Venus Williams trains hard for the Sunshine Doubles



by LORENZO CIOTTI

Venus Williams trains hard for the Sunshine Doubles
© Venus Williams Instagram account

The legendary US tennis player Venus Williams has finally came back to training for the upcoming Sunshine Doubles, the double event on the North American hard-courts of Indian Wells and Miami.

In a video published on her YouTube channel, Venus shared with her fans her schedule for the next few weeks, which includes her participation in tournaments in California and Florida.

Venus also revealed how her sister Serena Williams was a big source of motivation for her decision.

"My little sister, Serena told me I can't stop and, obviously, I would never stop. But it's the mandate. She said no, so I'll get back on the court. One of my big goals is to play in the United States, to play at Miami Open and Indian Wells. I haven't played there since 2019 due to injuries. That's a long time. I haven't played at home in many years. So that's obviously one of my big goals on the horizon," she explained.

Venus' 2023 affected by a lot of physical problems

Vensu experienced a 2023 full of injuries and physical problems. Her season was mainly affected by the injury she suffered at Wimbledon, which meant that she did not play the US hard-court season to the best of her ability.

After the bad defeat in the first round of the US Open, Venus said: "First of all I have to say, I absolutely want to give credit to my opponent. I had no chance against her today, even when I used my best shots she was able to stop them and respond with winners or spin shots. I honestly don't think I played badly, I just think it was one of those days where you're just unlucky.

It's true, I had minimal preparation for this match but I don't think it influenced the match. In some sections my leg movement wasn't effective and on the backhand I was lacking, but despite all these things I just have to give her credit.

Honestly she was incredible and maybe if she could play with this continuity she could deserve to be in the top 10 or even number one. She could even win a Grand Slam tournament at this level. For me, I haven't played many challenges this year, but I've given it my all and only played a handful of challenges.

Of course I expected a different 2023 but I gave everything I had. I was definitely hoping to do more this year and I was really happy to be here. I was unlucky with injuries that blocked my preparation but I did everything I could to have a good challenge. I was really happy to be here, after my retreat in Cleveland I had serious doubts about my participation and I thank the doctors for having had this possibility. Of course I wanted to have better preparation but it went well."

Venus Williams Indian Wells