How Serena Williams & sister Venus Williams survived racist jeering, match-fixing allegations & more: The biggest controversy in Indian Wells history

The Indian Wells Masters is one week away and it’s widely considered one of the best events on the Tour however it won't feature Venus Willimas this year. Not having Williams at the event isn't something new for the Masters as most of those in the past went by without the Williams sisters.

Back in 2001, Serena Williams took on Kim Clijsters in the final of the event, and she was heckled. It wasn’t just any heckling, but it was really bad heckling that included racist insults, which prompted the sisters to boycott the event for 15 years.

It was a very harrowing experience for Serena, who admitted a couple of years ago that the incident still haunts her. It was simply an event that shocked many because nobody expected something like that to happen in the year 2011.

The boycott lasted 15 years, with the sisters officially returning to the event in 2016. The return was celebrated by fans in attendance at the event, but it wasn’t easy for Serena. Speaking with Will Smith for the 'Red Table Talk' in 2021, she admitted that it was a very traumatizing return.

"Even when I went back 14 years later, it was very traumatizing. Talk about post-traumatic stress and mental anxiety. I remember sitting in the bathroom thinking, 'Wait, I'm not gonna go back. I just don't think I should do this. What if they start booing again?' It was really hard for me," Serena Williams on going back to Indian Wells.

That 2001 edition of the Indian Wells Masters was one Serena ended up winning, but the experience remained with her forever. It also remained the last one she ever played because even after her return in 2016, she never won it again.

She stood in the final in 2017 but failed to win it. Even so, getting her back was a tremendous win for the event, which, in fairness, tried everything to make amends with her after the incident happened. She ultimately let her father decide because he was there with her on that day, suffering racial abuse and other insults during the entirety of the match.

"With my dad, I was a little nervous for him as well. I wrote about that because he's been through some things when he was growing up as a young man. When I was done telling him it was a really emotional time for me when I was talking to him. I was like, I think I should go back, but I'm not going to go back if you don't want me to.

She did ultimately get the blessing to go back and she did.

The role of Venus Williams in all of that

BNP Paribas Open 2024 - Day 4 - Source: Getty

Venus Williams didn’t suffer the same abuse her sister suffered. She was supposed to play Serena in the semifinal of that event but withdrew due to an injury moments before it was set to begin.

That was controversial at the time because Elena Dementieva of Russia accused their father, Richard Williams, of manipulating matches between the sisters, which only increased the vitriol towards them back then, amplifying what would follow on the final day.

But much like her sister, Venus also participated in the boycott, staying away from the event during the entirety of the time her sister Serena wasn’t playing. It was a show of solidarity towards her sister and her family, who suffered abuse that day as well.

Like her sister, Venus returned to the event in 2016, but it was never a place she overly enjoyed playing tennis. A confirmation of that came recently when she dismissed the wild card she was awarded.

The event announced on social media that Williams was going to be playing at it this year thanks to a wild card she was awarded. She then came out and said that it’s not true and that she’s overseas and won’t be playing.

"I'm not playing - I'm going to be overseas. I'm not going to be here," Venus Williams on the 2025 Indian Wells Masters.

Tournament director Tommy Haas then came out and said that the event was notified late that the American wouldn’t be accepting the wild card.

In either case, the event remains a rather painful spot for both sisters, and that’s likely never going to change. Serena Williams is not playing anymore, and Venus Williams will soon follow her into retirement. We might never see the sisters again, and after what had happened, who can really blame them?

It was by far one of the biggest controversies in tennis history, and rightfully so. Luckily, we haven’t seen things like that since then and hopefully won’t in the future.