Williams sisters - wikipedia Williams sisters `` Venus and Serena '' redirects here. For the documentary, see Venus and Serena ( film ). This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. ( April 2011 ) Venus and Serena Venus Serena Highest singles ranking : No. 1 ( February 25, 2002 ) No. 1 ( July 8, 2002 ) Highest doubles ranking : No. 1 ( June 7, 2010 ) No. 1 ( June 7, 2010 ) Women 's Singles titles : 49 72 Women 's Doubles titles : 21 23 Grand Slam Women 's Singles titles : 7 ( Wimbledon 2000 / 01 / 05 / 07 / 08, US Open 2000 / 01 ) 23 ( Aus Open 2003 / 05 / 07 / 09 / 10 / 15 / 17, French Open 2002 / 13 / 15, Wimbledon 2002 / 03 / 09 / 10 / 12 / 15 / 16, US Open 1999 / 2002 / 08 / 12 / 13 / 14 ) Grand Slam Women 's Doubles titles : 14 ( Aus Open 2001 / 03 / 09 / 10, French Open 1999 / 2010, Wimbledon 2000 / 02 / 08 / 09 / 12 / 16, US Open 1999 / 2009 ) 14 ( Aus Open 2001 / 03 / 09 / 10, French Open 1999 / 2010, Wimbledon 2000 / 02 / 08 / 09 / 12 / 16, US Open 1999 / 2009 ) Grand Slam Mixed Doubles titles : 2 ( Aus Open 1998, French Open 1998 ) ( Wimbledon 1998, US Open 1998 ) Summer Olympics Singles titles : Gold ( Sydney 2000 ) Gold ( London 2012 ) Summer Olympics Doubles titles : Gold ( Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, London 2012 ) Gold ( Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, London 2012 ) Fed Cup titles : 1 ( 1999 ) ( 1999 ) Plays : Right - handed ( two - handed backhand ) Right - handed ( two - handed backhand ) Career Earnings : $36,785,743 ( 2nd ) $85,461,751 ( 1st ) The Williams sisters are two professional American tennis players : Venus Williams ( b. 1980 ), a seven - time Grand Slam title winner ( singles ), and Serena Williams ( b. 1981 ), twenty - three - time Grand Slam title winner ( singles ), both of whom were coached from an early age by their parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price. There is a noted professional rivalry between them -- between the 2001 US Open and the 2017 Australian Open tournaments, they met in nine Grand Slam singles finals. They became the first two players, female or male, to play in 4 consecutive grand slam singles finals from the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open ; Serena famously won all 4 to complete the first of two `` Serena Slams ''. Between 2000 and 2016, a 17 - year span, they collectively won 12 Wimbledon singles titles ( Venus won 5 and Serena won 7 ). By winning the 2001 Australian Open women 's doubles title, they became the 5th pair to complete the Career Doubles Grand Slam and the only pair to complete the Career Doubles Golden Slam. At the time, Venus and Serena were only 20 and 19 years old, respectively. Since then they have gone on to add another two Olympic gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. Nearly a decade later, the duo would go on to win 4 consecutive grand slam doubles titles from 2009 Wimbledon through 2010 Roland Garros, which would catapult them to co-No. 1 doubles players on 7 June 2010. Two weeks later, on 21 June 2010, Serena would hold the No. 1 singles ranking and Venus would be right behind her at No. 2 in singles. Their most recent grand slam doubles titles came at the 2012 Wimbledon & 2016 Wimbledon events. They remain very close, often watching each other 's matches in support, even after one of them has been knocked out of a tournament. Both sisters have been ranked by the Women 's Tennis Association at the World No. 1 position in both singles & doubles. In 2002, after the French Open, Venus Williams and Serena Williams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, marking the first time in history that sisters occupied the Top - 2 singles spots in the world rankings. During the 2010 French Open, they became the co-world No. 1 players in women 's doubles. On 21 June 2010, Serena and Venus again held the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings spots in singles, respectively, some eight years after first accomplishing this feat. At the time, Serena was three months shy of her 29th birthday and Venus had just celebrated her 30th birthday. Both players have won four gold medals at the Summer Olympics Games, one each in singles and three in doubles -- all won together -- the most of any tennis players. Venus has also won a silver in mixed doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. As a duo, they have also completed the Career Golden Slam in doubles, twice. Contents 1 Doubles : 23 ( 22 titles, 1 runner - up ) 2 Team competition finals : 1 ( 1 titles ) 3 Performance timelines 3.1 Women 's doubles 4 Boycott of the Indian Wells Masters 4.1 Effects and criticism 5 Best result in Grand Slam singles ( combined ) 6 Year - end WTA ranking 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading Doubles : 23 ( 22 titles, 1 runner - up ) Winner -- Legend Grand Slam tournaments ( 14 -- 0 ) Olympic Gold ( 3 ) WTA Tour Championships ( 0 -- 0 ) Premier Mandatory & Premier 5 ( 2 -- 0 ) Premier ( 2 -- 1 ) International ( 1 -- 0 ) Finals by Surface Hard ( 10 -- 1 ) Grass ( 7 -- 0 ) Clay ( 3 -- 0 ) Carpet ( 2 -- 0 ) Outcome No. Date Championships Surface Opponents Score Winner 1. February 23, 1998 Oklahoma City, United States ( 1 ) Hard Cătălina Cristea Kristine Kunce 7 -- 5, 6 -- 2 Winner 2. October 12, 1998 Zürich, Switzerland ( 1 ) Carpet Mariaan de Swardt Elena Tatarkova 5 -- 7, 6 -- 1, 6 -- 3 Winner 3. February 15, 1999 Hannover, Germany ( 1 ) Carpet Alexandra Fusai Nathalie Tauziat 5 -- 7, 6 -- 2, 6 -- 2 Winner 4. May 24, 1999 French Open, Paris, France ( 1 ) Clay Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova 6 -- 3, 6 -- 7, 8 -- 6 Runner - up 1. August 8, 1999 San Diego, U.S. ( 1 ) Hard Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu 4 -- 6, 1 -- 6 Winner 5. August 30, 1999 US Open, New York City, U.S. ( 1 ) Hard Chanda Rubin Sandrine Testud 4 -- 6, 6 -- 1, 6 -- 4 Winner 6. June 26, 2000 Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom ( 1 ) Grass Julie Halard - Decugis Ai Sugiyama 6 -- 3, 6 -- 2 Winner 7. September 18, 2000 Summer Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia ( 1 ) Hard Kristie Boogert Miriam Oremans 6 -- 1, 6 -- 1 Winner 8. January 15, 2001 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia ( 1 ) Hard Lindsay Davenport Corina Morariu 6 -- 2, 4 -- 6, 6 -- 4 Winner 9. June 24, 2002 Wimbledon, London, U.K. ( 2 ) Grass Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez 6 -- 2, 7 -- 5 Winner 10. January 13, 2003 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia ( 2 ) Hard Virginia Ruano Pascual Paola Suárez 4 -- 6, 6 -- 4, 6 -- 3 Winner 11. July 5, 2008 Wimbledon, London, U.K. ( 3 ) Grass Lisa Raymond Samantha Stosur 6 -- 2, 6 -- 2 Winner 12. August 17, 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Beijing, China ( 2 ) Hard Anabel Medina Garrigues Virginia Ruano Pascual 6 -- 2, 6 -- 0 Winner 13. January 30, 2009 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia ( 3 ) Hard Ai Sugiyama Daniela Hantuchová 6 -- 3, 6 -- 3 Winner 14. July 4, 2009 Wimbledon, London, U.K. ( 4 ) Grass Samantha Stosur Rennae Stubbs 7 -- 6, 6 -- 4 Winner 15. August 2, 2009 Stanford, U.S. ( 1 ) Hard Chan Yung - jan Monica Niculescu 6 -- 4, 6 -- 1 Winner 16. September 14, 2009 US Open, New York City, U.S. ( 2 ) Hard Cara Black Liezel Huber 6 -- 2, 6 -- 2 Winner 17. January 29, 2010 Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia ( 4 ) Hard Cara Black Liezel Huber 6 -- 4, 6 -- 3 Winner 18. May 15, 2010 Madrid, Spain ( 1 ) Clay Gisela Dulko Flavia Pennetta 6 -- 2, 7 -- 5 Winner 19. June 3, 2010 French Open, Paris, France ( 2 ) Clay Květa Peschke Katarina Srebotnik 6 -- 2, 6 -- 3 Winner 20. July 7, 2012 Wimbledon, London, U.K. ( 5 ) Grass Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká 7 -- 5, 6 -- 4 Winner 21. August 5, 2012 Summer Olympic Games, London, U.K. ( 3 ) Grass Andrea Hlaváčková Lucie Hradecká 6 -- 4, 6 -- 4 Winner 22. July 9, 2016 Wimbledon, London, U.K. ( 6 ) Grass Timea Babos Yaroslava Shvedova 6 -- 3, 6 -- 4 Team competition finals : 1 ( 1 titles ) Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Partners Opponent Score Winner 1. September 18 -- 19, 1999 Fed Cup, Stanford, US Hard Lindsay Davenport Monica Seles Elena Makarova Elena Likhovtseva Elena Dementieva 4 -- 1 Performance timelines Women 's doubles Key SF QF # R RR Q # Z # PO F-S SF - B NMS NH ( W ) Won ; ( F ) finalist ; ( SF ) semifinalist ; ( QF ) quarterfinalist ; ( # R ) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1 ; ( RR ) round - robin stage ; ( Q # ) qualification round ; ( A ) absent ; ( Z # ) Davis / Fed Cup Zonal Group ( with number indication ) or ( PO ) play - off ; ( G ) gold, ( F-S ) silver or ( SF - B ) bronze Olympic medal ; a ( NMS ) downgraded Masters Series / 1000 tournament ; ( NH ) not held. To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player 's participation in the tournament has ended. Tournament 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Career W / L Grand Slam Tournaments Australian Open 3R SF Absent QF Absent QF Absent 36 -- 4 French Open Absent Absent 3R Absent 3R 15 -- 2 Wimbledon 1R 3R 3R Absent 2R QF 2R 45 -- 5 US Open 1R SF 3R Absent Absent 3R SF QF 25 -- 6 Win - Loss 0 -- 1 2 -- 1 16 -- 1 10 -- 0 10 -- 1 6 -- 0 8 -- 1 0 -- 0 0 -- 0 0 -- 0 1 -- 0 9 -- 1 20 -- 1 14 -- 1 0 -- 0 8 -- 1 7 -- 2 4 -- 2 0 -- 0 115 -- 12 Olympic Games Summer Olympics Not Held Not Held Not Held Not Held Not Held 1R 15 -- 1 Year - End Championships WTA Finals Did Not Qualify Did Not Qualify SF Did Not Qualify 0 -- 1 Neither withdrawals nor walkovers are included in wins and losses. Note : Serena Williams did not play at the 2004 Olympics because of injury. Venus partnered with American Chanda Rubin and lost in the first - round to eventual gold - medalists Sun Tiantian and Li Ting. Boycott of the Indian Wells Masters During the 2001 Indian Wells Masters tournament in Indian Wells, California, controversy erupted when Venus Williams withdrew four minutes prior to her semifinal match with her sister Serena. The following day, Serena played Kim Clijsters in the final. Venus and her father, ( coach to her and Serena ) Richard Williams were booed as they made their way to their seats. Serena was booed intermittently during the final, in which she defeated Clijsters, 4 -- 6, 6 -- 4, 6 -- 2, and even during the presentation ceremony. Richard accused the crowds at Indian Wells of overt racism, saying, `` The white people at Indian Wells, what they 've been wanting to say all along to us finally came out : ' Nigger, stay away from here, we do n't want you here. ' '' However, no other reports of verbal racism were reported to tournament officials, although Venus has stated without elaboration, `` I heard what he heard. '' Oracene Price ( mother and coach of Venus and Serena ) accused the crowd of `` taking off their hoods ''. Effects and criticism After the initial controversy, neither Williams sister played the tournament in Indian Wells for 14 years. The Women 's Tennis Association currently classifies the Indian Wells tournament as a Premier Mandatory event for all eligible players. Exceptions are made when players engage in tournament promotions, but Venus and Serena both declined to promote the tournament ; WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott agreed he would not, promotionally, `` put them in a position that is going to be awkward, '' and tournament director Charlie Pasarell has stated he would accept the WTA tour 's ruling. Allegations had been made before Venus 's withdrawal that Richard Williams decided who won the matches between his daughters. Those allegations continued and increased as a result of her withdrawal. Richard has said that racial epithets were used against him and Venus as they sat in the stands during the final, but no official complaints were recorded by the tournament. Venus and Serena have been criticized for refusing to discuss the controversy, as some believe that their silence perpetuates racism. Serena discusses what happened in her view at Indian Wells in detail in an entire chapter titled `` The Fiery Darts of Indian Wells '' in her 2009 autobiography, On the Line. She says that on the morning of the semifinal, Venus told the tour trainer that she had injured her knee and did n't think she could play and tried for hours to get approval from the trainer to withdraw, but the tournament officials kept stalling. `` What got me most of all was that it was n't just a scattered bunch of boos. It was n't coming from just one section. It was like the whole crowd got together and decided to boo all at once. The ugliness was just raining down on me, hard. I did n't know what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened to me. What was most surprising about this uproar was the fact that tennis fans are typically a well - mannered bunch. They 're respectful. They sit still. And in Palm Springs, especially, they tended to be pretty well - heeled, too. But I looked up and all I could see was a sea of rich people -- mostly older, mostly white -- standing and booing lustily, like some kind of genteel lynch mob. I do n't mean to use such inflammatory language to describe the scene, but that 's really how it seemed from where I was down on the court. Like these people were gon na come looking for me after the match... There was no mistaking that all of this was meant for me. I heard the word nigger a couple times, and I knew. I could n't believe it. That 's just not something you hear in polite society on that stadium court... Just before the start of play, my dad and Venus started walking down the aisle to the players ' box by the side of the court, and everybody turned and started to point and boo at them... It was mostly just a chorus of boos, but I could still hear shouts of ' Nigger ! ' here and there. I even heard one angry voice telling us to go back to Compton. It was unbelievable... We refused to return to Indian Wells. Even now, all these years later, we continue to boycott the event. It 's become a mandatory tournament on the tour, meaning that the WTA can fine a player if she does n't attend. But I do n't care if they fine me a million dollars, I will not play there again. '' However, on February 3, 2015, Serena Williams wrote an exclusive column for TIME magazine stating her intentions to return to Indian Wells for a tournament on March 9, 2015. She did indeed return and won her opening match. Williams withdrew before her semi-final match with Simona Halep because of a knee injury. The WTA announced on January 27, 2016 that Venus would return to Indian Wells for the first time in 15 years. Best result in Grand Slam singles ( combined ) Tournament 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 SR Australian Open QF QF 4R SF QF 3R 3R QF 3R 4R QF 4R 7 / 20 French Open 2R QF 4R QF QF SF QF 3R QF QF 3R QF QF 2R 2R 4R 3 / 19 Wimbledon 1R QF QF 3R 4R 4R 3R 12 / 21 US Open SF QF QF 4R SF SF SF SF SF SF 8 / 19 Year - end WTA ranking Player 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Venus 205 216 22 5 11 9 10 46 8 6 6 5 102 24 49 18 7 17 Serena 99 20 6 6 7 11 95 7 12 See also Williams sisters rivalry References ^ Jump up to : `` What Happened at Indian Wells ? '' Jump up ^ `` Off - court distractions '' Jump up ^ `` A fortnight of firsts at the French '' Jump up ^ Woolsey, Garth ( 2009 - 03 - 22 ). `` Williams sisters at Indian Wells ? Forget it ''. Toronto Star. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 21. Jump up ^ Edmondson, p. 91 Jump up ^ http://www.wtatennis.com/SEWTATour-Archive/posting/2015/609/MDS.pdf Jump up ^ `` Serena Williams WDs at Indian Wells ''. ESPN. 2015 - 03 - 21. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 21. Jump up ^ `` Venus books return to Indian Wells ''. WTA. 2016 - 01 - 27. Retrieved 2016 - 01 - 30. Further reading Edmondson, Jacqueline ( 2005 ). Venus and Serena Williams : A Biography. Westport, Conn : Greenwood Press. ISBN 0 - 313 - 33165 - 0 Sporting positions Preceded by Liezel Huber World No. 1 ( doubles ) June 7, 2010 -- August 1, 2010 Succeeded by Liezel Huber Awards and achievements Preceded by Martina Hingis & Anna Kournikova Cara Black & Liezel Huber WTA Doubles Team of the Year 2000 2009 Succeeded by Lisa Raymond & Rennae Stubbs Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta Preceded by Cara Black & Liezel Huber ITF Women 's Doubles World Champion 2009 Succeeded by Gisela Dulko & Flavia Pennetta Preceded by First Award Maria Kirilenko & Victoria Azarenka WTA Fan Favorite Doubles Team of the Year 2012 Succeeded by Maria Kirilenko & Victoria Azarenka Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina Serena Williams Entourage Oracene Price ( mother / coach ) Richard Williams ( father / coach ) Venus Williams ( sister / doubles partner ) Patrick Mouratoglou ( coach ) Career Achievements Statistics World No. 1 ranking United States Fed Cup team Williams sisters Rivalries Rivalry with Justine Henin Rivalry with Martina Hingis Rivalry with Venus Williams Seasons Early career 1999 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Australian Open titles Singles 2003 2005 2007 2009 2015 2017 Doubles 2001 2003 2009 Mixed Doubles None French Open titles Singles 2002 2013 2015 Doubles 1999 Mixed Doubles None Wimbledon Championships titles Singles 2002 2003 2009 2012 2015 2016 Doubles 2000 2002 2008 2009 2012 2016 Mixed Doubles 1998 US Open titles Singles 1999 2002 2008 2012 2013 2014 Doubles 1999 2009 Mixed Doubles 1998 Olympics Gold Singles 2012 Doubles 2000 2008 2012 Mixed Doubles None Fed Cup titles 1999 Official Website * WTA Profile Venus Williams Entourage Oracene Price ( mother / coach ) Richard Williams ( father / coach ) Serena Williams ( sister / doubles partner ) David Witt ( hitting coach ) Esther Lee ( physical therapist ) Career Statistics World No. 1 ranking United States Fed Cup team Williams sisters Rivalry with Serena Williams Australian Open titles Singles None Doubles 2001 2003 2009 Mixed Doubles 1998 French Open titles Singles None Doubles 1999 Mixed Doubles 1998 Wimbledon Championships titles Singles 2000 2001 2005 2007 2008 Doubles 2000 2002 2008 2009 2012 2016 Mixed Doubles None US Open titles Singles 2000 2001 Doubles 1999 2009 Mixed Doubles None Olympics Gold Singles 2000 Doubles 2000 2008 2012 Mixed Doubles None Fed Cup titles 1999 Official Website * WTA Profile Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Williams_sisters&oldid=808442096 '' Categories : Serena Williams Venus Williams Sports families of the United States Living people Sibling duos Tennis doubles teams Sportspeople from Compton, California People from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Sportspeople from Saginaw, Michigan Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida African - American tennis players American female tennis players Australian Open ( tennis ) champions French Open champions Wimbledon champions US Open ( tennis ) champions Grand Slam ( tennis ) champions in women 's singles Grand Slam ( tennis ) champions in women 's doubles Grand Slam ( tennis ) champions in mixed doubles Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in tennis Olympic tennis players of the United States Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2012 Summer Olympics World No. 1 tennis players 20th - century African - American people 20th - century sportswomen 21st - century sportswomen Hidden categories : Articles that may contain original research from April 2011 All articles that may contain original research Talk Contents About Wikipedia فارسی 한국어 Italiano Português Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 2 November 2017, at 21 : 54. 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Question: what age did the williams sisters start playing tennis
Answer: an early age