Serena Williams is proving she’s the ultimate protective sibling.
The tennis star, who retired from the sport in 2022, watched on as her sister Venus Williams competed in the women’s doubles draw with Leylah Fernandez at the 2025 U.S. Open Aug. 30—and her reaction to Venus’ new teammate was priceless.
In a video posted on TikTok Aug. 31, the 43-year-old recorded a clip of Venus, 45, and Leylah, 22, at their match before turning the camera on herself as she playfully rolled her eyes. Moments later, she pretended to force a smile while her eyes darted back and forth.
“When you see your sister @Venus Williams has a new doubles partner @leylahanniefernandez,” Serena captioned the post, “and you are really happy she’s winning with someone else.”
Despite the sarcasm, Serena—who has won 14 women’s doubles titles with Venus—has frequently proven to be her sister’s biggest supporter. In fact, she shared a heartfelt tribute to her big sis just days earlier after Venus’ loss to Karolína Muchová in the women’s singles.
“Strength, courage, determination, class, perseverance, inspiration… there’s not enough words to describe how proud I am of you @VenusWilliams,” she wrote in a post on Instagram Aug. 26. “P.S. I hope to be like you.”
Similarly, Venus has always had Serena’s back as well.
“She’s been my role model,” she told E! News in September 2022. “No one knows more what I’m going through than she does. She’s someone who understands me without even saying a word. I know that it’s unusual to have a sibling in sports, but it is the only experience I know so I can’t imagine not having one.”
And Venus noted just how rare that experience is.
“From what I understand, 99 percent of people do it alone,” she went on, “but I never had to.”
For a look at Serena’s evolution through the years, keep scrolling.
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