Venus Williams is overcoming her emotional car accident to serve it up at this year’s Wimbledon. In the absence of her younger sister Serena Williams, the 37-year-old tennis player has been able to spread her wings in England, shooting past players like Ana Konjuh of Croatia, and Naomi Osaka of Japan.
During the earlier rounds, Venus broke down in tears when reporters asked about the car accident that took the life of 78-year-old Jerome Barson.
“There are no words to describe, like, how devastating and, yeah,” she said according to Washington Post . “I am completely speechless. It’s just — yeah.”
Since then, Serena’s sister has been playing excellently on the grass courts of Wimbledon, showing determination in winning the championship title.
Venus came so close to winning one earlier in 2017, when she faced her sister Serena Wiliams on the final match of Australian Open. She lost in two sets, 6-4, 6-4, but was happy for her pregnant younger sister to take the title.
Right now, Serena Williams is taking time off from playing professional tennis as she looks to give birth to her first child this fall. But it looks like the former world number one is unable to sit still as her sister competes for the grass court title in the UK.
Even without the car accident, which is obviously weighing heavily on her mind, Venus has gone through some sizable obstacles as a professional athlete. She suffers from Sjögrens Syndrome, an immune system disorder, which has made her retire once before. The last time that the American tennis player won a title was nine years ago, and it sounds like she is determined to secure one more before she gets too old.
“Winning never gets old at any stage in your career — ever, ever,” Venus said, according to the New York Times .
In fact, Washington Post called Venus “ageless,” hinting that she is currently playing her best tennis , and that the young players must fire up their guns to make it past her. She took just 64 minutes to wrap up the last match (6-3, 6-2) she played, sending the Junior champion Ana Konjuh home.
The 36-year-old player faces 20-year-old Je?ena Ostapenko of Latvia in the quarterfinals tomorrow.
[Featured Image by Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Images]
