How Serena Williams and sister Venus insisted Will Smith make a good movie about their dad

Imagine the French Open without clay courts. Or Wimbledon without strawberries and cream. About as unimaginable as a tennis court without Serena and Venus Williams – the two powerhouses who’ve dominated women’s tennis for more than 20 years.

But with both champions now in their forties, the day when they hang up their rackets isn’t too far off. And in a candid interview with Harper’s Bazaar magazine the sisters admit they find the idea of retirement rather liberating after devoting their lives to tennis from the age of four.

“From such a young age, all we’ve done is work,” Venus (41) says. “So, I think for Serena and I to explore that freedom is surreal. We’ve never been free.”