Tennis champion and entrepreneur Venus Williams has joined plant-based e-commerce platform PlantX as an investor and ambassador in an effort to help the company raise awareness about the benefits of plant-based foods and encourage consumers to shift to a plant-based lifestyle.
Canada-based PlantX, which offers over 10,000 plant-based products across the food, beauty and clothing sectors, announced its partnership with plant-based advocate Venus Williams and as a PlantX ambassador, Williams will promote the company’s mission of helping everyone easily transition to a plant-based diet.
Willams, who has seven Grand Slam titles, five Wimbledon titles, and four Olympic gold medals to her name, was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, a condition where the body’s immune system attacks its own healthy cells many years ago. To recover from the effects of the condition, and to get back to her professional tennis career, Williams adopted a plant-based lifestyle in 2011 and since then, the diet has proved beneficial for her, with the champion athlete crediting it for her successful return to tennis.
This led Williams to launch her own vegan protein firm, Happy Viking, which provides a range of yellow pea and brown rice protein blends. The products contains omega-3 fatty acids and gut-friendly prebiotic fiber. Featuring a combination of Complete Body Mind Macronutrients (CBMM) and inspired by Williams’ post-workout recipe, her shake will soon be available to buy on PlantX’s e-commerce platform in Canada and U.S.
In a press release seen by Green Queen, Williams said that she is thrilled to be partnering with PlantX. “It is the first marketplace of its kind and I wish it had been around when I was transitioning to a plant-based diet over a decade ago. Living a plant-based lifestyle has improved my quality of life and I am looking forward to working with PlantX to help others learn about the benefits of living plant-based.”
Furthermore, through this partnership, Williams will share her own journey with having a plant-based lifestyle and will curate a list of her personal favourites from the PlantX product portfolio under a special section called “Venus’ Favorites”, promoting it on her social media channels as well.
It is the first marketplace of its kind and I wish it had been around when I was transitioning to a plant-based diet over a decade ago. Living a plant-based lifestyle has improved my quality of life and I am looking forward to working with PlantX to help others learn about the benefits of living plant-based
Venus Williams
PlantX founder, Sean Dollinger said: “Venus’ success as an elite plant-based athlete is incredibly inspiring. I am thrilled that our values align so powerfully in a way that can encourage people to give plant-based living a try. Our partnership with Venus aims to celebrate these values and raise awareness of the benefits that a plant-based lifestyle can provide.”
After expanding to the U.S. late last year with its online platform, PlantX will be opening brick-and-mortar retail stores in locations like San Diego, CA; Canada; and Israel, and has plans for future franchises across North America.
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Serena steps out for ice cream with Alexis and Olympia in Rome
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She may be in Rome for work.
But Serena Williams managed to carve out a bit of family time as well while in the Eternal City over Mother’s Day weekend.
The tennis legend was seen stepping out for ice cream with her husband Alexis Ohanian and their three-year-old daughter Olympia.
Serena and her little girl stuck to ice cream cones while Alexis, who co-founded Reddit, opted for a cup of what may have been gelato.
Alexis cut an ultra-casual figure in a Nike t-shirt and a pair of shorts while Selena added a designer touch to her look with a Gucci bag.
At the moment Serena is in Rome in order to play tennis in the Italian Open which began this Saturday and concludes next Sunday.
![Serena Williams holding a racket on a court: Serena Williams at the quarterfinal match against Venus Williams at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sept. 8, 2015, in New York.]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"31","h":"40","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1gamGE.img?h=400&w=310&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=1268&y=470"}})
She posted an Instagram snap of herself on Saturday practicing at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the French Riviera presumably just before going to Italy.
In October of last year Serena revealed on Insta Stories that little Olympia has been signed up for tennis lessons herself.
However she was to be instructed by neither her mother nor by her aunt Venus who is also a tennis star, according to Serena’s posts at the time.
In fact Serena shared that the teacher they have chosen at that point had ‘no idea’ that her new pupil is the daughter of a world-famous athlete.
She also said she would leave the lessons immediately after dropping Olympia off so as not to be an ‘overprotective’ or ‘distracting’ influence.
However by January she posted a sweet Instagram snap of herself looking on lovingly as Olympia practiced her tennis moves.
![Serena Williams hitting a ball with a racket: (]({"default":{"load":"default","w":"37","h":"40","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1gvZsk.img?h=400&w=366&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=334&y=80"}})
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Serena Williams Congratulates Close F1 Pal Lewis Hamilton on Making History in Barcelona
Serena Williams shares a close-knit bond with F1 driver, Lewis Hamilton. The tennis sensation and her friend, who has a similar stature of greatness in the field of motorsports, frequently pay tribute to each other on their respective social media platforms. Naturally, when Hamilton got to an unheralded landmark today, Serena wasn’t going to miss out on the opportunity to send her best wishes.
The Mercedes driver notched his 100th career pole position at the 2021 Spanish GP. He is the first driver to ever achieve this feat in the history of F1. Serena congratulated him through her Instagram Stories. Alongside a poster of the driver, she wrote –
“Congrats @LewisHamilton on making 100 Poles!!”
Serena Williams admires the ‘champion’s mindset’ of Lewis Hamilton
The 23-time Grand Slam champion has previously attended a few F1 races to support Lewis Hamilton. She believes that he’s the numero uno of motorsports – “He is for me the greatest driver that our generation has seen.”
The two of them share an interpersonal connection. Her achievements, on and off the court, have always inspired Hamilton. On the other hand, Serena’s been motivated by his mental and physical preparation.
“Lewis and I are super close. I’ve known him for years. I love that guy. He’s a really good friend of mine. The guy is such a champion, has such a champion’s mindset. I look at what he does training, physically, his job, it’s really no words for it, to be honest,” Williams had said last year.
It is not the first time she’s acknowledged Hamilton’s statistical milestones either. She previously backed him to break the Grand prix win record of Michael Schumacher. Also, the Briton wears his heart on his sleeve; something that resonates with Serena.
THE WILLIAMS SISTERS ARE THE GREATEST WINNERS OF ALL-TIME
The Williams sisters are two professional American tennis players: Venus Williams (b. 1980), a seven-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), and Serena Williams (b. 1981), twenty-three-time Grand Slam title winner (singles), both of whom were coached from an early age by their parents Richard Williams and Oracene Price. There is a noted professional rivalry between them— between the 2001 US Open and the 2017 Australian Open tournaments, they met in nine Grand Slam singles finals. They became the first two players, female or male, to play in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals from the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open; Serena famously won all four to complete the first of two “Serena Slams”. Between 2000 and 2016, a 17-year span, they collectively won 12 Wimbledon singles titles (Venus won five, and Serena won seven). By winning the 2001 Australian Open women’s doubles title, they became the fifth pair to complete the Career Doubles Grand Slam and the only pair to complete the Career Doubles Golden Slam. At the time, Venus and Serena were only 20 and 19 years old, respectively. Since then, they have gone on to add another two Olympic gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2012 London Olympics. Nearly a decade later, the duo would go on to win four consecutive Grand Slam doubles titles from 2009 Wimbledon through 2010 Roland Garros, which would catapult them to co-No. 1 doubles players on 7 June 2010. Two weeks later, on 21 June 2010, Serena would hold the No. 1 singles ranking, and Venus would be right behind her at No. 2 in singles. Their most recent Grand Slam doubles titles came at the 2012 Wimbledon and 2016 Wimbledon events. They remain very close, often watching each other’s matches in support, even after one of them has been knocked out of a tournament.
Both sisters have been ranked by the Women’s Tennis Association at the world No. 1 position in both singles and doubles. In 2002, after the French Open, Venus Williams and Serena Williams were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, marking the first time in history that sisters occupied the top 2 singles spots in the world rankings. During the 2010 French Open, they became the co-world No. 1 players in women’s doubles. On 21 June 2010, Serena and Venus again held the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings spots in singles, respectively, some eight years after first accomplishing this feat. At the time, Serena was three months shy of her 29th birthday and Venus had just celebrated her 30th birthday.
Both players have won four gold medals at the Summer Olympics, one each in singles and three in doubles—all won together—the most of any tennis players. Venus has also won a silver in mixed doubles at the 2016 Rio Olympics. As a duo, they have also completed the Career Golden Slam in doubles, twice. Between the two of them, they have completed the Boxed Set, winning all four grand slams in singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles. They won all of the mixed doubles titles in 1998 to go along with their titles in singles and women’s doubles
Doubles: 23 (22 titles, 1 runner-up)
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| Outcome | No. | Date | Championships | Surface | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | February 23, 1998 | Oklahoma City, United States (1) | Hard |   |
7–5, 6–2 |
| Winner | 2. | October 12, 1998 | Zürich, Switzerland (1) | Carpet |   |
5–7, 6–1, 6–3 |
| Winner | 3. | February 15, 1999 | Hannover, Germany (1) | Carpet |  |
5–7, 6–2, 6–2 |
| Winner | 4. | May 24, 1999 | French Open, Paris, France (1) | Clay |   |
6–3, 6–7(2–7), 8–6 |
| Runner-up | 1. | August 8, 1999 | San Diego, U.S. (1) | Hard |  |
4–6, 1–6 |
| Winner | 5. | August 30, 1999 | US Open, New York City, U.S. (1) | Hard | |
4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Winner | 6. | June 26, 2000 | Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom (1) | Grass |  |
6–3, 6–2 |
| Winner | 7. | September 18, 2000 | Summer Olympics, Sydney, Australia (1) | Hard |  |
6–1, 6–1 |
| Winner | 8. | January 15, 2001 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (1) | Hard | |
6–2, 4–6, 6–4 |
| Winner | 9. | June 24, 2002 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (2) | Grass |   |
6–2, 7–5 |
| Winner | 10. | January 13, 2003 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (2) | Hard | |
4–6, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 11. | July 5, 2008 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (3) | Grass | |
6–2, 6–2 |
| Winner | 12. | August 17, 2008 | Summer Olympics, Beijing, China (2) | Hard | |
6–2, 6–0 |
| Winner | 13. | January 30, 2009 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (3) | Hard |  |
6–3, 6–3 |
| Winner | 14. | July 4, 2009 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (4) | Grass | |
7–6(7–4), 6–4 |
| Winner | 15. | August 2, 2009 | Stanford, U.S. (1) | Hard |  |
6–4, 6–1 |
| Winner | 16. | September 14, 2009 | US Open, New York City, U.S. (2) | Hard |  |
6–2, 6–2 |
| Winner | 17. | January 29, 2010 | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia (4) | Hard | |
6–4, 6–3 |
| Winner | 18. | May 15, 2010 | Madrid, Spain (1) | Clay |  |
6–2, 7–5 |
| Winner | 19. | June 3, 2010 | French Open, Paris, France (2) | Clay |   |
6–2, 6–3 |
| Winner | 20. | July 7, 2012 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (5) | Grass | |
7–5, 6–4 |
| Winner | 21. | August 5, 2012 | Summer Olympics, London, U.K. (3) | Grass | |
6–4, 6–4 |
| Winner | 22. | July 9, 2016 | Wimbledon, London, U.K. (6) | Grass |   |
6–3, 6–4 |
Team competition finals: 1 (1 titles)
| Outcome | No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Partners | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 1. | September 18–19, 1999 | Fed Cup, Stanford, US | Hard | |
|
4–1 |
Performance timelines
Women’s doubles
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | P# | A | P | Z# | PO | G | F-S | SF-B | NMS | NH |
| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | Career W/L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam Tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 3R | SF | A | W | A | W | Absent | QF | W | W | Absent | QF | Absent | 36–4 | ||||||||
| French Open | Absent | W | Absent | 3R | W | Absent | 3R | A | 3R | 17–3 | |||||||||||||
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | A | W | 3R | W | 3R | Absent | 2R | W | W | QF | A | W | A | 2R | A | W | Absent | 45–5 | |||
| US Open | 1R | A | W | SF | 3R | Absent | W | Absent | 3R | SF | QF | Absent | 25–6 | ||||||||||
| Win-Loss | 0–1 | 2–1 | 16–1 | 10–0 | 10–1 | 6–0 | 8–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 9–1 | 20–1 | 14–1 | 0–0 | 8–1 | 7–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 8–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 125–14 |
| Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Summer Olympics | Not Held | G | Not Held | A | Not Held | G | Not Held | G | Not Held | 1R | Not Held | 15–1 | |||||||||||
| Year-End Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| WTA Finals | Did Not Qualify | A | Did Not Qualify | SF | A | Did Not Qualify | 0–1 | ||||||||||||||||
- Neither withdrawals nor walkovers are included in wins and losses.
Note: Serena Williams did not play at the 2004 Olympics because of injury. Venus partnered with American Chanda Rubin and lost in the first-round to eventual gold-medalists Sun Tiantian and Li Ting.
Boycott of the Indian Wells Masters
During the 2001 Indian Wells Masters tournament in Indian Wells, California, controversy erupted when Venus Williams withdrew four minutes prior to her semifinal match with her sister Serena.
The following day, Serena played Kim Clijsters in the final. Venus and her father, (coach to her and Serena) Richard Williams were booed as they made their way to their seats. Serena was booed intermittently during the final, in which she defeated Clijsters, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2, and even during the presentation ceremony.
Richard accused the crowds at Indian Wells of overt racism, saying, “The white people at Indian Wells, what they’ve been wanting to say all along to us finally came out: ‘Nigger, stay away from here, we don’t want you here'”. However, no other reports of verbal racism were reported to tournament officials, although Venus has stated without elaboration, “I heard what he heard”. Oracene Price (mother and coach of Venus and Serena) accused the crowd of “taking off their hoods”.
Effects and criticism
After the initial controversy, neither Williams sister played the tournament in Indian Wells for 14 years. The Women’s Tennis Association currently classifies the Indian Wells tournament as a Premier Mandatory event for all eligible players. Exceptions are made when players engage in tournament promotions, but Venus and Serena both declined to promote the tournament; WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott agreed he would not, promotionally, “put them in a position that is going to be awkward,” and tournament director Charlie Pasarell has stated he would accept the WTA tour’s ruling.
Allegations had been made before Venus’s withdrawal that Richard Williams decided who won the matches between his daughters. Those allegations continued and increased as a result of her withdrawal.
Richard has said that racial epithets were used against him and Venus as they sat in the stands during the final, but no official complaints were recorded by the tournament. Venus and Serena have been criticized for refusing to discuss the controversy, as some believe that their silence perpetuates racism.
Serena discusses what happened in her view at Indian Wells in detail in an entire chapter titled “The Fiery Darts of Indian Wells” in her 2009 autobiography, On the Line. She says that on the morning of the semifinal, Venus told the tour trainer that she had injured her knee and didn’t think she could play and tried for hours to get approval from the trainer to withdraw, but the tournament officials kept stalling.
What got me most of all was that it wasn’t just a scattered bunch of boos. It wasn’t coming from just one section. It was like the whole crowd got together and decided to boo all at once. The ugliness was just raining down on me, hard. I didn’t know what to do. Nothing like this had ever happened to me. What was most surprising about this uproar was the fact that tennis fans are typically a well-mannered bunch. They’re respectful. They sit still. And in Palm Springs, especially, they tended to be pretty well-heeled, too. But I looked up and all I could see was a sea of rich people—mostly older, mostly white—standing and booing lustily, like some kind of genteel lynch mob. I don’t mean to use such inflammatory language to describe the scene, but that’s really how it seemed from where I was down on the court. Like these people were gonna come looking for me after the match. … There was no mistaking that all of this was meant for me. I heard the word nigger a couple times, and I knew. I couldn’t believe it. That’s just not something you hear in polite society on that stadium court … Just before the start of play, my dad and Venus started walking down the aisle to the players’ box by the side of the court, and everybody turned and started to point and boo at them … It was mostly just a chorus of boos, but I could still hear shouts of ‘Nigger!’ here and there. I even heard one angry voice telling us to go back to Compton. It was unbelievable … We refused to return to Indian Wells. Even now, all these years later, we continue to boycott the event. It’s become a mandatory tournament on the tour, meaning that the WTA can fine a player if she doesn’t attend. But I don’t care if they fine me a million dollars, I will not play there again.
However, on February 3, 2015, Serena Williams wrote an exclusive column for TIME magazine stating her intentions to return to Indian Wells for a tournament on March 9, 2015. She did indeed return and won her opening match. Williams withdrew before her semi-final match with Simona Halep because of a knee injury.
The WTA announced on January 27, 2016, that Venus would return to Indian Wells for the first time in 15 years.
Best result in Grand Slam singles (combined)
| Tournament | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | QF | QF | 4R | SF | QF | WS | 3R | WS | 3R | WS | QF | WS | WS | 3R | 4R | QF | 4R | WS | F | WS | 1R | QF | 3R | SF | 7 / 24 |
| French Open | 2R | QF | 4R | QF | QF | WS | SF | QF | 3R | QF | QF | 3R | QF | QF | A | 2R | WS | 2R | WS | F | 4R | 4R | 3R | 2R | 3 / 23 | |
| Wimbledon | 1R | QF | QF | WV | WV | WS | WS | F | WV | 3R | WV | WV | WS | WS | 4R | WS | 4R | 3R | WS | WS | F | F | F | NH | 12 / 23 | |
| US Open | F | SF | WS | WV | WV | WS | A | QF | QF | 4R | SF | WS | SF | SF | F | WS | WS | WS | SF | SF | SF | F | F | SF | 8 / 23 |
Year-end WTA ranking
| Player | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venus | 205 | 216 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 10 | 46 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 102 | 24 | 49 | 18 | 7 | 17 | 5 | 40 | 53 | 78 |
| Serena | 99 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | 95 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | 16 | 10 | 11 |
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Williams Sisters Rivalry
Venus Williams and Serena Williams (born June 17, 1980, and September 26, 1981, respectively) are professional tennis players and sisters who have faced off 31 times in professional tournaments, most recently at the 2020 Top Seed Open. Serena leads their head-to-head 19–12.
Both Williams sisters have been ranked World No. 1: Venus for a total of 11 weeks, beginning in February 2002; Serena for a total of 316 weeks, beginning in July 2002.
The Williams sisters are the only two women during the open era to play each other in four consecutive Grand Slam finals: from the 2002 French Open to the 2003 Australian Open. Serena won all four of these finals.
Venus has won 49 singles titles over the course of her career, and Serena has won 73.
The two sisters remain personally very close. They have won 22 titles when playing doubles together, including 14 Grand Slam titles and 3 Olympic gold medals.
