"It was going to give something exciting to England for once"- When 16-year-old Serena Williams could not face Venus Williams at Wimbledon

Serena Williams made her first-ever appearance at Wimbledon in 1998 when she was only 16 years old. She reached the third round following straight-set wins over Laura Golarsa and Mirjana Lucic.

Here, the American faced Virginia Ruano Pascual and a victory for her would have set up a fourth-round clash against her sister Venus, who was seeded seventh at the time. The Spaniard won the opening set 7-5 and led 4-1 in the second before Serena Williams retired due to an injury to her left calf.

After the match, Williams expressed her disappointment on not being able to face her sister, claiming that the two were excited about facing each other again and that their fixture could have given England something exciting for a change.

"We were going to be pretty excited about facing each other again. It was going to give something exciting to England for once," the American said.

Williams also said that she could have continued with the match if she wanted to but decided against doing so, keeping the bigger picture in mind.

"I could have carried on if I wanted to, but I have to think about the future. I don't want to hurt myself over something silly and be out for two months just because I didn't stop," the then-teenager said.

Serena Williams also claimed that she expected to go all the way at the 1998 Wimbledon Championships and saw herself winning the tournament in the future.

"I had all the expectations for this Wimbledon. I expected to go all the way. I guess I just won't be able to this year. In the future, I definitely see myself as one of the champions," the American said.

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Serena Williams and Venus Williams faced each at Wimbledon on six occasions

Serena Williams and Venus Williams at Wimbledon

Serena Williams and Venus Williams have faced one another at Wimbledon on six occasions, the first of which came in the semifinals of the 2000 tournament. Venus Williams won the match 6-2, 7-6(3) to reach the final, where she would beat Lindsay Davenport.

The next four meetings between the two sisters at the grasscourt all came in finals, with Williams triumphing in 2002, 2003, and 2009 while Venus triumphed in 2008.

The last Wimbledon fixture between them came in the fourth round of the 2015 edition, with Serena winning 6-4, 6-3. She eventually went on to win the tournament by beating Garbine Muguruza 6-4, 6-4 in the final.