Wimbledon 2006 Biography: Venus Williams
By now, almost every person in America knows who Venus and Serena Williams are. The fiercely close – and competitive – sisters, took the tennis world by storm in the 1990s and, although their collective stranglehold on the sport has lessened the past couple of years, both sisters – and Venus in particular – are still in a position to add to their impresive Grand Slam hardware collection over the next couple of seasons.
However, this biography is about only one of the sisters (Venus) and her chances of winning the 2006 Wimbledon women’s singles champhionship title.
Williams, who turned pro in 1994, began to make her mark on the sport right around the same time as the beginning of the new millennium. In 1999, the Williams sisters combined to win the French Open doubles championship while Venus also went on to win five other doubles titles and two mixed doubles Grand Glam titles.
In 2000, Williams won both, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in singles, for her first two career Grand Slam victories. That same summer, Williams also won two Gold medals at the Sydney Summer Olympics.
In 2001, Williams came back and defended both of her two Grand Slam titles successfully. Williams would continue to have glowing success against every competitor on the women’s tour – except her sister.
In 2002 and 2003, Venus reached five major finals, and lost all of them to her sister Serena. 2003 also marked the era in which the Williams sisters would no longer dominate the women’s tour.
Both Venus and Serena suffered injuries (Venus with a severe adductor muscle tear) that kept them out of the latter part of the 2003 season. In that time, Belgian players Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin-Hardenne took over as the most dominant players in the game.
Upon their return in 2004, both of the Williams sisters failed to recapture their previous best. 2005 began similarly for Williams, with a series of unusual losses. However, media attention and public interest in both of the Williams sisters continued with their fashion and interior design companies, not to mention their reality television show.
At the 2005 French Open, Williams lost in the third-round to 15-year old Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva. Drug tests taken of Karatatcheva at the French Open showed that she could have been doping at the time. She has since suffered a two year suspension from the sport.
The following month, Venus reached the 2005 Wimbledon finals without dropping a set and defeated the defending champion Maria Sharapova, in the semifinals in straight sets with a masterful display of speed, power and grace.
In the longest Wimbledon final in history, Williams overcame a match point against her to defeat top seed Lindsay Davenport 4-6 7-6(4) 9-7 to claim the 2005 Wimbledon Championship – her third Wimbledon title in six years.
Her victory marked the first time in 70 years that a player had won the championship after facing match point during the women’s final. In addition, Williams, as the 14th seed in the draw, was the lowest seed to win the title in Wimbledon history.
Williams had a surprising loss in her opening match at this year’s Australian Open, losing 6-2, 0-6, 7-9 to Tszvetana Pironkova to mark her earliest loss at the Australian Open in her career.
Venus was out of action from January 16th until April 30th due to injuries, but reached the quarterfinals of the French Open where she lost to up-and-coming teenager, Nicole Vaidisova 7-6, 1-6, 3-6.
However, Williams has to considered one of the favorites to win the 2006 Wimbledon title sicne she always seems to raise her game for this tournament – which just so happens to be the oldest and most prestigious tournament of them all.
