Novak Djokovic has paid tribute to Venus and Serena Williams as the tennis legends get ready to make their return to Wimbledon.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion hailed the Williams sisters for transcending tennis and called their journey an inspiration.
Novak Djokovic Pays Tribute to Venus and Serena Williams
The Williams sisters will be competing together in women’s doubles at Wimbledon, with Serena also set to compete in the women’s singles draw. This will be the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s first singles event since her initial retirement at the 2022 US Open.
Ahead of their spectacular comeback, Djokovic heaped praise on the two sisters. The Serb also spoke about the movie “King Richard,” which shed light on the two sisters’ journey to the pinnacle of the sport.
“We also saw Will Smith’s Oscar-winning King Richard performance, and people who don’t follow tennis got to know a little bit more about the Williams sisters’ story. It’s truly inspiring the way they were brought up, the way they grew up in challenging environments that was not necessarily supportive of their tennis. But they’ve grown up to be very resilient people. The sisters stayed together and supported each other,” Djokovic said during his pre-Wimbledon press conference.
Djokovic also commented on how the Williams sisters often faced off on the biggest stage in tennis while also competing together in doubles. Venus and Serena have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles together and faced each other in 10 singles finals. They’ve also won three women’s doubles Olympic golds for the USA.
“I just don’t know they managed to play against each other in the finals of Grand Slams. I have two brothers who played tennis; I don’t know how you’re able to play your sibling on the court. I don’t know if I’d be able to do that. That’s another aspect to their greatness, how professional and competitive they were against each other, but also loving and supporting of each other. They won everything you can win in this sport. They transcended tennis,” he added.
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Now 46 and 44, respectively, Venus and Serena are gearing up for a return to the stage where they enjoyed some of their most iconic triumphs. The former is a five-time Wimbledon women’s singles champion, and the latter has won seven Wimbledon titles. The two also teamed up to win six doubles titles and an Olympic gold at SW19.
It may be unimaginable to think that they could add to their glittering trophy cabinet, but few would bet against them to make yet more history at the All England Club.
