Things you may not know about venus williams

Sisters Venus and Serena Williams have a long and storied rivalry on the court. Practice partners since they were toddlers, the two have met more than two-dozen times on the professional circuit. On Tuesday night, Serena and Venus Williams will face each other in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open with Venus as Serena’s biggest obstacle to achieving the calendar Grand Slam.

Ahead of the match-up, here are a few facts you may not have known about the Williams women:

Venus and Serena have played 26 times on the professional circuit

Serena leads 15-11 in these match-ups

The sisters have played eight Grand Slam finals against one another

Serena won six of them

Venus is the only person to beat Serena twice in the U.S. Open

In 2001 and 2005

Venus has a faster serve

Venus holds the record for second fastest serve in the history of women’s tennis at 129 mph, while Serena places third with 128.6 mph

Each sister has won four gold medals in the Olympics

The two have teamed up for three doubles gold medals, and each has a singles win as well

They largely stayed off the Juniors’ Tennis Circuit

Their father and coach, Richard Williams, focused on training the girls in Florida rather than on having them compete when they were young, which gave them the advantage of being better-rested than their competitors

They shared a house in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., for 15-plus years

The women, now in their 30s, moved into separate complexes in 2014, about 5 miles apart

Unknown facts about serena williams

In 22 days, Serena Williams will begin her quest for her 22nd major championship to tie Steffi Graf for most in the Open era. To celebrate the epic career of the legendary Williams, who also will be aiming for tennis' first calendar Grand Slam at the U.S. Open since Graf did it in 1988, we give you 22 fun Serena Williams facts.

1. Her middle name is Jameka.

2. She has played in 60 Grand Slam tournaments in her career and has won 21 of them.

3. Her favorite city in the world is Rome.

4. Her favorite sport to watch other than tennis is gymnastics.

5. Williams and Chris Evert have each won six U.S. Open singles titles -- the most in the Open era.

6. Other than dogs, her favorite animals are tigers.

7. She cranks David Bowie's "Fame" to power through a tough workout.

8. Her go-to gadget in the kitchen is the toaster oven.

9. She has been ranked No. 1 for 253 weeks in her career. Only three players -- Graf (377), Martina Navratilova (332) and Evert (260) -- have enjoyed the top spot longer.*

10. She is No. 47 on this year's Forbes list of highest-paid athletes. She raked in a reported $24.6 million between June 2014 and June 2015.

11. She has competed at three Olympics and won four gold medals.

12. Her favorite water sport is tubing.

13. She has lost just nine matches in her 15 U.S. Open appearances. The only person to beat her twice is sister Venus Williams (2001 and 2005).

14. She won her first major title in 1999 at the U.S. Open, beating Martina Hingis in the final.
15. At 15 years between her first (1999) and most recent (2014) titles, Williams holds the record for most years between U.S. Open singles championships.

16. When she won her first U.S. Open, "The Sixth Sense" was finishing its fifth week at No. 1 in the box office.

17. The song she is somewhat embarrassed to admit that's on her phone is "MMMBop" by Hanson.

18. The strangest thing in her gym bag is Opi Nail Polish.

19. She has won 21 straight matches at the U.S. Open. Her last loss was to Samantha Stosur in the 2011 final.

20. Her favorite food after a workout is a Gatorade bar to replenish protein and carbs.