Venus Williams' Miami Open journey: From early success to lasting legacy

MIAMI -- For 11 years, Venus Williams was David Witt’s muse -- or was it the other way around?

He was her coach, hitting partner, counselor and friend. At the 2017 Australian Open, against all odds, Williams reached the final. She lost there to sister Serena. Venus was 36 years old.

More than seven years later, approaching her 44^th birthday, she’s still out there. Venus accepted a wild card to play in the Miami Open, where she plays Diana Shnaider on Tuesday. The question people often ask is … why?

Witt isn’t one of them. A week ago in Indian Wells, he was goofing around on the soccer pitch, working off some steam after coaching Maria Sakkari into the quarterfinals. Afterward, in the twilight, he offered some insight into the mindset of his longtime partner.

“The toughest thing with athletes is that they want to go out on their own terms,” Witt said. “Some do it -- I’m not saying at the right time or the wrong time -- but they’ve got to feel good about it when they stop.

“Because once you stop, you don’t want to look back and say, ‘I wish I would have played another year or two. I wish I had given myself one more chance.’”

Going back to 2020, over more than four years, Williams has won seven matches -- and lost 29. In the first round of the BNP Paribas Open, Venus lost to qualifier Nao Hibino 2-6, 6-3, 6-0.

“I think when you’re out there and your brain is telling you one thing and your body’s telling you another thing, maybe injuries come into play and your body doesn’t recover as fast as it did when you were 25 or 30 or 35,” Witt said. “Even now, I think she’s capable of going out and playing unbelievable tennis.”

It used to happen all the time.

At her high-flying, court-covering best, there were few better. And while Williams raised the Venus Rosewater Dish five times at Wimbledon over nine years at the turn of the century, Miami might have best underlined her peak brilliance.

She won three titles in a span of four years, 1998-2001. Williams won all of the 18 matches she played and defeated some of the greatest players in history. And she was only 20 when she won the last one, in 2001. It might have been four straight, but tendinitis in both wrists forced her to miss the beginning of the 2000 season. 

Well-deserved victory lap

It’s too bad that so many young fans and players never saw Williams in her soaring, roaring prime. 

Ons Jabeur was only three years old when Williams won her first Miami title but was fortunate to play her once -- at Wimbledon in 2021.

“She’s amazing,” Jabeur said in Indian Wells. “I had breakfast with her a couple of times. She’s really an inspiration in what she did for women’s tennis, winning all of those Grand Slams, along with her sister.”

Miami is a home game for Williams. She lives in Palm Beach Gardens, about an hour’s drive from Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Open has gone through five name changes, but Williams has been the constant thread throughout.

This will be her 22^nd appearance, four more than second best Serena. Venus has 67 wins here, second only to Serena’s 76. Appropriately, this will be Venus’ 85^th match, drawing her even with Serena’s all-time total.

Venus, who turns 44 in mid-June, will take on DianaShnaider in the first round. 

In today’s game, retirement isn’t always forever. Just ask Caroline Wozniacki (33-year-old mother of two), Angelique Kerber (36-year-old mother), Elina Svitolina (29-year-old mother) and Naomi Osaka (26-year-old mother).

Don’t begrudge her this victory lap. As always, she will go down swinging.

“Throughout her career,” Witt said, “she plays pretty powerful all the time. She likes to win or lose on her terms.”

Jabeur is astounded at Williams’ longevity.

“To play at the age of almost 44 is unbelievable,” Jabeur said. “I don’t imagine myself doing that. My knee would be totally bad -- I would be staying at home. What she did for prize money at Wimbledon, and other tournaments, too. Love her and wish her all the best for the future.”

A look back at Williams’ three titles in Miami

1998

Back then it was called the Lipton International Players Championship, and it was played at a great layout in Key Biscayne.

Williams, only 17, had won her first WTA Tour title earlier that winter in Oklahoma City and was coming off a loss to World No.1 Martina Hingis -- also 17 -- in the semifinals at Indian Wells.

At the time, Williams was lightning quick; with her long legs, she could chase down any ball with just a few steps. Already polished, with an enormous serve and forehand, she ran through her first four matches in straight sets.

Hingis was waiting in the semifinals, but Venus prevailed this time, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2. 

Next, it was Anna Kournikova, who had reached the semifinals at Wimbledon a year earlier at the age of 15. In Miami, Williams beat four Top 10 players on the way to the final, including No.2 Lindsay Davenport. She dropped the first set in the final but came back to defeat Kournikova 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. That title sent her into the Top 10 for the first time.

1999

Williams’ ranking had risen to No.6 when the 18-year-old returned to Miami, where she played like a defending champion.

She won her first two matches in straight sets, over Tara Snyder and Fabiola Zuluaga, but Anke Huber took her to three. It was another three-setter in the quarterfinals over future Hall of Famer Jana Novotna, who was ranked No.4. No.7 Steffi Graf went more quietly in the semifinals, 6-2, 6-4.

The final was a watershed moment for the Williams sisters and the WTA Tour. It was the first time sthe isters had met in a final at that level. 

 “The way we’re both playing, it was inevitable we’d meet in a final,” Venus said. “And it’s inevitable we’ll meet again.”

It wasn’t pretty -- a combined 107 unforced errors suggested emotions were running high even though both sisters denied it. Venus took the first set, but Serena came back to level it. The final was 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, Venus. 

2001

The name had changed -- to the Ericsson Open – but the result was the same.

Williams worked her way through the field, advancing to the final with a 6-3, 7-6 (6) win over Hingis, who was back at No.1 after trading spots with Davenport for a third time. Jennifer Capriati, meanwhile, had won each of her five matches in straight sets, including a quarterfinal triumph over Serena.

Venus took their only previous meeting, at Miami in 1997, but Capriati was coming off her first major title, at the Australian Open. Capriati won the first set, Venus the second. The third -- on a warm, windy day among the palm trees -- was electric.

Capriati, serving for the match at 5-4, lost three championship points and, eventually, the game. She broke Williams again, but at 6-5, squandered five more match points, the last a double fault. Williams won six of the first seven points in the tiebreaker and, after three match points eluded her, was a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) winner. 

Running time: 2 hours, 24 minutes.

“We pushed each other to the limit,” Williams said after the match.

The same could be said of her relationship with Serena. Venus would go on to win seven Grand Slam singles titles, 49 overall, and more than $42 million in prize money, but her best work might have involved her younger sister.

Inspired by her example, Serena would win eight titles in Miami, including the one in 2002. Note: Venus extended her Miami win streak to 22 straight before losing to, yes, Serena in the semifinals.