The Williams sisters have rarely done anything conventionally in their stellar careers.
So perhaps we should not be surprised that Venus Williams – the seven-time major champion and older sister of the iconic Serena – is stepping out onto a professional court again this week at the age of 45.
For several months, the question was whether Venus Williams would ever play on the WTA Tour again.
Earlier this season she became considered an inactive player, having gone a whole year without competing.
Then, out of nowhere as the eyes of the tennis world were trained on Wimbledon, Williams announced she was ready to play.
This week she will make her first tour-level appearance in 16 months after accepting a wild card to return at the Washington Open.
It begged two obvious questions. Why? And why now?
“Most of the time I don’t [take up the offer to play as a wild card],” Williams laughed in her pre-tournament news conference.
“But this time I had been hitting the ball. And of course I love the game and the hard courts, it’s my favourite surface, what I feel comfortable on. So all those different factors.”
The elder Williams emerged as a teenage phenomenon in the 1990s, living up to what had already been long-billed hype when she made her professional debut aged just 14.
After winning the opening match at her first WTA tournament, the rangy youngster further validated the fanfare by running world number two Arantxa Sanchez Vicario close in California.
Within six years, she had lifted her maiden Grand Slam title.
The first of five Wimbledon triumphs arrived in 2000, with the rest strung over the next eight years, while US Open wins came in 2000 and 2001.
Using her height to generate power, Williams changed the face of the WTA Tour with her aggressive, first-strike tennis and became a blueprint for success – including her younger sister, who went on to win 23 major titles.
The same thunderous style which served the former world number one so well in her prime is how she plans to beat fellow American Peyton Stearns, who also loves to bludgeon the ball, in Washington.
“I definitely feel I’ll play well. I’m still the same player. I’m a big hitter. I hit big. This is my brand,” smiled Williams.
“So it’s about hitting big and actually putting it in. So this will be my effort: put it in the court. That’s my main goal.”
