"I want to win, and I feel awful if I win" - When Serena Williams admitted mental turmoil of playing against her sister Venus Williams

Serena Williams once spoke about how difficult it was to face her sister Venus Williams on the tennis court. Serena admitted that she wanted Venus to win every time the latter played, but had mixed emotions when she was on the opposite end of the court.

Serena featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine in July 2018, and in her interview with the publication, she talked about sisterhood. By that time, the pair had faced each other 29 times and Serena led the head-to-head 17-12. However, she was still not used to playing against her elder sister.

"I want [Venus] to win every time she’s playing, except when she’s playing me. And when she’s playing me, I want her to win, but I want to win – and I feel awful if I win. It’s this incredible fight inside of myself," Serena Williams said.

Her coping mechanism was pretending that it was someone else on the court instead of Venus.

"I have to pretend she’s someone else," Williams said. "I always tell myself, in 10 years, none of this is going to matter, we’ll still be sisters and she’s not going to be upset with me for beating her in this particular tournament."

Eventually, the sisters faced each other 31 times, and Serena led the record 19-12. They were at the top of the WTA Tour for the majority of their careers, and it is highlighted by the fact that they played more than 50% of their matches in Grand Slam events, with nine of those being finals.

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Serena Williams and Venus Williams were a lethal doubles combination

Serena Williams and Venus Williams with their Wimbledon 2016 doubles trophies - Source: Getty

Although Serena Williams and Venus Williams faced each other many times in singles, they were used to playing on the same side of the court as well. The sisters were a lethal doubles pairing, winning many titles.

In a September 2024 interview with Glamour Magazine, Serena revealed she never wanted to let her partner, Venus, down.

"Honestly, I think for me, doubles may have been a little bit harder [than singles] because I never wanted to let my partner down, which was Venus," Serena Williams said.

Serena and Venus played 23 finals in doubles competitions and lost only one. They won 14 Grand Slam women's doubles titles and even bagged three Olympic gold medals for the USA. Both sisters achieved the World No. 1 ranking in singles and doubles at some point in their illustrious careers.