Venus and Serena Williams have become hugely successful in the world of tennis and have the support of many. Further, they are also known to speak their mind right from the start of their careers as the sisters received appreciation over the years for not shying away and voicing their thoughts. However, there are times when people misunderstood their words and criticized them for the same.
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One such example is from the initial days of Venus and Serena’s professional tennis careers. They said a few things that irked tennis veteran John McEnroe.
John McEnroe slamming Williams sisters
Around the year 2000, both the former World No.1s stormed almost every WTA tour. They dominated tournaments and were the ones who could challenge each other.
Surrounded by the success, Serena Williams passed the statement demanding the chance to participate in a few of the men’s tournaments. To which the seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe replied, “What they have achieved is great, but they have no respect for anyone in the game. Enough Is Enough.”
Thereafter, he asked, “Do women golfers say they could go out and beat Tiger Woods?.” Also, the former World No.1 accused Venus Williams of displaying a lack of humility while winning the 2000 Wimbledon Championships by questioning, “Would it kill them to say hello to people in the locker room?”
In the year 2000, Venus defeated Lindsay Davenport, the defending champion, to clinch her first-ever Wimbledon title.
What are Venus and Serena Williams up to these days?
Though both the sisters walked out of the circuit around the same time in 2021, only one has made a return. The 23-time Grand Slam champion made a comeback to the tours by participating in the grass swing.
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She has played the doubles of at WTA Eastbourne tournament and reached the semi-finals before losing in the first round at Wimbledon Championships to Frenchwoman Harmony Tan.
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Further, speaking of Venus Williams, her chances of returning in the gras swing became close to none when her coach decided to travel alongside Serena. But, fans can expect to see the legendary American on-court in mixed-doubles alongside Jamie Murray.