“Venus would have 15 Grand Slams if we didn't face each other”: Serena Williams revisits rivalry with her sister

Serena Williams described her innate winning mentality and highlighted the difference with her sister Venus Williams, who had to develop it over time. The two sisters not only dominated the Tour but also left behind one of the most notable rivalries in women’s tennis.

They faced each other 31 times between 1998 and 2020, with Serena leading the head-to-head 19–12. Venus reached World No. 1 for a total of 11 weeks and won 7 Grand Slam titles, while Serena held the No. 1 ranking for an impressive 316 weeks and captured 23 Grand Slam titles. Their doubles partnership was equally successful, with 22 titles together, including 14 majors and 3 Olympic gold medals.

Recently, Serena appeared at The New York Times' DealBook Summit and explained how she was born to win, whereas her sister had to learn that skill. "I think it's definitely a little nurture but also something that's innate. I was born to win. We used to have these talent shows and if I didn't win the talent show, I would go nuts. I would cry, throw a fit... It was innate for me to always have this drive to be the best and to win."

"That part was innate, and Venus always said that she didn't have that part. She learned it... I think you can get it both ways. I think it's good that if you don't have something, you can still develop it later on by working on it."

Serena also remarked that both she and Venus might have won many more Grand Slam titles if they hadn’t faced each other so often. "We had this rule that if we played against each other before the final, we had to win the title. I think Venus would have had a minimum of 15 Grand Slams if we didn't play. I would have had 30."