Serena Williams Recalls Getting ‘So Mad’ at Venus Williams After Losing Wimbledon Final: “She Didn’t Even Know”

Serena Williams played her first singles match after four years at Wimbledon. Up against her was Maya Joint, who took the first set off her, but Williams bounced back and took the next set before eventually losing the match.

She was also scheduled to play doubles with sister Venus Williams, but because she injured her knee, they withdrew. Williams played her first official match after her comeback at the Queen’s Club Championships.

She competed in doubles alongside Victoria Mboko and won the first round. But they withdrew because Mboko injured her knee during her singles match. Williams next paired up with Karolina Muchova for the Berlin Open but suffered an opening-round exit.

Williams recently made an appearance at Fanatics Fest, where she was asked whether tennis ever affected her relationship with Venus. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion recalled losing a Wimbledon singles final to the 46-year-old.

I remember one time I lost in the Wimbledon final to her, and I was so mad. I just couldn’t even look at her. I couldn’t speak. It was so funny. And then we have to play a doubles final after, and I was so mad. I wasn’t speaking on the floor. She’s so not connected, she didn’t even know.

The Williams sisters clashed four times in Wimbledon singles finals, with the former winning the matches three times (2002, 2003, and 2009). Venus registered that lone win in 2008, and later during doubles, they beat Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur. They last won a Major doubles title at the 2016 Wimbledon.

I found out years later she didn’t even know I was mad at her. I was like, ‘Oh, I really I wasn’t even talking to you. And then we weren’t we weren’t winning in the doubles, or we needed to communicate, and I finally started talking, and I got excited. I was like, okay, I need a championship too. It was funny, but she’s always such a great sport, she’s such a great champion, and she really taught me how to be a better champion and how to just always show up every single day.

Serena Williams added

Venus was last seen in action at Wimbledon, where she and mixed doubles partner Kevin Krawietz lost in the first round. She will next be seen in action at the Citi Open, where she is playing both singles and doubles (along with Alexandra Eala).

Maya Joint on her win over Serena Williams

In the Wimbledon first round, Maya Joint clinched a tour-level win for the first time since the Australian Open. After that win, the Australian Open lost to Alexandra Eala in the second round.

Joint then competed at the Prague Open, where, following her win over Laura Samson, she was eliminated by Tereza Valentova. The 20-year-old gave an interview to FlashScore, during which she admitted that her win over her childhood idol Serena Williams boosted her confidence.

I think the match against Serena really helped me. Specifically, it definitely boosted my confidence. Every player probably goes through this at some point in their career, but I really had a tough start to the year and quite a long losing streak. And then this challenge came along… In the end, I beat her. And that match helped me believe I could start winning again.

It’s uncertain where Williams will play next. But she is expected to return to the US Open and play both singles and doubles with Venus Williams. The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion last won a Major at the 2017 Australian Open. She last played a Grand Slam singles final at the 2019 US Open.

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