favourite player,
who's your favourite backhand?
What the way, who's
the funniest person?
Whatever like that.
If you want to get down
to the cold hard facts,
it's how many Grand
Slam titles you've won.
So Chris Evert and Martina
Navratilova both won 18,
they ended up their
careers on the same level.
Steffi Graf, you know,
came past them and took,
won 22 in the Open Era.
So for Serena to
overtake those three
was a huge significant event,
you know, in the
context of what,
the history of Open Tennis.
Serena's
success made her
the highest paid women's
athlete of all time,
cementing her name as the
greatest female tennis player
to ever live.
The 2017 Australian
Open on the women's side
was it showed that Serena
and Venus were still
the two players to beat.
It was also sort of like
a full stop, if you like,
'cause it was, you know,
the high point and it
was very emotional.
It was, you know,
it was great fun for
everybody to watch that.
It was the last Grand
Slam final Venus got to,
and it was also the last Grand
Slam title that Serena won.
So it came out after the event,
she was actually eight weeks
pregnant with her first child.
So she gave birth
later that year and
she came back and she
got through to four
Grand Slam finals
and never won one of them.
So the 2017 Australian Open
final on the tournament
generally, is just remarkable.
Having
given birth shortly
after the 2017 Australian Open,
Serena took time
away from the game,
returning eight months later
after a number of pregnancy
related health issues.
Serena so
good to see you back here.
Can you explain
how hard it's been
to get back in shape
after having Alexis?
What it's like to
have her here as well?
It's amazing.
It was definitely hard, but
it's also so fulfilling and
it's like just goals after
goals after goals and,
you know, just amazing,
and just, I just feel like
life is just better now.
Even though I've had so
much success in my life,
I just feel like
it's just better now.
Having
made her way back
to professional tennis,
the tennis world would
be given one of the most
heartwarming matches in
the history of the sport.
When on the 13th of March, 2018,
the sisters would return to
the infamous Indian Wells
to face each other
after 17 years.
17 years
on in the same arena
where these two legends of the
game were scheduled to meet.
Tonight, they come
together again.
This time it is safe to
say the atmosphere is one
of love, joy, and
positivity for two sisters
who have transcended a sport.
Venus and Serena Williams.
Their
return to Indian Wells
reflected the admiration
they had built up
over the course
of their careers.
The two young teens who were
once booed out of the arena,
were now welcomed with
standing ovations and applause.
Venus and
Serena Williams
are two American tennis players
who have changed the face of
tennis during their career.
They're African American
players who have dominated the
sport over the last 20 years
and made tennis change it
in the way that the
physicality of the sport and
the access to the
sport and become two
of the greatest
players of all time.
With careers
spanning over three decades,
winning a combined
30 Grand Slam titles,
it's hard to say if any
players will ever come close
to the success and longevity
of the Williams sisters.
So Pete Sampras
retired when he was 32,
and that at the time was
seen as quite normal.
32, 33, early thirties.
That's your career, done.
We've now got Serena
Williams and Roger Federer,
they played into their forties,
which is just remarkable.
After 27 years
of tennis, in September 2022,
to the heartbreak of tennis
fans all over the world,
Serena Williams announced her
retirement from the sport.
- It's always
difficult to decide
for these top sports people
when to say goodbye and
choosing the right moment.
There's also, you know,
you want to go out,
you still, you're still
enjoying the sport,
but you don't want to be
losing every week and sort of,
you know, tainting your
legacy is probably too strong,
but you want to be
remembered as a great player.
So there's always this
balancing act, whereas playing,
as long as you still
enjoy it and still,
you still feel you
can achieve something.
Whereas in retiring before,
you still lose sort
of your great powers.
So I don't think it's gonna
be long for Venus either.
- I think the time
to retire is when
you're just going backwards
and the level of the game is,
you can't maintain it
or you can't improve or
when you've had enough.
So I'm at neither
of those points yet.
And I don't think
we will ever see
their story again.
So it's not just the fact
that they've dominated,
you know, tennis for over
a couple of decades and
not only though the way
they've performed on the court,
it's the social impact
or the, you know,
they've changed the sport.
They've changed
perception of the sport.
They have become role models
for the African American
community, people of colour,
in the United States
and around the world.
And they've also developed
and used their platform
to speak on political issues.
And now Serena, you
know, has got investment.
She invests in
different companies.
She's one of the investors in
the LA women's football team.
She wants to empower
other women in the future.
So I think they've had a,
an impact beyond tennis in
society in a positive way.
As the sisters'
careers come to an end,
the legacy left
behind is undoubted.
Two icons in the
world of tennis,
an unrivalled story,
which we are unlikely
to ever see again.