Wimbledon Profile: Venus Williams

Best Odds: 17/2 - VictorChandler
Seed: 23
Previous Best at SW19: Winner (2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008)
Grand Slam Titles: 7

Wimbledon Record:
Has even managed to win one more title at the All-England Club that her illustrious sister. That said, she would have won the Silver Salver even more times if her head-to-head record with Serena in finals was better; the younger sibling has edged those battles 3-1. Venus had a run of three Wimbledon wins in four years before Serena won their last clash in 2009. Last year, she struggled with a knee injury and couldn’t advance past the quarter-final stage where she was defeated by Tsvetana Pironkova.

Form:
The main reason for her lowly seeding is a total lack of match play coming into the grass season. A hip muscle injury forced her to retire from her third round match in the Australian Open and Venus, like her sister, didn’t re-surface until the Aegon International in Eastbourne. She was understandably rusty in her first match back but won in three sets. She followed this with a convincing 6-3 6-2 demolition of Ana Ivanovic that got the bookmakers’ attention. However, some had second thoughts after she lost to Daniela Hantuchova in the quarter-finals.

Prospects:
Has not been out as long as Serena, but five months is still a significant gap ahead of the biggest event of the year. The court time in Eastbourne, which included two three-set matches, should prove invaluable. Venus will need to play her way into some form but her hopes of an easy early run are inhibited by her number 23 seeding. One thing’s for sure; none of the other top players will be too happy about facing a Williams sister in week one. Having returned to number two in the world in 2010, the older sister certainly isn’t past it. If she regains match fitness faster than her sister, she can win a sixth title.