"It’s very difficult to listen, hear commentary" - When Venus and Serena Williams' sister Isha Price revealed why she watched their matches 'on mute'

Venus and Serena Williams' half-sister, Isha Price, once opened up about the challenges she faced while watching her sisters compete.

Venus and Serena Williams clashed in 31 tour-level encounters, with Serena enjoying a 19-12 lead in their head-to-head record. She solidified her dominance in their encounters at the Majors, securing an 11-5 winning record.

One of the sisters' final encounters at a Grand Slam event took place in the 2017 Australian Open final. Serena emerged victorious in the summit clash, securing a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Venus to clinch her seventh title at the Melbourne Slam. In doing so, she also claimed her 23rd Major title, surpassing Steffi Graf's tally.

Despite accompanying her sisters to Melbourne for the Major, Isha Price opted to watch the thrilling clash from her hotel room, only making her way to the stadium to catch the tail-end of the action.

Following the match, Price discussed the difficulties of witnessing her sisters compete on tour. She took issue with the commentary during Venus and Serena Williams' matches, revealing that it caused her to watch "on mute" to avoid it.

Price asserted that the Williams sisters' remarkable achievements and enduring success were often overlooked. She emphasized the significance of them sustaining their physical level over two decades and questioned the conversations that suggested their accomplishments were not enough.

"Long story short, I don’t think people actually understand the significance of what they see, these two players, who literally for generations have been able to transcend what they do," she said.

"And it’s very difficult to watch, listen, hear commentary, all of that. We watch tennis on mute. It’s hard. To keep your body in optimal shape to be able to perform at this level consistently over 20 years is an incredible feat. But you still have the conversation where it’s not enough," she added.

Looking back at Venus and Serena Williams' campaigns at Australian Open 2017

Serena Williams defeated Venus Williams in the 2017 Australian Open final

Venus Williams entered the 2017 Australian Open as the 13th seed, and kicked off her campaign with a 7-6(5), 7-5 victory over Kateryna Baindl. She claimed dominant straight set wins over Stefanie Vogele and Duan Yingying to reach the fourth round of the Major.

Venus then defeated Mona Barthel 6-3, 7-5, followed by a 6-4, 7-6(3) victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Subsequently, she battled back from a set down to beat CoCo Vandeweghe 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-3, setting up a blockbuster title clash against Serena Williams.

Serena, meanwhile, entered the Major as the second seed. She made a strong start to her campaign, securing straight set wins over Belinda Bencic and Lucie Safarova. She progressed to the quarterfinals after beating Nicole Gibbs 6-1, 6-3, and Barbora Strycova 7-5, 6-4.

Serena Williams continued her dominant run, claiming a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Johanna Konta. The American defeated Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-2, 6-1 in the semifinals. She then emerged victorious against Venus Williams in the final to clinch her 23rd and final Grand Slam title.