Serena Williams called her sister Venus’ opinion “ridiculous” over the blue clay courts at Madrid Open

Serena Williams called her sister Venus’ opinion “ridiculous” over the blue clay courts at Madrid Open

Serena Williams and Venus Williams

Serena Williams and Venus Williams have been one of the biggest sibling duos to dominate a sport. With 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together and 3 Olympics Doubles Gold to their names, the two sisters looked unbeatable every time they took the court.

While the majority of their lives have been together, the two once found each other on opposite ends in different camps. When the Madrid Open introduced blue clay for the event in 2012, the tennis community was massively divided into two halves, one welcoming the decision and the other criticising the move.

Venus and Serena were also on opposite ends with Serena against the decision while Venus was happy to see the change saying, “I think the blue clay is a real fashion statement. I think it’s really in, bright colors are in. I wish I thought of it myself. I think it’s a good idea.”

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Serena on the other hand called it “Ridiculous” before adding, “No one likes it. I’m on the council, we all voted against it. It’s interesting to see that they just did what they wanted. I just wish they hadn’t asked us and wasted our time.”

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Serena Williams would go on to win the title while Venus Williams crashed in the second round

Serena Williams - IMAGO / PanoramiC
Serena Williams playing at the 2012 Madrid Open – IMAGO / PanoramiC

The change of colour of the clay was not appreciated by many including the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Djokovic even went on record to call the change and the ATP unfair for ignoring the players’ opinions and going ahead with their own plan.

“I’m not really too happy about it. All the credit to the tournament. I’m not blaming them. They fight for their own. But definitely, there is a certain rule within the ATP that the president is able to make decisions by himself without having players agree. That rule has to be changed because it’s not fair,” Novak had said.

Djokovic would go on to lose in the quarter-finals as Roger Federer became the champion for the only edition played on the blue clay. In the women’s singles, Serena went on to win the title seeded 9th while Venus crashed out in the second round itself.

The tournament returned to its previous clay colour following threats of boycott from players in the 2013 season making Serena and Federer as the only players ever to win a Tour title on blue clay.

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