Serena Williams and Venus Williams enjoyed legendary tennis careers, winning a combined 30 Grand Slam singles titles.
The Williams sisters burst onto the scene during the late 1990s and continued to perform at the highest level well into the 2010s.
Serena Williams retired from tennis upon the conclusion of the 2022 US Open, but Venus Williams continues to impress on the WTA Tour and secured her latest win at the Washington Open this June, aged 45.
Photo by Tom Brenner For The Washington Post via Getty Images
Both players worked hard during their younger years to develop into the Grand Slam winners they became, partly under the guidance of their father, Richard Williams.
Looking back on their development as juniors, Serena and Venus have suggested whether they were overtrained.
Serena Williams felt like they practiced too much as youngsters but now understands it was necessary
During the latest episode of the ‘Stockton Street’ podcast, the Williams sisters shared memories about training from their youth.
Serena Williams recalled the time when she did whatever it took to get out of practice.
“Remember, I used to cut the strings in the rackets because I didn’t want to practice,” she said.
“I remember going to practice, we drove all this way, it was way far, Anaheim or something, and I was bad.
“I took these scissors and I cut the racket, we got there, and dad pulled out the rackets, and all the rackets’ strings were broken.
“I saw his face, and his face was heartbroken; he just looked so sad. I felt so bad, I never did it again.”
Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images
Venus Williams then asked her sister whether she thought they practiced too much as juniors, to which she provided the following response.
“Absolutely, I felt like it was too much, I felt like it was unnecessary,” said Serena Williams.
“I hated practice, I really did.
“But, looking back, we needed every second of that. In order to be the best, you have to put in the time, and you have to be willing to work harder than anyone else. I think those practices made me want to practice in the future. Once I became my own professional, I never skipped practice.
“I always try to tell Olympia [her daughter], you don’t understand the benefits now, it sucks today, but tomorrow, you’re going to be so happy that you did it.
“So at the time I hated it, from sabotaging things, to being happy if the car broke down, I think I even used to pray, ‘God, let it rain’.”
To the surprise of Serena, Venus Williams had a completely different approach to practice.
Venus Williams claims practice never bothered her
The Williams sisters shared a hilarious exchange as Serena realised Venus didn’t feel the same way about training as her.
“I never thought about it. I just did what I was told. I didn’t think. I don’t know why I didn’t think,” said Venus Williams.
“Are you a robot? You didn’t have any of these emotions? I am living a whole drama series, and you are just like, I’m going to do it?” replied Serena Williams.
Photo by Online USA
Venus Williams did concede they may have trained more than they needed to, but explained why it never bothered her.
“Yeah, we could have done fewer hours, but also, at the same time, we were doing something so constructive the whole time, and we were also learning about ourselves,” she said.
“Practice never bothered me because I knew we were going to be champions. Dad told us we were going to be number one and two in the world.
“I really wanted to play Wimbledon, at least I thought I did, and I knew I would get there, and I knew I was going to win. So, maybe that’s why practice didn’t bother me.”
Venus did just that, taking home titles at Wimbledon in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, and 2008.
Whether or not they overtrained is open to interpretation, but one thing is for sure: the hard work paid off!
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