"If there was no Serena, Venus Williams could be sitting there with 15-20 Grand Slams"

Serena and Venus Williams' former coach Rick Macci recently claimed that the latter would have won 15-20 Grand Slam titles if the former hadn't been in the picture.

The Williams sisters are undeniably one of the most dominant sibling duos in sport's history. They have amassed 30 Grand Slam singles titles, with Serena claiming 23 and Venus securing seven. Their partnership also yielded 14 Majors in doubles.

Serena's incredible success is evident in her numbers and records, making her the more accomplished sister. However, some, including Macci, believe that Venus might have won more if her younger sister hadn't been a barrier in her path.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Rick Macci was asked about his recent statement declaring Serena as the ultimate GOAT over Margaret Court and Steffi Graf, and how Venus fits into that equation.

He highlighted the Williams sisters' head-to-head record of 19-12 in favor of Serena, saying that no one has challenged the greatest female tennis player more than Venus has. Notably, Serena came out on top seven times in their nine Grand Slam final meetings.

"I love VW [Venus Williams]," Macci said. "Both her and Serena [Williams] were like my own daughters. Serena is definitely the GOAT, but we gotta remember, in 31 matches, Serena won 19 and Venus won 12. No one has beaten the greatest player of all time more than Venus Williams. 100% if there was no Serena, who knows Venus could be sitting there with 15-20 Grand Slams."

Macci, who coached the legendary sisters from 1991 to 1995, claimed that Venus Williams "changed the whole landscape of women's tennis," by introducing a style of play that was "quicker, stronger, faster, more agile and mobile."

"People kind of forget, because she is still playing, how good Venus was. Unbelievable," Macci said.

"In my opinion, she changed the whole landscape of women's tennis. She brought quicker, stronger, faster, more agile, mobile athlete in tennis. Now you see that it's pretty common. But 100%, she would have won so many more Grand Slams, but you can't look in the rearview mirror," he added.

"I feel Venus Williams is the second greatest player of all time" - Rick Macci

Venus Williams pictured with her last Wimbledon trophy in 2008

Rick Macci went as far as to claim that Venus Williams is the second-greatest female tennis player of all time, trailing only her sister Serena. He praised how the sisters fulfilled each other, pointing out their remarkable achievement of winning 14 doubles titles together.

"I think Venus [Williams], for sure, is one of the top-5 players ever on the female side to hold a racket," Macci said. "I would go as far, not because I coached her, I think she is the second greatest player of all time even though she doesn't have all those Grand Slam titles."

"I remember she was 14-0 in doubles, playing with Serena. So, with no Venus, there might not be a Serena. Without Serena, there's no Venus," he added.

The American coach further discussed his belief that if the seven-time Grand Slam champion had adhered to the game plan he outlined for her when she was just 14 years old, she might have been better than her younger sister.

"I think if she would have stuck with the game plan that I had at age 14, who knows she might even have been better than Serena because she came to the net in her debut 33 times back in 1994 when she got on the tour," Rick Macci said.

While Serena Williams hung up her racket at the 2022 US Open, Venus is still active on the WTA Tour and has no plans to retire anytime soon.