Serena and Venus Williams boycotted Indian Wells for over a decade because of racist crowd

The BNP Paribas Open Indian Wells is often regarded as the fifth Grand Slam of the season, and features a star-studded line-up of the world's best ATP and WTA players.

This year's edition is no different, although several players have pulled out of the event due to injury or health concerns. Americans Serena Williams and Venus Williams were once staples at the prestigious tournament early in their careers, but the duo decided to boycott the event for over a decade due to a racist incident that occurred in 2001.

The sisters were slated to play each other in the semifinal that year, but Venus withdrew from the match 20 minutes beforehand, citing a knee injury. This angered the crowd, fueling suggestions that their father, Richard Williams, decided in advance which sister would win their matches against each other.

Serena would go on to defeat Kim Clijsters in the final, but was booed throughout the match and was racially abused, along with her sister Venus and father Richard. The vitriolic abuse directed to the Williams family was horrendous and they vowed never to return to Indian Wells.

"What got me most of all was that it wasn’t just a scattered bunch of boos. It wasn’t coming from just one section," Serena said in her 2009 autobiography, On The Line. “It was like the whole crowd got together and decided to boo all at once. The ugliness was just raining down on me, hard. I didn’t know what to do.

“But I looked up and all I could see was a sea of rich people—mostly older, mostly white—standing and booing lustily, like some kind of genteel lynch mob.

"There was no mistaking that all of this was meant for me. I heard the word n***** a couple times, and I knew. I couldn’t believe it. We refused to return to Indian Wells. Even now, all these years later, we continue to boycott the event.”

Serena would eventually end her boycott in 2015, returning to the tournament after 14 years.

“I feel that was 14 years ago and this is now,” Williams said after deciding to return. “I did the best that I could at this event, and I really am happy to have put a lot of that behind me.

“If I would have known I had to pull out, I would have played anyway just to have an opportunity to be back at this tournament and to be able to play.”

Venus Williams returned to Indian Wells the following year after refusing to attend after 15 years.