iConS THe indoMiTabLe WilliaMs THe indoMiTabLe WilliaMs sisTeRs Since their professional tennis debut in 1994 the accomplishments of the phenomenal Venus and Serena Williams have been astounding at the elizabeth b.Mupfumira reports, the Williams sisters have not only turned the game on its head – their indomitable spirit is Since their professional tennis debut in 1994 the accomplishments of the phenomenal Venus and Serena Williams have been astounding at the very least. as elizabeth b.Mupfumira reports, the Williams sisters have not only turned the game on its head – their indomitable spirit is awesomely inspiring. Watching Venus Williams stride confi dently onto centre court in front of a worldwide audience of 150 million for the Wimbledon 2008 women’s fi nal last month, one couldn’t help but look back nostalgically to 1998 when a lanky, awkward 17-year-old black girl with white beaded braids and braces made her debut on the court. Or when her younger sister followed suit two years later. Who could have imagined that 10 years on, they would become the most prolifi c female players of the last decade? Their father certainly could. Richard Williams ostentatiously announced in 1996 that one day his two daughters, Venus and Serena, would play each other in a Wimbledon fi nal. At the time, his prediction was dismissed by tennis commentators as wishful bombast from a delusional father – besides, were such an historic event to take place, it certainly would not be two black sisters playing each other. After all, tennis has always been a notoriously racially exclusioned sport. The only other black woman to have ever won a tennis championship was Althea Gibson, and that was 50 years ago. These odds did not deter Richard Williams who was determined to provide a future for his fi ve daughters outside of the drug and gang related world of Compton, California. He 72n New AfricAN September/August 2008 Main picture: All glam and bling at a fashion awards ceremony. (Inset) On form at Wimbledon 2008 whispering game secrets