How Tall Is Venus Williams? Why Serena Williams Always Wanted to Look Like Her
There are a number of unforgettable athletes who made their mark on their sport forever, and no one can ever forget about Serena Williams and Venus Williams. The Williams sisters are known for competing in the Olympics, bringing Grand Slam titles, and performing as some of the best athletes in the world. But they’ve both faced body image struggles, especially with the media. So what is Venus Williams’ height, and why did Serena always wish to look like her? Here’s what we know.
Serena Williams said she always wanted to look more like her sister
Venus Williams and Serena Williams found major success in tennis largely in part due to their father, Richard. According to GQ, he didn’t have a background in the sport — but once he saw how much success tennis players could achieve, he wanted that for his daughters. Venus was 4 years old when she was first introduced to the sport, and Serena was 3. By 10 and 11, the sisters attended a tennis academy in South Florida. They were well on their way to becoming the fantastic athletes they’re known as today.
Serena told GQ she struggled with her body image. Venus had longer legs and a lankier build, and Serena felt she was supposed to look like that, too.
“I felt weird, like, my boobs were bigger than Venus’s, and my body was thicker. I was curvier,” Serena said. She then noted she’d ask herself, “‘Why am I not Venus?’ And she was tired of me copying her. She was like, ‘Get your own identity, please!’ It was like a window into much bigger things that I would face in the future. I was different. I looked different. And I played different. And I hit different. And I ran different.”
What is Venus Williams’ height? Is Serena Williams taller?
So how tall is Serena Williams? According to her Twitter response to the question, she’s 5 feet 9 inches tall. As for Venus Williams’ height, she’s slightly taller at 6 feet 1 inch.
When it comes to tennis, height can certainly help, which may have also factored into Serena wanting to look more like her sister. According to CNN, only two male players under 6 feet tall were in the top 15. Taller players can generally serve with more force, making it more difficult for the opponent to match that energy.
Despite Venus Williams’ height and lankier build, Serena ultimately was able to love and appreciate her own body, largely thanks to her older half-sister. “I was really struggling, and she’s like, ‘You know, everyone is different,'” Serena told GQ that Yetunde, her half-sister, told her: “You’re not Venus, and you’re never going to be Venus. You’re never going to be as thin as her, and that’s okay. And you’re never going to be as tall as her, and that’s okay. Nothing is wrong with that.”
Is Serena Williams playing tennis today? What about Venus?
Are Serena and Venus Williams playing tennis today? Venus is still competing and training to be the best player she possibly can be. “I’m trying to get better every day,” she said at the Australian Open in February 2021, according to ESPN. “I think that no matter what happens to you in life, you always hold your head up high, you give 100 million percent. That’s what I do every single day. That’s something that I can be proud of.”
As for Serena, she’s still playing, too, though she had an injury at Wimbledon in June 2021. According to BuzzFeed News, Serena had to call it quits early on the match, but it seems she’ll return in the future. Venus Williams’ height may make her stand a bit taller than Serena Williams, but together, the sisters are unstoppable.
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