Breaking down Venus and Serena's game. Whose better?

[Andy Zarzuela]

Ok, Serena has 2 more slams, but honestly I've always felt that Venus has the better game. Venus has always says that she wants nothing less than perfect for her little sister, and honestly I think she tanked the 2002 FO final for Serena, because she wanted her to win. I know that Venus really wanted to win badly at the Australian Open and Wimbledon finals in 03', but I think Serena's confidence by then were a lot better. Granted, she should've won both of those matches (abdominal injury and let go of a break lead in the final set in Australia that year). But their matches have been too close over the years to say that Serena is superior to Venus. Venus has been the better player as of late for sure. She's beaten Serena several times since Serena's 03' days (if you include the WS McDonald's exhibitions where she won all 3 in 2004, 2005, and 2 of 3 of their matches in 06 (with a slice backhand mind you). There's no question that both sisters are AMAZING fighters, but Serena has been slightly tougher in their tight matches. However, Venus has been just as impressive fighter (some may argue that she's more clutch in tight situations than Serena against other opponents)....but when it comes to breaking them down shot-per-shot...this is how I feel

Venus Serena

Serve: = =
**I say equal, because Venus consistently hits her first serve harder than Serena, but Serena has always had a more reliable 2nd serve, which can be dodgy from Venus at times.

Footwork/Speed: = =
**Serena in peak fitness is really athletic (a bit more explosive than Venus); however, Venus in my opinion moves just as fast, if not even faster from side-to-side. She's got really long legs and moves like a gazelle out there....Nowdays, Venus is the better mover being that Serena is a little out of shape and has had knee surgery.

Forehand: - +
**Serena defintely has a slightly better forehand. Her forehand is flatter and has a touch more pace on it than Venus', but Venus hits a considerable amount of more topspin on her shots than Serena and is still able to get remarkable pace. Serena's technique's a little better too. I've read one of their books, they said Serena's forehand has always been her favorite shot and it got so powerful because she broke her lefthand from skateboarding and only practice FH's. When Venus is on, her forehand is impressive, but I give the slight edge to Serena.

Backhand: + 0
**Venus Williams backhand is perhaps one of the most penetrating and winner-producing backhands on the women's tour. She uses a lot of wrist and is able to get some remarkable angles. Venus' bread and butter shot has always been the down-the-line backhand winner. She can hit that shot 9.99 time out of 10. Serena has a solid backhand as well, but it's not as explosive as Venus'

Volleys
+ - ** I'll have to go with Venus on this one. She just seems to understand the net better than Serena. Serena is capable of hitting winners up there and she's not scared to get up there, but she looks lost of there sometimes and seems to get stressed and tense up there. Venus can hit her powerful shot in the corner and cooly knock off the volley winner. To me, Venus' net skills are considerably better than Serena's.



These are just a few things I'm looking at. I've always felt that Venus could achieve more than she has...(she could have double digit slams by now from all the finals) but I think a few loses to her little sister hurt her emotionally and her confidence. Richard has always said that Serena is "meaner" on the court than Venus and this is why she's been tough player to beat in previous years.But I think Venus can handle their matches better now. She's definitely turned it around in their recent exhibition and tour matches.

In fact, here's what Serena said about Venus' abscence from Australia:
SERENA WILLIAMS: Yeah, so. I'm really not concerned. No offense, but I was practicing with her in Florida, and she was just killing me. I'm kind of glad she didn't make it, for my sake (laughter). You can't sleep on her because she's playing unbelievable. I got to take my chance now while she's out because when she's coming back, she's really playing like she's playing with no fear and she's practicing really hard. Yeah, she's playing unbelievable.

 

[Steven87]

Put simply: Serena just has more talent. The shotmaking ability plays the difference maker.

 

[chris2k5]

I really wish Venus had the same forehand and second serve technique like Serena's.

Anyways, I totally agree with the backhand explaination. I see Venus's backhand as more solid and not as joggy as Serenas. It seems Serena uses more topspin off the BH than Venus. Stance is also different as Serena uses closed stance more than open while it is vice versa for Venus.

Nontheless, the backhand down the line is the William Sister's best shot and those backhands are probally one of the best in the game.

 

[Alexandros]

How can you rate their serves equal when Serena has a significantly better second serve? Venus may hit her first serves a little bit harder on average, but Serena has better placement and mixes it up more - she typically gets more aces than Venus does.

I would also consider Serena's forehand to be considerably more dependable and powerful than Venus'.

Court coverage is an interesting point as Serena is more explosive and appears to accelerate more quickly, whereas Venus has her long strides and limbs which give her a bit more leverage and reach. Effectively at their peaks they were quite equal in their court coverage, but the edge would have to be given to Venus because she can stop and change directions more easily than Serena.

Transition game is also something to be looked at - Serena tops Venus here too as she can play more aggressively in the forecourt and set up her approaches a bit better than Venus does. At the net though Venus' wingspan and superior volleying sense makes her clearly better than Serena.

 

[rommil]

I think Serena makes necessary adjustments when needed, put a bit of spin on the ball to get more clearance from the net. Aesthetic wise, I think Serena's strokes looks more brutish, Venus I think looks a bit more graceful but when results need to count, Serena delivers.

 

[Rabbit]

Richard, when assessing the two, said simply "Serena's meaner". The obvious difference in attitude between the two may account for who's better. At their level, it's more between the ears than on the court. Any pro can hit a ball... ?

 

[superstition]

I agree with Richard. Serena's aggression translates to a raised game and she can win tight matches that way, like the one against Petrova yesterday.

She uses a lot of wrist and is able to get some remarkable angles.

Venus is out with a wrist injury, right?

 

[superstition]

Serena's body type allows her to dictate from the baseline more than Venus'. Venus is lankier and lighter. Serena has more muscle and is denser. Venus could have been a great all court player if there were more grass surfaces and if she had been trained to volley more/better. Her body type is less suited to baseline bashing than Serena's.