We all know the issue Venus had was mental. Serena wasn’t necessarily always a better or more capable player than Venus. But she ALWAYS wanted to WIN. And Venus struggled with her mental game in their matches, especially in finals when the stakes, expectations and nerves were highest. Venus is Top 10 greatest.
Venus is supremely elegant in her pink dress. If I had to say something, this should be it. Although, Sister Serena has been overall much more successful in terms of wins and titles, I've always liked watching Venus in action far more. I have found her more athletic, more artistic, a ballerina on the court when at the top of her form. The way she moves to the net is a thing of sheer suppleness and beauty. As a tennis player in motion, Venus remains much more feminine, graceful, harmonious and beautiful than any other player, be it Martina Navratilova, Maria Sharapova, or Anna Kournikova. In fact, Venus Williams would be my choice if we were ever asked which of the women players embodies for us the ideal, the epitome of a female tennis player from all angles and perspectives - looks, skills, mobility, grace, temperament and personality. That is quite an endorsement.
Those racquets were supposed to be powerful “nano” technology at the time, however they actually hurt the sisters game because they created a strange loopy Aranxta shot instead of a flat laser like shot. I remember using them as a teen and they were extremely inaccurate. It felt like holding a giant trampoline. You can see Serena really struggling to make the adjustments to flatten the ball but it would fly off too quick and land right into the net. The Williams racquet game really elevated once they switched back to a smaller head.
This was still early stages of the 'Serena Slump' where Serena had her worst ~2 years on the tour before starting to bounce back in early 2007. It was hard to watch then and it's hard to watch now. Also that frying pan of a tennis racquet was NOT it...!
That huge racket hindered their play Once she changed it she started seeing results she did win the Australian open with it but barely ...too much power that they both did not need
@Shinobu Tsurubushi Not entirely sure that's relevant here. My 'Serena slump' comment had nothing to do with losing this match and everything to do with the stats of this period of her career relative to her overall career.
Watching this i'm wondering why Serena and Venus both played with larger racket heads in their early careers when they typically offer less control. When in their careers did they switch to a smaller racket head?
To imagine that Venus has been stopped 3 times by Clijsters the years she actually was in title shape... 05, 09, 10. Hell and even 07 stopped by the other Belgium threat Henin. Smh
The 05 and 10 matches I strongly suspect it was that damn disease messing with her stamina. The 07 and 09 matches she played at higher level but just got outplayed. The 05 and 10 matches had she gotten by Clijsters, she likely would’ve won both titles.
Their matches together have always been more hype than actually classic. Something is off when they play together. Maybe its because they know each others game so well.
EVEN SERENA HAS SAID MANY MANY TIMES THAT VENUS BETTER, VENUS CARES MORE ABOUT TAKING CARE OF BABY SIS THAN SHE DOES ABOUT BEATING HER AND I DONT BLAME HER!
Tennis Analysis no she wasn’t 🤯, she was almost january 2007 level here - and even if she was, she was a machine in 2015 - obviously very muscular and fit.
I don’t think she was over weight ,for me I think that she was just unfit like as In poor cardio and endurance. She doesn’t look fat but definitely out of shape.
