Serena, Venus Williams 'Grandparents' Of US Women's Tennis: USTA President

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) president Patrick Galbraith labeled Serena Williams and older sibling Venus Williams the “grandparents” of US Women’s tennis while praising the players coming up on the WTA Tour. He believes there are three generations currently on tour from the United States and has predicted a bright future.

15-year-old Coco Gauff is the latest women’s tennis sensation from the U.S. after she qualified and progressed to the fourth round at Wimbledon while also making it to the third round of the 2019 US Open. Among the young adults, according to Galbraith, they have Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys currently ranked No. 12 and No. 14 in the WTA rankings respectively.

Galbraith suggested that the Williams sisters are forced to stay young to remain competitive but Serena is still the highest ranked American women’s tennis player at No.9. Moreover, she has reached four Grand Slam finals in the last 15 months as she searches for her 24th major title.

"The women are phenomenal. The children are growing. Then you have the adults, you have Sloane [Stephens] and Madison Keys and that group,” Galbraith said, as quoted on Tennis World USA.

Serena Williams, left, and her sister Venus took time from US Open preparations to play badminton in New York GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Jamie McCarthy

“Then you have the grandparents — Serena and Venus Williams. You have three generations of players out there all being successful, and they’re all pushing each other. It’s forcing Venus and Serena to stay young.”

In comparison to the women, US men’s tennis has fallen drastically with just two American players in the top 30 at the moment with John Isner ranked No. 17 and Taylor Fritz ranked No. 29 in the world. Galbraith believes while tennis remains a priority sport for women, it is way down the line for the men, who prefer to choose pro-basketball, baseball or football before looking at becoming tennis players.

“On the men’s side there are so many more options. They can be a pro football player, basketball player, pro baseball player,” Galbraith said. “Tennis is down the line for men. For women, it’s a high priority. It’s tough. You play a sport and don’t see a lot of yourself out there. It’s hard. You play other sports. You can relate. It’s difficult, even the music you like.”