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Venus and Serena Williams have lit up the tennis world since they first stepped on the court. Together, they have won every big title on the WTA tour and inspired an entire generation of African-American athletes to pick up tennis.
Serena Williams is the only player ever to win a Career Grand Slam, i.e. winning all four Major titles, in both singles and doubles. Meanwhile, Venus Williams became the first-ever African-American woman to reach the World No. 1 ranking in the Open Era when she ascended to the summit of the WTA Rankings in February 2002.
Together, the Williams sisters have opened the doors that were previously closed for players of African-American background. Over the years, a whole host of African-American tennis players have showered praises on the Williams sisters.
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With that said, let's take a look at five players of African-American origin who were inspired by Venus and Serena Williams:
#5 Alycia Parks
Alycia Parks is among a young group of Americans making strides in the tennis world. She caught the eye of the fans with her powerful serve and groundstrokes. To better her game, Parks has often spoken about getting inspired by the Williams sisters.
In one of her press conferences at the 2024 Australian Open, Alycia Parks professed her wish to be as calm as Serena Williams in certain situations during a match. The 23-year-old applauded the former World No. 1's ability to slow down the game to absorb and come out on top.
"I would say definitely her calmness when she's in certain situations. When things are going too fast, she'll actually slow down and rethink her serve. That's definitely one of her weapons. I kind of just look at her serve and then be like, okay, if she's in trouble, then she'll come back on her service game," Parks said.
"Just the way she carried herself on the court, she's very focused. She doesn't, like, rush. I tend to rush a little bit and then usually that's when I start to kind of snowball. So I have to slow it down and take it point by point," she added.
#4 Christopher Eubanks
Venus and Serena Williams' impact on African-American athletes is not limited to the WTA tour. Christopher Eubanks is a prime example of how the Williams sisters were also trailblazers for male athletes. In fact, Eubanks once got the chance to practice with Serena and was impressed by her "laser-like" focus, dubbing her the GOAT.
Eubanks had a hitting session with Serena Williams at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in 2022 and explained how dialed in the 23-time Grand Slam champion was.
"I've never seen a laser-like focus like when I was practicing with Serena Williams. Also, in turn, it made me a lot more focused too. We can go and practice with our peers, obviously this is our job and our way of making a living, but the way she can dial in on every single ball is something that I feel would be missing in my own practice," Eubanks said on ATP Tennis Radio Podcast.
"When you're playing some guy and you miss a ball, no one is going to say a thing," he added. "But Serena is the GOAT. I don't really want to miss balls when I am practicing with her."
#3 Frances Tiafoe
Frances Tiafoe has become one of the most prominent flag-bearers of American tennis on the ATP tour. At World No. 16, Tiafoe is currently the highest-ranked African-American on the ATP tour. He, like most of his compatriots, has been motivated by the Williams sisters.
Tiafoe commended Venus and Serena Williams' business acumen and mental toughness in persisting not only on the WTA tour but also in the business world for a long time. Serena Williams retired from the sport in 2022 at the age of 41, while Venus Williams is still an active player at 43 years old.
"I say this all the time, but I really admire the Williams sisters and have learned a lot from them," he shared. "They’ve had so much longevity in this business and not just tennis but really building businesses and a brand for themselves outside of tennis. It’s incredible. It definitely takes mental toughness to be who they are," Tiafoe told Fox Sports in a 2023 interview.
#2 Coco Gauff
Coco Gauff captured the imagination of the tennis world when she became a Grand Slam champion at the age of 19 at the 2023 US Open. The World No. 3 is among the few younger African-American players who have had the pleasure of playing with and against one of the Williams sisters.
Gauff played against Venus Williams at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships and 2020 Australian Open and partnered with her for doubles at the 2021 French Open. Gauff has always considered the Williams sisters as her role models and ahead of her 2023 US Open campaign, thanked them for being her guiding light.
"My favorite quote is 'If you shoot for the moon you might land amongst the stars.' I think having those role models and having that representation is very important," Gauff said.
"For me, the Williams Sisters were that. They are really great people as well. I got to play doubles with Venus and I got to play against her. If it wasn't for Serena and Venus, I would not be playing tennis," she added.
#1 Naomi Osaka
Naomi Osaka has faced both Venus and Serena Williams on the WTA tour multiple times. In fact, she defeated Serena Williams in the title contest of the 2018 US Open to win her maiden Grand Slam title. The Japanese paid tribute to Serena ahead of her final US Open campaign in 2022.
In an interview with ESPN, Osaka hailed Serena as the "biggest force" in tennis and thanked her, Venus, and the Williams family for spreading the sport to places that had never heard of it.
“She’s introduced people that have never heard of tennis into the sport. I think I’m a product of what she’s done. I wouldn’t be here without Serena, Venus, her whole family. I’m, like, very thankful to her. I also was trying to figure out how to sum it into words. I honestly think that she’s, like, the biggest force in the sport,” Osaka said.
Venus Williams and Father Richard recall one match that 7-time Grand Slam champion "should have won"
