Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
September 21, 2001, Washington Post

Sister, Sister? Oh, Brother!

When Venus Williams played her sister, Serena, in the finals of the U.S. Open it was a great night for women's tennis.

But when the match was over, I knew it had been a bad night for younger siblings everywhere. You see, big sister Venus beat little sister Serena easily -- 6-2, 6-4.

As most kids know, that's what usually happens when brothers and sisters face off in sports and games. The big one wins. In the past 106 years -- going back to 1895 when Juliette Atkinson played Kathleen Atkinson -- sisters have played each other 10 times in the U.S. Open tennis tournament. The older sister has won every time.

Oh sure, the older siblings may love their little brothers or sisters. Did you see how Venus acted after she won? She hardly celebrated. But man, she wasn't going to let her little sister beat her. No way.

Believe me, I know what I am talking about. I grew up in a big family: seven kids. And I was number six, the next to the youngest.

I had four older brothers. We played a lot of sports and had a house championship in just about everything. You name it: whiffle ball, table hockey, basketball foul shooting. We would keep playing until someone was the champ.

The biggest prize was the house championship in badminton. We made up our own rules and played wild, backyard games to 21 points, with kids flying every which way. The games were almost vicious. My brother Pete didn't feel it was a real match until he had drilled the birdie with an overhead smash right into his opponent's chest.

As the youngest brother, I lost all the time. My four older brothers used me as a warm-up for the more important matches between each other, the matches that decided the house championship.

Until, one day . . .

I was so sick of losing that I spent hours practicing my drop serve. This was a trick shot that floated just over the net so that it was almost impossible to return. I unleashed my new drop serve against my brother Dave. I slipped in enough of my trick serves to be leading our match, 20-19. I tried one last drop shot. The birdie barely drifted over the net and settled in the grass on the other side, just out of Dave's reach.

I had won, 21-19. It was the first time I had beaten an older brother at anything.

Dave didn't say a word. He stared at the birdie and the ground for a moment, turned, threw his badminton racket as far as he could and stormed into the house. I smiled a quiet, satisfied smile as I watched Dave's racket sail over a tree, over a fence and into a neighbor's backyard.

Anytime a younger brother or sister wins, it is a big win.

Who knows, maybe Serena and Venus Williams will play again next year. If they do, I'll be rooting for Serena. Younger brothers and sisters have to stick together.

FRED BOWEN is the author of sports novels for kids. He says his brothers are actually nice guys. Write to him at KidsPost, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, DC 20071. Or e-mail (with "The Score" in the subject field): kidspost@washpost.com.

© 2001 The Washington Post Company