Serena and Venus Williams both set to miss Australian Open for first time since 1997

ByJames Hilsum

Updated 05/01/2022 at 12:59 GMT

The pair have enjoyed some astonishing success between them, winning 121 singles tournaments, four mixed doubles tournaments and spending more than 300 weeks at No. 1 in the singles rankings. They have been a formidable force in the women’s doubles too, winning 14 Grand Slams and triumphing in four consecutive tournaments from Wimbledon in 2009 to Roland Garros in 2010.

Serena and Venus Williams are both set to miss the Australian Open, meaning it will be the first time since 1997 that neither sister will be competing at the Grand Slam.

Serena has ruled herself out of the tournament with a hamstring problem, while a series of injuries means older sister Venus will also have to watch on from the sidelines.

The pair have enjoyed some astonishing success between them, after winning 121 singles tournaments, four mixed doubles tournaments, and spent more than 300 weeks at number one in the singles rankings.

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Serena & Venus Williams

Image credit: Getty Images

They have been a formidable force in the women’s doubles too, winning 14 Grand Slams, and triumphing in four consecutive tournaments from Wimbledon in 2009 to Roland Garros in 2010.

Their impact on the wider sporting world cannot be underestimated either, which includes considerable success at the Olympics. In total, they have won four gold medals each – three of those came as a double pairing, along with one each in the singles.

Meanwhile, the times which they faced each other head-to-head will go down in tennis folklore. The sisters have met 31 times, which also includes nine meetings in Grand Slam Finals.

Milestones and records are nothing new for these sporting superstars, they remain the only two women in the Open Era to face each other in four consecutive Grand Slam finals, between the 2002 French Open and the 2003 Australian Open. It was Serena who took the bragging rights in these titanic tussles, winning all four of those matches.

Serena has achieved the most success individually out of the two sisters, claiming an eye-watering 23 Grand Slams and 73 WTA singles titles. She also held all four Grand Slams at the same time on two occasions, in 2002-2003 and in 2014-15.

But there are sadly doubts as to whether or not the younger Williams sister will venture onto the court again.

She is now ranked at 41 in the ATP rankings and is one Grand Slam away from matching Margaret Court’s record of 24 titles.

Serena Williams in action at the 2021 Australian Open

Image credit: Getty Images

If the current trend continues, then it appears that the modern-day tennis great could finishing agonisingly short of matching that haul. Her last Grand Slam win came almost five years ago at the Australian Open in 2017.

Meanwhile, Venus has arguably seen an even bigger fall from grace, and is currently down in 318th in the rankings, meaning she would have needed a wildcard to compete in this month’s Australian Open.

The 41-year-old competed at just 10 tournaments in 2021, and her last appearance came at the WTA 250 event at Chicago in August.

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