BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS — July 15, 2017, five years ago today:
Venus Williams, at the age of 37 the oldest Wimbledon finalist in 24 years, falls 7-5, 6-0 to Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in the championship match. Williams, playing in her 20th Wimbledon, finally ran out of gas in her quest for a sixth career title at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Nevertheless, she cracked the top 10 again, rising to No. 9 in the women’s rankings. Muguruza, in winning her second Grand Slam championship, became the only player to defeat each of the Williams sisters in a major final. Muguruza beat Serena Williams to win the 2016 French Open crown.
It was Venus’ second appearance in a major final that year, as she had also played for the championship at the Australian Open in January, falling to Serena. Venus also made the semifinals of the U.S. Open that September. The resurgence ended there, though, and she struggled over the next four seasons. Venus has not played a WTA tournament in almost a year.
Venus was the first of the Williams sisters to burst upon the scene, turning pro in 1994 at the age of 14. By 1997, she had reached the finals of the U.S. Open. Her first major title came at Wimbledon in 2000, a year that saw her also capture the U.S. Open. Williams won both tournaments again in 2001 after capturing an Olympic gold medal in Sydney. In early 2002, she became the first Black woman of the Open Era to reach a No. 1 world ranking — and only the second in history alongside Althea Gibson. Venus, who isn’t officially retired, has won five Wimbledon crowns and two U.S. Open titles in her career.
Venus Williams, who’s 15 months older than her sister, has played Serena 31 times professionally. Venus has a 12-19 record in those showdowns. She is 5-10 against Serena in Grand Slam matches and is 2-7 in major finals. Venus is second behind Serena in career earnings on the tour with $42 million. She turned 42 years old about a month ago.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
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