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.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]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.
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.
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, 2001; Venus wins: Venus won her fourth major title by defeating Serena in finals showdown.
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.
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.
U.S. Open, 2002; Serena wins: Serena beats Venus in the U.S. Open finals to win her third Grand Slam tournament of 2002.
Australian Open, 2003; Serena wins: Serena beats Venus in the Australian Open finals, rounding out victories over her sister in the four major tournaments.
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.
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.
Wimbledon, 2008; Venus wins: Venus beats Serena in the finals to take the 2008 Wimbledon title, which marks two consecutive Wimbledon titles for her.
U.S. Open, 2008; Serena wins: Serena defeats Venus in the quarterfinals before going on to claim the women’s title.
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.
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.
U.S. Open, 2015; Serena wins: Serena beats Venus in the quarterfinals of the 2015 U.S. Open.
Australian Open, 2017; Serena wins: Serena beat Venus in the finals of the Australian Open while eight weeks pregnant with daughter Alexis Olympia.