Venus and Serena have always led the fight for gender equality

It’s been more than 35 years since Ronald Reagan stated, during his first inaugural address, “Those who say that we’re in a time when there are no heroes, they just don’t know where to look.” We discovered heroes in every state, starting with the determined 69-year-old who won a match at an ITF Pro Circuit event earlier this year in the Alabama town of Pelham, and culminating with the coach who has overcome multiple sclerosis to build a winning program at the University of Wyoming. Their compelling stories of courage, perseverance and achievement demonstrate that the message delivered by our 40th President rings as true today as it did then.

On her way to her 22nd Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon this year, Serena Williams was asked what she thought about the fact that people considered her to be one of the greatest female athletes of all time.

Without missing a beat, Serena responded, “I prefer the words ‘one of the greatest athletes of all time.’”

Her response was as on-point as it was unsurprising. Throughout their careers, Serena and Venus Williams—the legendary sisters who learned to play tennis on public courts in Compton, CA—have been fighting hard for gender equality.

Venus set her sights on equal pay in tennis when she was only 18 years old.

"I think in the Grand Slam events, it should be equal pay,” Venus told reporters back in 1998, “and I think the ladies should do something about it instead of just accepting it for years to come.”

It took a few years, but Venus eventually followed her own advice. The day before Wimbledon began in 2006, she penned a letter in the Times advocating for the cause.

“I believe that athletes—especially female athletes in the world’s leading sport for women—should serve as role models,” Venus wrote. “The message I like to convey to women and girls across the globe is that there is no glass ceiling. My fear is that Wimbledon is loudly and clearly sending the opposite message.”

In 2007, Wimbledon finally offered equal prize money. Venus, fittingly, was the champion.

Serena, meanwhile, has used her charity to empower women all around the world. When she opened her two schools in Kenya, she mandated that the student body be at least 40 percent girls, since girls are sometimes not sent to school at all in Africa.

Earlier this year, tennis’ battle-of-the-sexes debate was reignited after Indian Wells CEO Raymond Moore said that WTA players “ride on the coattails of the men,” and should “go down every night on [their] knees” to thank ATP stars for the sport’s popularity. The sisters, understandably, were not amused.

“We, as women, have come a long way,” Serena responded. “We shouldn’t have to drop to our knees at any point.”

She added that Moore’s comments were a disservice to Billie Jean King and “every female; not only a female athlete, but every woman on this planet that has ever tried to stand up for what they believed in and being proud to be a woman.”

Venus said that Moore’s comments showed her how much work there still is to do.

“I thought we were a little bit further along,” she said. “But in a lot of ways, I’m happy that it happened. It’s a wake-up call for me, to not sit still and to do what I can for women—not just in tennis, but around the world.”

This year at Wimbledon, as Serena was calling out reporters, Venus was calling out Wimbledon for its unequal match-scheduling practices. On the court and off, the sisters from Compton are showing no signs of slowing down.