The Williams sisters left an indelible mark on the All England Club.
Big sister Venus has won five Wimbledon singles championships during her career while seven of Serena’s 23 Grand Slam singles titles came on the hallowed grass at SW19.
The iconic American duo also won six Wimbledon doubles titles together and were unbeaten in all major doubles finals they played in (14).
Serena also won the mixed doubles with Max Mirnyi at Wimbledon in 1998.
Sadly, this year’s championships will be the first time since 1996 that Wimbledon will be without both Venus and Serena.
Neither Serena, who retired in 2022, nor Venus, who has participated in just seven matches over the past 12 months and lost in the first rounds at both Indian Wells and Miami in 2024, have entered Wimbledon this year.
Venus made her Wimbledon debut in ’97 while Serena debuted the the following year.
Every year since then, until now and apart from 2020 when the tournament was cancelled because of covid-19, at least one of the Williams sisters has been in attendance at SW19.
Their incredible 28-year record at the prestigious Grand Slam will therefore come to an end next week when the 2024 championships get underway.
Tennis fans are reflecting on the streak and the end of the Williams era at Wimbledon.
“Crazy stat..20 years of dominance,” one person wrote.
“The last few years were rough and I wish they both had the endings there they deserved. And I know Venus is technically still on tour and could play it again but I will miss seeing them there. The first Wimbledon since I’ve been a tennis fan that won’t have them,” another added.
“There were a dominant force, I miss them,” wrote a third.
Venus and Serena faced each other in four Wimbledon finals, with Serena winning three.
Serena won the all-Williams finals in 2002 and 2003 but Venus got revenge in 2008. Serena then picked up her third title by beating Venus in the last meeting in 2009.
After that victory, Serena had Wimbledon finals wins over Vera Zvonareva (2010), Agnieszka Radwańska (2012), Garbine Muguruza (2015) and Angelique Kerber (2016).
Venus, meanwhile, won her maiden Wimbledon title against compatriot Lindsay Davenport in 2000. She defended her title against Justin Henin a year later and beat Davenport again in the 2005 final.
Her fourth Wimbledon singles title came in 2007 against Marion Bartoli and her fifth and final championship came against Serena in ’08.
Their six doubles titles together on the iconic grass came in 2000, 2002, 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2016.
Serena began to struggle with injuries and a lack of match practice during the twilight years of her career.
She retired in the first round at the 2021 championships and went out at the same stage in 2022 at the hands of Harmony Tan.
In a September 2022 issue of Vogue, Serena announced her plans to “evolve away” from tennis after the 2022 US Open, citing a desire to focus on her family and venture capital firm.
She retired shortly losing her third round match to Ajla Tomljanovic.
43-year-old Venus, on the other hand, is still active, but experiencing her injury issues of her own.
Williams said she ‘really got injured’ at Wimbledon last year when she slipped on the grass and hurt her knee during a first-round loss to Elina Svitolina.
She continued to play across the North American hard-court summer but ended her season after defeat to qualifier Greet Minnen in the first round of the US Open.
Venus subsequently missed the Australian Summer hard court season but planned to return in March 2024.
In early March, she lost to qualifier Nao Hibino at the BNP Paribas Open in her first match on tour in about six months.
In late March she appeared at the Miami Open as a wildcard ranked 457th in the world.
She lost in the first round against Diana Shnaider and has since decided against playing at Wimbledon this summer.
This year’s championships will be played over 14 days from Monday 1 – Sunday 14 July.
Carlos Alcaraz is the defending men’s champion after defeating Novak Djokovic in last year’s dramatic final.
Marketa Vondrousova is the defending women’s champion after stunning the tennis world in 2023 by becoming the first unseeded player to win Wimbledon.
