"I didn't look at her, I couldn't speak" - From losing final against sister to competing with her on the same day: Serena Williams recalls memorable Wimbledon story

Away from the sister tag, both Serena and Venus Williams were vicious competitors on court. While lethal together, their clashes against one another could end in frustration and tension. This was the case almost two decades ago when Serena would not speak a single word to her or even look at her when competing in a doubles Grand Slam final.

The duo where incredible in their pomp. Reaching 14 Grand Slam finals together, they won every single won while in total collection 30 singles Grand Slam titles between the par.

They played in a number of finals against each other as well at major level spanning over a number of years. The first one came at the 2001 US Open and the most recent in the 2017 Australian Open.

2026 has seen them both come back in the spotlight, especially Serena who made her highly anticipated return to tennis, playing doubles at Queen's and in Berlin before taking centre stage at Wimbledon, losing to Maya Joint in the singles while being forced to pull out of the doubles alongside Venus due to injury.

Coincidentally, this specific event also came at Wimbledon all the way back in 2008. Williams had not won a Grand Slam title since the 2007 Australian Open and was desperate for success. In fact, it was her first final since that run in Melbourne.

Someone of her stature gets accustomed to winning these types of tournaments on a regular basis, and that is what she has done with 23 Grand Slams won in total. This mini-drought would soon come to an end at the US Open, but heartbreak would come first at SW19.

A tight 7-5, 6-4 result went the way of Venus in a brutal result for Serena who had not won the title in the South of London since 2003. Fuming after the match, she refused to say a single word in the following women's doubles final against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stour. They did go on to win that tie, but the pressure almost hit boiling point.

"I don't know if it affected her relationship with me," she said when speaking to actor Kevin Hart. "I remember one time I lost in the Wimbledon final to her and I was so mad. I just couldn't even, I didn't look at her, I couldn't speak. It was so funny and then we had to play a double final after and I was so mad I wasn't speaking on the court."

Despite it possibly being a tough and awkward setting for both players, Venus did not realise until years later that her sister was seething at her on court. "No, she's not like that. I don't, she's so not connected. She didn't even know," she confirmed. "I found out years later, she didn't even know I was mad at her. No, I really, I wasn't even talking to you."

Williams will be again hopeful of impressing at the US Open on her possible return, maybe even this time fans may see both Williams sisters' step onto the court for the first time since 2022 at Flushing Meadows when Serena called it a day. If they are, it is sure to attract a lot of fans and intrigue with their story not yet done.