Doubles partners. Tennis trailblazers. Best Friends. Sisters. Icons.

Venus and Serena Williams have done it all together, changing the face of tennis the minute they stepped on the scene in the early ’90s, inspiring Black girls, and boys too, to pick up a racket. Through it all, including through the many competitive matches they’ve had to play versus one another (31 between ’98 and 2020), they’ve remained close and inspired by each other.

“My role model was always my sister,” Serena told young reporter Jazlyn Guerra in 2023. “She was older than me, she was great, she was fun, and she was amazing. She was such a great older sister. I did everything, literally, I did everything Venus did. That was definitely my role model.”

“I think we’re each other’s hero,” Venus, told PEOPLE in 2021 about their bond. “I know that I’m the oldest sister, so it’s different…she’s the only one [of my siblings] younger than me. So she’s the only one that I have to like ‘take care of.’ So she’s my everything in that sense. And she’s the best younger sister you could ever have. She’s so protective. And I learned so much from her on and off the court and I couldn’t have been the person that I am or won any titles really, cause I watched her and learned.”

The sisters, who made braids and beads mainstream chic and even lived together for a long time, have shown that it’s possible to maintain the tightest of bonds while under the glaring spotlight. In fact, it’s made them closer.

“For me, I can say for sure that tennis really binds me and Venus together because no one in the world on this planet understands what I go through, and it’s because she’s been there and she’s won as many titles as I have,” Serena told Naomi Campbell in 2020. “Nobody else has that experience. So for me, it’s like a special bond. Yeah, we’re sisters, and we’re really close, and we’ve always been really close.”

A bond like no other! Check out photos of one of our favorite sisterly duos, from their days as kids playing tennis in Compton to dominating and shining together on the world’s biggest stages.