The younger of two Williams sisters left no stone unturned as a youngster. Pushed by her dad, Richard, she became the best on the planet and spent close to 400 weeks as the number one ranked player on the WTA Tour.

Venus Williams was handed a wildcard for Indian Wells by the organisers. However, as romantic as that might have proved, the veteran star has decided to decline the invitation but thanked Tommy Haas nonetheless.

With Serena boasting such a persona out on the court when she was smashing all of her opponents into oblivion, she has become a role model and someone to look up to over the years, with one of the younger players she raved about going on to become a Grand Slam champion.

What Serena Williams said about Sloane Stephens in 2012

Stephens was busy coming through the ranks as a youngster during the 2012 edition of the US Open. She reached the third round in her second full year on the tour before losing out to Ana Ivanovic who was the 12th seed at the time.

Williams was on her way to glory that year at Flushing Meadows. It was a tournament that she would win on six occasions with the 2012 event the fourth time she would win her home Grand Slam.

After her first-round match – a comfortable win over compatriot Coco Vandeweghe, Williams was quizzed on the impact that Stephens might make on the game in the future and had some very kind words for her fellow American.

She said in her press conference: “It’s a lot, she’s really awesome. She’s a great person. I think she is an amazing player, she’s playing so smooth, she looks like she gives no effort when she plays, she just a beautiful, beautiful player.

“I embrace that, I hope I can teach her some things and hopefully she’s able to do it. You know, I think we can kind of feed off of each other. She can teach me some things, maybe how to be calm out on the court.”

Sloane Stephens wins US Open in 2017

It took her five years from Williams singing her praises but she eventually enjoyed her own moment in the sun by taking home the first prize at the 2017 event at Flushing Meadows.

Madison Keys was beaten 6-0, 6-3 in the final as Stephens came out on top of the all-American showpiece final to win a Grand Slam title for the first time in her career.

Stephens beat Venus Williams in a pulsating affair in the semi-finals. She won the first set 6-1 before losing the second 6-0, before taking out a 7-5 win in the third after a late break of serve.

The win basically reiterated what Serena had thought about her compatriot all along. Perhaps the only surprise is that Stephens hasn’t been able to follow that win up with more major titles and she now sits at a lowly 79th in the WTA Rankings.