NEED TO KNOW
- Venus Williams called out her sister Serena Williams to come to one of her US Open matches during a post-game interview on Sept. 1
- The tennis pro said Serena has been acting as her “third coach” and has been giving “advice” during the tournament
- Venus and her partner, Leylah Fernandez, reached the quarterfinals as they defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhang Shuai
The GOAT’s presence has been requested.
Venus Williams called on her sister, 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, to come support her at the US Open when speaking during a post-match interview on Monday, Sept. 1.
The request came after Venus, 45, and her women’s doubles partner Leylah Fernandez, 22, reached the US Open quarterfinals after they defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhang Shuai 6-3 6-4 at an energy-filled Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“She’s so happy for Leylah and I,” Venus said of her sister Serena, 43, on court. “She’s giving us advice. We just need her in the box. My message is, Serena, you need to show up!”
Venus won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles with Serena before her younger sister left tennis — and there may still be some regret. Serena uploaded a comedic video of herself on TikTok pretending to be jealous of her sister finding a new doubles parter after their second-round win against Ulrikke Eikeri and Eri Hozumi on Aug. 30.
Although Serena has yet to make an appearance at a US Open match in-person this year, Venus did note that her sister has been supporting from afar — and acting as their “third coach” — at home with her two kids, Olympia, 8, and Adira, 2.
“I just got a video of my nieces watching the match and yelling my name,” Venus said. “The little one is barely 2, not even 2 yet — or she is 2. She’s just yelling, and so I feel like I’m getting quality time with them still, even though I’m not there.”
“If she [Serena] came, it would be a dream for both of us and we’d have her on the court coaching,” she continued. “We’d force her to hit, even though she doesn’t hit often. It’s probably best she doesn’t come because we’d probably bully her.”
Venus’ advancement in the US Open marks her first grand slam quarterfinals since 2017.
Fernandez and Venus will take on top seeds Taylor Townsend and Katerina Siniakova in the next round on Tuesday, Sept. 2.
Venus made her return to the US Open on Aug. 25, though she lost in the first round of the women’s singles tournament. However, she made clear in her post-match presser that it wasn’t about winning or losing — rather, simply about getting back out on the court following a 16-month hiatus due to her health.
“I didn’t win today, but I’m very proud of how I played,” she told members of the media after the loss to 11th-seeded Karolína Muchová.
“My team and I, we worked as hard and as fast as we could,” Venus added later, describing her recovery process following a uterine fibroids surgery last year. “We literally took no days off. I haven’t gone to dinner. I haven’t seen friends.”
“I haven’t done anything except train for three months as hard as I could,” she continued. “From each match that I didn’t win, then I tried to go back and learn from that and then get better.”
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