Venus Williams and Serena Williams have left a solid mark on tennis, reshaping the sport and inspiring generations of athletes. As a pair they have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles.
On the other hand, if their Singles Grand Slam titles are taken together, it comes down to 30 (Serena’s 23 and Venus’ 7). However, their sisterly bond extends far beyond the courts, often creating moments of love and mutual admiration for one another. Recently, Venus shared another glimpse of this beautiful connection, reminiscing about what it was like living with Serena.
The American sensation engaged in an interaction with Palazzo.ai and deliberated a wide range of factors about her life outside the tennis courts. In the same conversation, she opened up about her house and claimed that it used to be the one where she lived with her younger sister. She also discussed the reason behind it and how her old house continues to hold a special place in her heart.
During an interview, Venus said, “A space is really special to me. It’s my home now. I moved out of my house with my sister, my younger sister and we lived in the same house that we got when we were 18 years old, until like late into our 30s.”
For those unaware, the Williams sisters used to live together in an 8,489-square-foot property in Palm Beach that they purchased for £500,000 back in 1998. This continued throughout the majority of their career until they moved out just a year before Serena’s elder daughter, Olympia, was born in 2017. The mansion, which witnessed the sisters garnering fame, has continued to hold a special place in Venus’ heart.
Continuing further, she opened up on why the house remains to be her favorite. “I was always living in this space that wasn’t really my style. Like how your style at 18 is not your style when you kinda grow up. So when we finally moved into our own place that felt more like and was special to me. First time in my adult life to have a space that felt like me that I could express myself and show who I was,” she said.
Notably, the Palm Beach house where the sisters lived is not their property anymore and was sold for around $2.27 Million in 2021. It was in the market since December 2018. Amid that in January 2019, Venus bought a new property which she calls her home currently. The resort-style Jupiter Island property cost the tennis star close to a whopping $10 million. According to property records, Venus managed to knock more than a million dollars off the original $10.9 million asking price before closing for $9.6 million. Let’s take a look at it.
The property includes a main three-bedroom house and two guesthouses, set in lush tropical gardens and boasting breathtaking ocean views. It also has a pool, outdoor kitchen, and bar. However, unlike the five-time Wimbledon champion’s previous property in Palm Beach Gardens, it doesn’t have a tennis court. One mind-blowing aspect of the property is its vicinity to the beach.
They won’t have far to walk to reach the beach, with the one-acre garden stretching 312 feet before a short path takes one on to pristine white sands. The entire property, decked out with hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, and a nautically themed décor, has 25 rooms and measures around 10,000 square feet.
It comes with a lavish outdoor kitchen and bar with granite countertops and even television screens for entertainment. With a lot of open air space and lots of natural light, the home gives the vibe of a vacation getaway or an exclusive beach resort. But wait, doesn’t Serena also has a home in Florida? Yes, she does. So how can Venus’ property not have special arrangements for Serena, given the kind of bond they have?
Apart from the main three-bed property, it also has two guesthouses, set in lush tropical gardens and boasting breathtaking ocean views. Serena, her husband Alexis Ohanian, and their daughters can choose either the one-bed guesthouse or the roomier private cottage. Interestingly, it is not just Venus who has opened up about the experiences of living together with her sister.
In a previous interview with Glamour magazine, Serena Williams also opened up about what living with Venus looked like for her. “I don’t even want to not be codependent with her. I love her. I don’t want our lives to ever be separate. We were successful, and we were Black. We leaned on each other. We lived together. We lived together until a year before I had Olympia, so literally our whole lives.” And it is this bond that she shares with her sister that she was determined to ensure the same experiences for her daughter, Olympia which also motivated her to plan her second child.
Serena Williams’ motivation for her second pregnancy
There would have been hardly anyone in the tennis community who would be unaware of the bond between Serena Williams and Venus Williams. But this bond did not just help the sisters in supporting each other but in also making some crucial decisions in their individual lives as well, including the decision on pregnancy.
In an interview with Glamour, Serena Williams opened up about her motivation behind her second pregnancy, despite a complicated birthing process with Olympia. “I mean, I grew up with girls. I’d honestly never been around boys unless I was dating one,” she said. Remember, the tennis great has garnered love from four sisters, Venus Williams, Yetunde Price, Lyndrea Price, and Isha Price.
Continuing further in the interview, she highlighted the importance of sisters and said, “And sisters are so special.” She also revealed that these experiences, amalgamated with a determination to let her daughter witness a similar childhood, motivated her for her second pregnancy.
As time evolves, it would be interesting to see what further shape this bond takes. Fans would await more such admissions from the sisters to know more about what the road to a successful career looks like.
