Despite being the older of the two sisters, Venus Williams admitted to being inspired by Serena Williams being the first of the two talented sisters to win a Grand Slam singles title.
Venus made her debut on the WTA Tour in 1994, with Serena becoming a tennis professional a year later at the age of 14. Venus reached her first Grand Slam final in 1997, losing to Martina Hingis. However, she would eventually grasp her maiden Major trophy in 2000, reigning at both Wimbledon and the US Open.
Despite turning pro a year after Venus, Serena won her first Grand Slam title on her first attempt in 1998, stunning the tennis community by defeating Hingis in the final to claim the US Open trophy.
During a promotion for her upcoming book, 'Strive: 8 steps to find your awesome', Venus spoke on her relationship with her sister. The former World No.1 admitted to learning a lot from her younger sibling, highlighting her courage of character in winning a Major title at such a young age.
"I had the honor of having great company in Serena and I learned so much from her too because she was younger and she was the first in the family to win a Grand Slam even though I was the first to be on tour," said Venus in an interview with Virgin Radio UK. "I don’t think Serena knew at the time because she was 17 years old and what do you know at that age? But at that age just by her doing something positive and being amazing, she didn’t say a word and her actions spoke loud enough.
"I learned so much from her just by watching without her even saying a word. By her courage, character and her fearlessness, I said ‘I want that too, that’s how you win a Major’. It’s so interesting that just by doing something positive you don’t even have to say a word you can influence someone else."