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The Grand Slam champion who Venus Williams idolised growing up, ‘it was kind of annoying’

Originally posted on HITC | By Matthew Johns | Last updated Dec 28, 2025 2:00 PM ET

Venus Williams actually looked up to a men’s Grand Slam singles champion growing up.

Williams is a seven-time major singles champion, and she has also won 16 majors in doubles.

Despite now being 45 years old, Williams is still competing on the WTA Tour and has already made plans for the 2026 season.

Williams is now an idol for many tennis players coming through, but there was also a player who she looked up to as a junior.

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Venus Williams idolized Boris Becker when growing up

Williams has been particularly successful in her career on grass, winning five Wimbledon singles titles.

The American’s big serving game style is well-suited to the surface, but she actually admitted to having once replicated a male player’s serving action.

Growing up, Williams’ tennis idol was actually six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker, who also won Wimbledon three times.

It was also reported by WTATennis .com that Williams even copied Becker’s serving action as a junior player.

“I even had this habit of serving like him when I was in the juniors, moving my hips back and forth,” said Williams. “It was kind of annoying.”

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What Boris Becker said was ‘certainly’ true about Serena Williams

Venus Williams is a seven-time Grand Slam champion and one of the greatest players in the history of tennis, but her career has perhaps been overshadowed by her younger sister.

Serena Williams won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, which is more than any other WTA player in the Open Era.

Despite being German, Becker also admitted that Serena is the greatest women’s player of all time over his compatriot Steffi Graf.

“Me, being German, I still think of Steffi Graf as our queen, but Serena is certainly, certainly the greatest,” Becker told Laureus Sport in 2020.

“Margaret Court is the most successful. Having said that, back in the day they played three of the four majors on grass, so it was easier if you’re comfortable on grass to win more.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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