In 2015, Serena Williams notably returned to the Indian Wells, California, tournament she and older sister Venus had started boycotting after encountering racism from fans there 14 years earlier.
Venus didn't enter to play alongside her, but she will in 2016, the tennis star wrote in a touching Players' Tribune essay Wednesday that doubles as a beautiful ode to Serena:
Not feeling welcome somewhere is a hard memory to let go of — at any age. At 20? It’s almost impossible. And so that's what I did. I held onto it.But then I saw Serena.And it was in that moment, seeing Serena welcomed with open arms last year at Indian Wells, that I think I fully and truly realized what being the big sister means. It means that, for all of the things I did first, and all of the times when I paved the way for Serena, the thing I can be most proud of is this time.When Serena paved the way for me. [The Players' Tribune]
In naming Serena its 2015 Sportsperson of the Year, Sports Illustrated highlighted the top-ranked player's return to Indian Wells. Read Venus' entire essay here.
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