As six-time Wimbledon doubles champions Serena and Venus Williams receive a wildcard for this year’s tournament, WH takes a look at how the pair have been training in recent years to maintain such a high level of fitness.
They combine strength and cardio
In 2024, Venus – who often posts workout content on her YouTube channel – told WH US that mixing strength and cardio within her workout routine is important. ‘I’m either on the court getting as many reps in as possible for cardio, in the gym doing strength work, or recovering and trying to get my body to the best place possible,’ she explained.
Strength training days, added Venus, include exercises such as lying hip raises, alternating leg raises using an exercise band and weighted dead bugs. She also mentioned doing reformer Pilates and using a BOSU ball for stability and balance exercises.
Last year, Venus also shared the exact stretching and mobility routine she uses to cool down and recover after training sessions. The sequence includes both dynamic and static stretches and covers the upper back, hips, hamstrings and shoulders – all crucial for tennis.
Serena has also frequently discussed the benefits of this mixed approach. A few years ago she told Vogue that while her approach had been slightly more cardio-heavy, she likes to mix HIIT, strength and stretching. ‘But I definitely listen to my body. My favorite type of cardio is running, but my body has to be fit to be able to run or else my knees will hurt,’ she added. ‘After playing tennis for so many years, you just wear and tear down your knees, so the elliptical has been growing on me, too. I’m basically trying to do cardio every single day – even if it’s, like walking a few miles, it still counts.’
This year, Serena also shared a video on TikTok of her progress with pole and aerial hoop – two challenging but effective full-body strength workouts.
Why this approach is so effective
The benefits of combining cardio and strength training were highlighted in a recent large-scale study that tracked the activity levels of more than 147,000 people. Researchers identified the lowest mortality risk among those who combined high levels of aerobic exercise with strength training. Accumulating 30-44 MET-hours of aerobic activity (roughly equivalent to 5-7 hours of brisk walking, 4-5 hours of moderate cycling or 3-4 hours of running) and 60-119 minutes of strength training per week was associated with a 45% lower mortality risk compared with doing little aerobic exercise and no strength training.
Another science-backed training principle for longevity? Variety – which the Williams sisters’ training certainly reflects. Another recent study that tracked the leisure-time physical activity habits of 111,373 participants, found that compared with the lowest physical activity variety group, participants in the highest variety group had a 19% lower risk of death from any cause, and a 13-41% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, cancer, respiratory disease and other causes.
Taking a longevity-first approach has clearly worked for the Williams sisters so far – and we can’t wait to see how they get on at Wimbledon very soon.
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Hannah Bradfield is a Senior Health and Fitness Writer for Women’s Health UK. An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Hannah graduated from Loughborough University with a BA in English and Sport Science and an MA in Media and Cultural Analysis. She has been covering sports, health and fitness for the last five years and has created content for outlets including BBC Sport, BBC Sounds, Runner’s World and Stylist. She especially enjoys interviewing those working within the community to improve access to sport, exercise and wellness. Hannah is a 2024 John Schofield Trust Fellow and was also named a 2022 Rising Star in Journalism by The Printing Charity. A keen runner, Hannah was firmly a sprinter growing up (also dabbling in long jump) but has since transitioned to longer-distance running. While 10K is her favoured race distance, she loves running or volunteering at parkrun every Saturday, followed, of course, by pastries. She’s always looking for fun new runs and races to do and brunch spots to try.