From real competitors to close friends! Rennae Stubbs is one of the luckiest people in the tennis world, having had the chance to see the Williams sisters grow up from a closer distance. Their relationship has evolved into a familial bond, marked by deep admiration, competitive history, and a lasting connection that continues to this day. Do you know that Stubbs was even part of Serena Williams’ coaching team at the 2022 US Open, as the 23-time Grand Slam champion bid farewell to the WTA Tour. How does the Aussie legend look at their journey with the Williams sisters, though?

In the recent episode of ‘The Sit-Down’ podcast, Rennae Stubbs gave the fans every detail about her unique bonding with both Venus and Serena Williams. Did she ever get the chance to play with these two, though? Well, Stubbs claimed, “We played doubles together with both Venus and Serena at World TeamTennis. So, I had really cultivated an amazing friendship with them through the years. I knew them for 30 years, you know. They were 10, and you know, 30 years of their life, I knew them. So, I really watched them grow up, and I admired them a tremendous amount.“

Interestingly, she revealed, “I played against them many, many times, but I got one win against them when they were children. But you know, I lost to them in my last Wimbledon final with Sam (Samantha Stosur).” Just to share a bit of detail about this match, defending champions Venus and Serena Williams had defeated Rennae Stubbs and Samantha Stosur in the final, 7-6(4),6-4 to win the ladies’ doubles tennis titles at the 2009 Wimbledon Championships. For the second consecutive year, Venus and Serena Williams didn’t lose a set during the tournament. Truly Phenomenal!

In that same podcast, Stubbs added, “I had the pleasure of playing against them on the biggest court in the world, and sadly, they beat me. But you know, we just established a really great relationship and to have that moment, to be on the tennis court, on the practice court, and to be in her (Serena’s) coach’s box for the last US Open was pretty memorable.” Talking about Serena Williams’ 2022 US Open campaign, it started with a straight-set victory against Danka Kovinic, but then in the second round, she took three sets to beat Anett Kontaveit.

Last year, while recalling a few moments from Serena Williams’ last professional tournament, Stubbs shared a very interesting story in her podcast (Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast). Although Williams won that match, there were a few nervy moments right before the start of this match. Stubbs revealed, “Serena had a really tough warm-up before the second round of the US Open. She came late because the traffic was really bad…It took longer than expected, and she rushed onto the practice court. She hadn’t done her proper stretching. She was just stressed. It was a big match for her playing against Kontaveit, who was at that time the number 2 player in the world.“

On top of that, Rennae Stubbs added that Serena Williams’ hitting partner was also having a tough time before that match. Following that, Williams hit a ball on the bottom of the net on purpose, and seeing this, Stubbs had to step in and control the situation by calming her down a bit. However, Serena Williams’ 2022 US Open journey came to an end in the very next match against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. However, this particular moment before her second-round match against Kontaveit highlights how important it is for the coaches to know when to step in certain situations. But this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen her heap praise on the Williams sisters.

Rennae Stubbs highlights Venus and Serena Williams’ unique characters, which brought them the legendary status

According to the 54-year-old Aussie legend, Rennae Stubbs, Serena Williams and Venus Williams’ endurance through the toughest times in both their lives and careers helped them become great champions. In 2022, while speaking on the ‘Off The Ball’ podcast, Stubbs said what the Williams sisters went through early on in their careers was pretty traumatic in some ways. According to her statements, they weren’t accepted by the tennis establishment, and there was a lot of pushback on them.

“There was basic racism in tennis. What they fought through probably made them great champions because they had to fight for everything. They had to fight for acceptance, and they had to fight for respect,” said Stubbs. She also added, “They probably felt like they had to win so much just to be respected and accepted. And they were. In the end, you know, they have gotten the love that they deserve because they’re both quality people.“

Serena Williams retired from the sport after establishing her name as one of the G.O.A.T.s in the tennis world, while her sister is still doing wonders at 45! Although Venus Williams couldn’t do much in the singles and mixed doubles events at the 2025 US Open, she has now reached the R16 of the doubles event alongside her new partner, Leylah Fernandez. Not since the 2018 French Open has Williams reached this stage of a Grand Slam. They’ll now face Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhang Shuai in the R16 match. Check out EssentiallySports’ minute-by-minute update of the US Open here.

Her younger sister, Serena, recently took to her TikTok account, sharing a clip from Venus’s doubles match at the US Open. However, her reaction to seeing Venus Williams play with Leylah Fernandez was truly worth noting. Missing her evergreen doubles partner? Perhaps! Both Venus and Serena Williams last played their doubles match together at the 2022 US Open. Would you love to see these two playing doubles together in any exhibition events in the near future, though?