Serena and Venus Williams: Historical significance of the legendary doubles pair

Some of the best women’s tennis players in the sport’s history, Serena Williams and Venus Williams have been synonymous with success for a long time. However, the duo made headlines on September 1 when they were knocked out of US Open women’s doubles by Czech pair Linda Nosková and Lucie Hradecká.

Serena is a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, along with a 14-time doubles champion in majors — all of which have come in with her sister Venus Williams as partner.

Since the late 1990s, the Williams sisters have displayed their unrelenting thirst for success, winning several titles. They have also faced each other 16 times in major tournaments, with Venus winning five and Serena winning the rest of the matches.

Also Read: What is Tiger Woods’ role in Serena Williams’ comeback, Tennis star explains

However, it is their doubles partnership that has gone down as some of the most legendary tales in the history of the sport.

Before facing Lucie Hradecka and her teenage partner, Linda Noskova, the Williams sisters boasted of a 6-1 head-to-head record against Lucie and her former partner Andrea Sestini Hlavackova, including the 2012 Olympics gold medal match.

They have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles in their career, with an impressive record of never losing at the finals. These include four titles in the Australian Open, two in the French Open, six in Wimbledon and two more in the US Open. The Williams sisters have won 10 of these 14 major doubles finals in straight sets, another record enviable to many.

Serena and Venus Williams first partnered up in women’s doubles in 1997 at the US Open, where the former made her Grand Slam debut. Serena was 15 and Venus was 17 at that time.

Since then, they have won numerous matches in women’s doubles, eventually occupying the third spot in the list of all-time best women’s doubles teams in the Open Era. The duo are only behind Martina Navratilova/Pam Shriver (20 doubles titles) and Gigi Fernandez/Natasha Zvereva (17 doubles titles).

Serena and Venus won their first Grand Slam doubles in 1999 in the French Open when they defeated Martina Hingis and Anna Kournikova 6-3, 6-7, 8-6. However, their peak was between 2008-12, when they won seven major doubles titles, became WTA no.1 in doubles and won 72 sets in comparison to conceding only 7. Their winning percentage at this time was 91%, the most in the Open Era in women’s doubles.

Serena’s career doubles record is 190-34, compared to Venus’ 185-37. The pair have a combined 84% winning percentage in their career, more than any other player in the history of the sport.

Also Read: US Open 2022: Ons Jabeur’s potential path to the finals

As an example, the winning percentage of Martina Hingis (81%), Lindsay Davenport (76%), Paola Suarez (72%), Cara Black (71%), Virginia Ruano Pascual, Lisa Raymond, Rennae Stubbs and Sania Mirza (69%) all seem very low against that of the Williams sisters.

In their 14 major doubles finals, they have also defeated 15 different no.1 doubles player, including Martina Hingis, Lindsay Davenport, Paola Suarez, Rennae Stubbs, Cara Black and Timea Babos.

While their very last time together did not end as they would have liked, their legacy will be the one to remain for the future.