Venus Williams will soon make a dramatic return to Wimbledon, where she is playing doubles alongside her sister Serena Williams.
The pair have accepted a wildcard to take part in the Grand Slam, where they have previously enjoyed stunning success.
Venus Williams and Serena Williams claimed six doubles titles side by side, with the former also securing five singles titles at SW19.
And the WTA icon has now opened up on her mindset shortly before the tournament, having last week celebrated her 46th birthday.
How far will Serena Williams and Venus Williams go at Wimbledon?
They’ve won six Wimbledon doubles titles together…
Venus Williams says if she’s ever thought about retiring from tennis
She told Grazia: For me it’s all about going for my dreams on and off the court.
“But today I think less about hunger and more about being able to have the goal, have the dream, work hard, go through all the things and the failures that happen along the way, and actually get there.
“There was a stat about [Roger] Federer – he won something like 53% of the points he played.
“This man won over 20 majors and he won barely half the points.
“Failure is a huge part of success.
“It’s just about framing it – because otherwise it can take over.
“You see some players, very talented, whose past is their future and their prison.
“Everyone sees the win, but only you know the battle, the journey that happened behind the scenes.”
And when asked if she has ever thought about retiring, Williams simply said: “No.”
Williams is clearly enjoying her time on the court right now, having returned last summer following a 16-month break.
And her younger sister made a similar move earlier this month, with Serena playing at Queen’s for her first event since the 2022 US Open.
How is Venus Williams preparing for Wimbledon?
While Serena Williams has already arrived at Wimbledon, Venus is currently playing at the Bad Homburg Open in Germany.
She lost 2-6, 6-4, 6-7(6-8) in her opening match to qualifier Irina-Camelia Begu, but the American remains in the doubles draw.
And she has decided to partner with Filipina superstar Alexandra Eala at the grass-court WTA 500 tournament.
They face Alexandra Osborne and Catherine Harrison in the round of 16, and will meet second seeds Olivia Nicholls and Tereza Mihalikova should they come out on top.
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