"Serena Williams is harassing my mom, it is hard" - When Venus Williams dearly missed her sister after injury ruled her out from Australian Open

Venus Williams once joked about her sister Serena Williams' absence from the 2004 Australian Open. She revealed that Serena was "harassing" their mother, Oracene Price, during her recovery from a knee injury that kept her out of the tournament.

Venus was competing in the Melbourne Slam that year as the No. 3 seed. She was set to start her campaign against compatriot Ashley Harkleroad, being the previous year's finalist and aiming for her fifth Grand Slam title.

Ahead of that, Venus attended a press conference, fielding numerous questions about her campaign, her pre-tournament feelings, and her excitement, describing herself as "bursting with energy."

"I feel rested. I feel eager. Obviously, I have not been in competition in quite a few months, but I am very excited to be playing. I am bursting with energy," she said.

The American then discussed how Serena Williams missed being part of the Slam and staying away from their mother and the team. She also elaborated on a unique request she had made.

"She misses the competition, that's for sure. She misses being down here because we both love this tournament and we both love Melbourne, and she called the other day, she is like bring me some Uggs. She put her order in. Mostly she's harassing my mom about it. So she wants the Uggs and we miss her," Venus Williams said.

"It is hard because it is like a piece of the group is missing and we are travelling, my mom has it a little easier now because only I am teasing her and not me and Serena. (Laughs)," she added.

Venus Williams faced shock defeat to Lisa Raymond in Australian Open 2004

Venus Williams pictured at the 2004 Australian Open | Image Source: Getty

Things were going well for Venus Williams at the 2004 Australian Open, at least until the third round. She defeated Ashley Harkleroad and Vera Dushevina but was eventually knocked out by Lisa Raymond, losing 4-6, 6-7(5).

Venus later admitted openly to being in a state of "shock" after her loss to Raymond. She said that she couldn't believe it as she had harbored a lot of high hopes about winning the tournament.

"I'm pretty much in shock. I still can't believe it. But that's the way I feel after every loss - whether I've been off or on or what have you. It's definitely going to settle in this evening. It will be like, "No!" That's the way it is," she told the media.

She added:

"You win some, you lose some. I definitely had a lot of high hopes to do well here, and of course ultimately to win. But the best player will, whoever that is. Unfortunately, it wasn't me in this fortnight."

The seven-time Major champion later reached the final of the tournament again but never managed to win it.