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Venus and Serena Williams Are Facing Off in the US Open Again. Here’s Every Time the Dynamic Duo Has Competed

4 minute read

At the 2018 U.S. Open, Venus and Serena Williams will face off once again in what might be the greatest (and friendliest) sibling rivalry of our times when they compete at Flushing Meadows in the third round of the tournament on Friday.

The tennis superstar sisters, who were born less than two years apart, grew up training, playing, and yes, competing against one another as two stars among the best of the best in the game. This, of course, begs the question: just how many times have Serena and Venus Williams played each other?

Once they began playing professionally, the sisters have competed against one another a whopping 29 times, with this year’s US Open match clocking in as the 30th. This match marks the first time that the sisters have competed against one another since Serena’s victory over Venus in the 2017 Australian Open Final, which the former played while 8 weeks pregnant with her daughter, Alexis Olympia — and the earliest that the two have met up in a tournament in 20 years. Currently, Serena (a 23-time Grand Slam champion) holds a 17-12 advantage in their competition, 10-5 of which are Grand Slams.

The sister act is taking their upcoming match against one another in stride; Venus humorously remembered their on-court meet-up, with a sweet joke about baby Olympia’s participation in the showdown.

When it came to little sister Serena, her only hope is that people will cheer on either one of the Williams sisters.

Ahead of their US Open match, here’s a look back at their Grand Slam matches over the years.

Venus Williams (L) raises the arm of her younger s
Venus Williams (L) raises the arm of her younger sister Serena Williams (R) after their second round encounter at the Australia Open in Melbourne Jan 21, 1998. Venus defeated Serena in straight sets 7-6 (4), 6-1.GREG WOOD—AFP/Getty Images

Australian Open, 1998; Venus wins: Venus took the W over Serena, who was playing her first Grand Slam tournament, in the second round of the Australian Open.

Serena and Venus Williams
Serena Williams of the USA congratulates her sister Venus after losing to her in the womens semi final at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon, London on Jul 6, 2000.Gary M. Prior—Getty Images

Wimbledon, 2000; Venus wins: Venus was victorious over little sister Serena yet again during the Wimbledon semi-finals before defeating Lindsay Davenport in the finals to win the tournament.

U.S. Open - Women's Final
Venus Williams and Serena Williams share a laugh. Venus defeats her sister Serena, 6-2, 6-4 to win U.S. Open.Cynthia Lum—Getty Images

U.S. Open, 2001; Venus wins: Venus won her fourth major title by defeating Serena in finals showdown.

US Serena Williams (L) and her sister and opponent
US Serena Williams (L) and her sister and opponent Venus Williams hold Roland Garros trophies, Jun 8, 2002 in Paris, at the end of the Roland Garros French Open women's final match. Serena won 7-5, 6-3.ANDRE DURAND—AFP/Getty Images

French Open, 2002; Serena wins: Serena nabbed her first French Open title in 2002 at the French Open — and her first Grand Slam win over Venus in the finals.

Venus and Serena Williams Face Off Match
Serena Williams of the USA is congratulated by her sister Venus Williams after winning the Ladies Final at the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championship held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London on July 6, 2002.Clive Brunskill—Getty Images

Wimbledon, 2002; Serena wins: Serena is victorious in the finals over two-time defending Wimbledon champ Venus surpassing her sister to become no. 1 in the world rankings.

Serena Williams and her sister Venus Williams
Venus Williams (L) of the USA and Serena Williams of the USA pose for photographers after the women's final of the US Open at the USTA National Tennis Center on September 7, 2002 in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, New York. Serena Williams defeated her sister and won the US Open.Al Bello—Getty Images

U.S. Open, 2002; Serena wins: Serena beats Venus in the U.S. Open finals to win her third Grand Slam tournament of 2002.

Tennis - Australian Open - Womens Final
Serena and Venus Williams with their trophys after Serena beat her sister in the Womens Singles FinalPhil Walter - EMPICS—EMPICS Sport

Australian Open, 2003; Serena wins: Serena beats Venus in the Australian Open finals, rounding out victories over her sister in the four major tournaments.

Serena Williams (L) of the USA holding the trophy after her match against sister Venus Williams of the USA in the Womens Singles Final during day twelve of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships held on July 5, 2003 at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, in Wimbledon, London.Alex Livesey—Getty Images

Wimbledon, 2003; Serena wins: Serena is victorious for the second year in a row at Wimbledon, beating Venus for the fifth consecutive time in a major tournament.

2005 U.S. Open - Women's Singles - Fourth Round - Serena Williams vs Venus Williams
Serena Williams hugs her sister, Venus, after play in a 7-6 6-2 women's quarter final match at the 2005 U. S. Open in Flushing, New York.Al Messerschmidt—WireImage

U.S. Open, 2005; Venus wins: Venus gains a victory over Serena with a fourth round win over her sister at the 2005 U.S. Open.

Tennis - Wimbledon Championships 2008 - Day Twelve - The All England Club
USA's Venus Williams and USA's Serena Williams with their trophies following their Women's Final match during the Wimbledon Championships 2008 at the All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon.Fiona Hanson—PA Images/Getty Images

Wimbledon, 2008; Venus wins: Venus beats Serena in the finals to take the 2008 Wimbledon title, which marks two consecutive Wimbledon titles for her.

Serena Williams (R) of the United States
Serena Williams (R) of the United States (4) after winning during her quarterfinal match against Venus Williams of the United States (7) at the US Open tennis tournament on September 3, 2008 at the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City.TIMOTHY A. CLARY—AFP/Getty Images

U.S. Open, 2008; Serena wins: Serena defeats Venus in the quarterfinals before going on to claim the women’s title.

Tennis - AELTC Wimbledon Championships
July 4, 2009 Serena Williams her sister Venus meet at the net after Serena defeated Venus 7-6, 6-2 in the final of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, England on Jul, 4 2009.Cynthia Lum—Icon Sport Media/Corbis/Getty Images

Wimbledon, 2009; Serena wins: Serena wins the title at Wimbledon in 2009, preventing Venus for winning the tournament for three years in a row. With this win, a Williams sister has won Wimbledon every year with the exception of two (the exceptions being Maria Sharapova in 2004 and Amélie Mauresmo in 2006) since 2000.

Tennis- Day Seven - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Venus Williams of USA embraces her sister after her fourth round match against Serena Williams of USA on Day Seven of the 2015 Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London, UK.Visionhaus—Corbis/Getty Images

Wimbledon, 2015; Serena wins: Serena won against Venus in a fourth round Wimbledon matchup in 2015; this was the sister’s first on-court competition in a major tournament in six years.

Serena Williams, USA and sister Venus Williams, USA, embrace after in their Women's Singles Quarterf
Serena Williams, USA and sister Venus Williams, USA, embrace after in their Women's Singles Quarterfinals match won by Serena during the US Open Tennis Tournament, Flushing, New York, USA on Sept 8, 2015.Tim Clayton—Corbis/Getty Images

U.S. Open, 2015; Serena wins: Serena beats Venus in the quarterfinals of the 2015 U.S. Open.

TENNIS-AUS-OPEN-PODIUM
Serena Williams of the US (R) celebrates with the championship trophy during the awards ceremony after her victory against Venus Williams of the US in the women's singles final on day 13 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 28, 2017.PETER PARKS—AFP/Getty Images

Australian Open, 2017; Serena wins: Serena beat Venus in the finals of the Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant with daughter Alexis Olympia.

 

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Write to Cady Lang at cady.lang@timemagazine.com