For nearly two decades, Venus Williams and little sister Serena have ruled over the women's tennis world.

For nearly two decades, Venus Williams and little sister Serena have ruled over the women's tennis world. The elder Williams sister, Venus, will always have the ironic distinction of once being the second-best women's tennis player in the world and at the same time, not the best tennis player in her own family. That's because of Serena's number one ranking through most of the 21st century.

As a seven-time Grand Slam champion, Venus has been to the pinnacle of the tennis mountain. In 2000 and 2001, she won Wimbledon and US Open titles on the way to claiming the number one ranking in the world in 2002. That lasted until sister Serena arrived on the scene and started her march to one of the most impressive careers in tennis history. It's like being listed as a top online casino site at Casinomir which is a site that reviews online casinos, only to have a sister site get a higher ranking.

With over $41 million in career earnings and a Singles winning percentage of 77.25% (798-235), Venus has made her own mark on the sport of tennis. She has won 49 WTA events, 14 Grand Slams doubles titles (most of them with Serena) and a Singles Olympic gold medal in 2000 at Sydney. She has graced the sport as a fierce competitor while living in the shadow of a sibling she has competed against since childhood.

At age 38, the best years are clearly behind Venus. She has struggled through injuries and skill erosion in recent years despite occasional flashes of the old brilliance. She actually made to the finals at the Australian Open in 2017. Unfortunately, the time between those flashes is widening. She is currently ranked 36 in the world and descending. It happens to all of the greats. It's going to happen to Serena soon.

This past week at Indian Wells, she made a nice little run at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open, only to be eliminated in the quarterfinals. While the end result was surely disappointing to Venus and her fans, there were times she put her marvellous focus on display. She was hitting the ball hard and placing it with the same accuracy opponents saw in the early 2000s.

After gritting out a three-set win against Andrea Petkovic in the first round, Venus summoned her champion spirit and rallied from down a set and two breaks for the win against number three Petra Kvitova in the second round. After a couple of easy straight-sets wins over Christina McHale and Mona Barthel in the next two rounds, the hometown fans were starting to feel something magical was in the making.

It was not to be as she eventually fell to number eight Angelique Kerber 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the quarter-finals due in large part to limited mobility caused by a sore right knee.

Moving forwards, it would seem the inevitable announcement of retirement is just around the corner. It's time for Venus to retire and enjoy the fruits of her magnificent tennis career. Her achievements will never be forgotten by a sport that has seen a lot of greats throughout the years.

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