Venus and Serena Williams faced off against each other this week in the the third round of the BNP Paribas Open. As always, the game was a match for the ages, and marked the earliest meeting between the sisters in the tournament since way, way back in 1998.
According to ESPN, Venus won a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
“Obviously I didn’t want to play Venus so early on, but it can happen,” Serena told the New York Times.
It has been four years since Venus last beat Serena, and this match marked Venus' first straight sets since 2008. Fans were extra excited for this match, because it marked the first between the sisters since Serena gave birth to her first child back in September.
Making the match extra-cute, the sisters road together to their match on the same golf cart.
There's something strange and wonderful about watching @serenawilliams and @Venuseswilliams riding to their @BNPPARIBASOPEN match on a golf cart together. pic.twitter.com/dxLhZZyjq3
— Benjamin Snyder (@WriterSnyder) March 13, 2018
According to ESPN, the crowd seemed conflicted as to who to root for and things were no different on Twitter.
SERENA VS VENUS comin up very soon! ???? Who’s excited?!?! ????????????
— Melanie Oudin (@melanie_oudin) March 13, 2018
Can't watch Venus vs. Serena. I want them both to win.
— Terry McMillan (@MsTerryMcMillan) March 13, 2018
Picking between Venus and Serena is an impossible task. I refuse to watch because I’ll be sad either way ???? #BNPPO18
— Jacob Luthi (@littleluth13) March 13, 2018
Another person wrote on Twitter that the rules should be reformed for moms:
this match should not be happening in a 3rd round. Serena (and all mothers) should be protected by the WTA and allowed to use their protected ranking for seeding, if applicable. Women should not be penalized for giving birth by starting from zero ????
— Darren Cahill (@darren_cahill) March 12, 2018
For her part, Serena told the Times that a loss is a loss and that falling to her sister doesn't make it less disappointing.
“It’s definitely not less disappointing,” Serena said. “I wish it were. But it’s not. But then again, I wish it wasn’t. Then I wouldn’t be who I am. So I just have a long way to go, and I’m looking forward to the journey.”
