Serena Williams said it is “really cool” to have older sister Venus with her at the BNP Paribas Open.
Serena Williams said it is “really cool” to have older sister Venus with her at the BNP Paribas Open.
“This is kind of where everything started for us,” Serena said Thursday during a press conference at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
“This was such a big event for us early in our careers. We both played qualifying here back in ’97, a long time ago, so it’s just been a place for us that has really meant a lot.
“Then we had that one memory and we both want to get rid of that,” she added.
That one bad memory was of the 2001 tournament, when Venus withdrew with an injury just a few minutes before she was to face Serena in one of the women’s semifinals. When Serena took the court to face Kim Clijsters in the final (which she won) she was greeted with boos, as were Venus and their father Richard as they walked down the stadiums steps to their seats.
Richard called the predominantly white fans racists who had disgraced America with their actions and the sisters vowed not to return.
They didn’t, either, until last year, when Serena came back.
Serena said she “would never have come if she (Venus) had been like, ‘I don’t think you should’ Or, ‘I don’t think it’s a good idea.’ I would never have come. So we talked about it even last year. I remember saying it wasn’t time for her because she was dealing with a lot physically and her illnesse,” Serena said.
