WIMBLEDON, England—Venus Williams, who crushed fellow American Madison Brengle in the first round at Wimbledon, 6-0, 6-0, withdrew from the doubles event with younger sister Serena. They have yet to play together this year and only competed in three doubles tournaments last year, failing to win any titles.
In doubles, Venus is ranked No. 133 and Serena is No. 128. The sisters have won 13 Grand Slam doubles titles and three Olympic gold medals.
“We're looking forward to Rio 2016. We're trying to get a early start on preparing, start playing some doubles matches, get the hang of it,” Venus said. “We're not quite sure [how many tournaments in the next year], but we're going to try to play, that's for sure.”
Venus also said that she doesn’t coach or advise her younger sister. The 35-year-old has won seven Grand Slam singles titles, while Serena has won 20 and can still win a calendar-year Grand Slam this year.
“I don't think she necessarily needs any advice from me or probably anyone,” Venus said. “She should be giving out the advice. I think we just all try to keep her encouraged. I think we're all amazed at what she's done really.
It's a pretty good chance. [The calendar-year Grand Slam] hasn't been done that often. But then again, she's done a lot of things that haven't been done that often.”