Wimbledon: American Ex-Pro Re-Lives Endearing Memory With Venus and Serena Williams on the Lush Green Courts at SW19

A heart-stopping encounter against tennis legends, Serena and Venus Williams is a dream of many players! Especially when it is on the hallowed grass of Wimbledon, where both have established their supremacy repeatedly, it adds more to the excitement and thrill. While this might stay a dream for some, for the former WTA player, Chanda Rubin, luckily it has turned into reality. In the flushing meadows of Wimbledon, where the Williams sisters have swung their racquets together and earned six doubles titles, Chanda Rubin once competed against the duo. Sharing an anecdote, the former American tennis pro unveiled her experience on-court against the Williams sisters.

On the June 29, episode of the Tennis Channel Live Podcast, Steve Weissman, Jimmy Arias, and Chanda Rubin delved into the topic of the much-awaited upcoming Wimbledon tournament. When the American sportscaster, Weissman, asked the former top 10 player, Rubin, “What is your favorite moment on-court?,” she reflected on the time she met the Williams sisters in the doubles semifinal at Wimbledon. After declaring how her junior Wimbledon title in 1992 is also one of her “best memories,” there, she delved into that semifinal clash.

The former semifinalist of the Australian Open further added, “Playing in the doubles the semifinals against Venus and Serena out on center court singles, you know didn’t do as well as I would have liked. But I think whenever you have that opportunity to step out into those grounds. It was just incredible. You appreciate it a lot more.” 

As the 48-year-old former player mentioned, during the 2002 semifinal clash, fans witnessed a face-off where on one side there was Rubin herself along with Anna Kournikova, and on the other side of the net, there were Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The closely contested match ended with the Williams sister’s dominance (6-7 6-0, 6-3) on the green courts. Furthermore, Venus and Serena Williams went ahead and replicated their 2000 doubles victory in the final at Wimbledon once again against Virginia Ruano Pascual and Paola Suarez. However, looking back, for Rubin it was more than just a match.

It was an opportunity to play against the players who would later on go to win 14 doubles titles in total in all the major doubles games. Nevertheless, in the future, Rubin did manage to earn a victory against Serena Williams!

Chanda Rubin reflects on her victory over Serena Williams in 2002

In 2002, the same year that Chanda Rubin lost a doubles match against the Williams sisters, Rubin earned a victory against Serena Williams in Los Angeles. Defeating the now-23 Grand Slam champion in the quarterfinal with a score of 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, the American tennis pro was over the moon. Later on, while talking about it, she said, “Yes. I played her in tournament in Los Angeles, and I was able to win that match in a tiebreak in the third set.”

Furthermore, Rubin added, “That’s, like, the closest a match can really be. At the end of that match, you know, she was so kind to warm me up the next day… And so she was kind enough to warm me up. And after that, she told me, now go win the tournament.” A month and a half later, after their Wimbledon clash, Rubin avenged herself with a win. Not only that, she went ahead and won the tournament in Los Angeles.

Although Chanda Rubin did not swing her racquet much after the 2004 season, her encounters against the Williams sisters stayed in her head as one of the best memories in tennis!