Between them, the Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, have won the Wimbledon ladies’ singles title 12 times. Indeed, they dominated SW19 for the better part of two decades, winning every ladies’ singles title bar five between 2000 and 2016. Venus, who is just over a year older than her sister, was the first of the siblings to lift the Rosewater Dish when she did so in 2000, beating Lindsay Davenport 6-3, 7-6 in the final, to win her first major singles title. She defended her title in 2001, beating Justine Henin 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 in the final, but, in 2002 and 2003, had to give best to younger sister Serena, who beat her 7-6, 6-3 and 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in successive finals.
Nevertheless, Venus Williams was ‘Queen of the Grass’ again in 2005, beating Lindsay Davenport 9-7 in the deciding set of a rematch of the 2000 final, which became the longest championship match in the history of the ladies’ singles at Wimbledon. She confirmed her status by winning two more titles, beating Marion Bartoli 6-4, 6-1 in the 2007 final and paying back her sister, at least in part, by beating her 7-5, 6-4 in the 2008 final, for a total of five ladies’ singles titles altogether.
Thereafter, though, it was Serena Williams who held sway at the All England Club, winning a rematch of the 2008 final 7-6, 6-2 in 2009, and defending her title 6-3, 6-2 against Vera Zvonareva in 2010. She equalled Venus’ record when beating Agnieszka Radwańska – the first Polish player, male or female, to reach a major singles final during the Open Era – 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 in 2012 and subsequently added two more titles, in 2015 and 2016, in straight sets in the final on both occasions.