Venus and Serena Williams

Serena and Venus Williams are two of the most famous sisters in sports, both excelling in the game of professional tennis. But how do they do it? How do they manage to maintain a close relationship when they’re occasionally pitted against other?

In an interview with NPR, Serena explains how early history came into play:

“Venus was the big star. When we were growing up, it was a lot about Venus—it needed to be about Venus, because she was an incredible player. And that actually, being the little sister, the one that wasn’t as strong, wasn’t as good yet, gave me encouragement and the fight I have in my game.”

But how do they contend with being rivals with one another, especially when the stakes are so high?

“I had to come up with something new, that, right now, we’re competitors, but the moment we shake hands and we’re done with this match, we’re sisters. I’m always happy for Venus, and she’s always happy for me.”

Perhaps their dynamic with one another is one of the elements that make them so popular. When we see two sisters able to compete so fiercely with one another yet remain close, it reminds us the same is possible within our own family. We can “compete” in the forms of success, family, intelligence, popularity…but we can always leave room to be sisters later on.

One way to improve sisterly dynamics? Remember her birthday! Send her birthday ecards for sisters. We have a great collection.

The full Serena Williams interview on NPR is at this website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113090963&ft=1&f=1001