Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert both made predictions about the Williams sisters in 2017 and neither came true

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Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert got this wrong about Serena and Venus Williams in 2017.

Serena and Venus Williams played eight Grand Slam finals against each other, with the last of those coming at the Australian Open in 2017.

After winning her 23rd Grand Slam singles title, Serena Williams announced that she was pregnant and would not return to the WTA Tour until 2018.

Ahead of her pending return to tennis after giving birth to her first child, former rivals Navratilova and Evert made predictions about both Serena and Venus.

The prediction Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert made about Serena and Venus Williams

At the year-end WTA Finals in 2017, Navratilova and Evert reflected on how the year of tennis had played out and looked ahead to the coming season.

When asked to make their predictions, both 18-time Grand Slam singles champions mentioned the Williams sisters.

Navratilova predicted Serena Williams to win a historic 24th Grand Slam title on her comeback, while Evert thought that a then 37-year-old Venus Williams, who had reached two Grand Slam finals that year, would retire.

Navratilova said, “I think Serena is going to come back and win a major.”

Evert followed up, “I predict Venus retiring at the end of next year [2018], I’m sorry. It’s unbelievable that she has had the year she has had, but she’s got a whole other year, the competition’s getting tougher. How much more does she have in her? So I think that’s going to be a retirement.”

Navratilova was the closest in her prediction, with Serena returning to the WTA Tour in some style after her maternity break.

In 2018, Serena played three Grand Slam tournaments and at two of them reached the championship match.

Both of them resulted in straight sets defeats, and Serena was involved in controversy at the US Open against Naomi Osaka.

Serena would impressively reach four Grand Slam finals after giving birth to her first child, but she was unable to win another Grand Slam title.

After years of trying to win a 24th Grand Slam singles title, Serena would retire at the 2022 US Open, while her older sister Venus is still playing.

When does Venus Williams have plans to retire from tennis?

Venus Williams reached her first Grand Slam final in eight years in 2017, but Evert thought she would stop playing tennis after one more year on the WTA Tour.

That has been far from the case for the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, with Venus still playing at 45 years old.

The tennis veteran plays a much more limited schedule these days, with Venus only competing in three tournaments in 2025.

Venus suggested she does not have plans to play outside the USA, but also appears to still be enjoying playing the sport after overcoming some health struggles.

“I think I’ll always play tennis,” Venus said in her press conference at the US Open this year. “It’s in my DNA. So it doesn’t matter if it’s now or 30 years from now, God willing, I’ll be here, we’ll all be here, we’ll all be hitting balls.

“Maybe I’ll come back to watch. Maybe I’ll be saying I did it better, and it won’t be true. But, in any case, tennis will always be one of the most important parts of my life.”