Venus Williams picks star she wants to 'win every match' - even if she beats Serena record

Venus Williams hopes wins all her matches even though the exciting 20-year-old is closing in on a record set by her sister Serena. Gauff exploded on the scene aged just 15 when she defeated Venus at Wimbledon in 2019.

Two years later, Williams partnered the young American in a doubles pairing at the 2021 . Speaking at an event to launch her book, the 44-year-old gushed about Gauff after being shown a picture of them together at Roland Garros.

Williams hopes the 2023 US Open champion wins all her matches, saying it has been exciting to see Gauff 'explode' on the WTA tour.

"I mean it's so exciting to see her just like... explode," the seven-time Grand Slam champion said. "She is fantastic, and of course, I hope she wins every match."

Speaking about young players achieving their dreams, Williams continued: "You have to dream. Doesn't mean that there won't be turns all the way of the dream or someday there's gonna be ups and downs but as long as you have your north star.

"And there's times when you have to figure out how to do it another way. But all that is a part of... you have to dream big."

Venus' comments come despite Gauff being on the brink of beating a record set by Serena. The latter Williams sister secured 22 victories over former Grand Slam champions by the time she turned 21, the most of any player on the WTA Tour.

Gauff's triumph over Naomi Osaka at the China Open was her 20th victory over an ex-Grand Slam winner. She does not turn 21 until next March, meaning she still has five months to beat Williams' record.

The world No. 3 has enjoyed an impressive upturn in form during recent months. She won the China Open and reached the semi-final of the Wuhan Open, losing in three sets against Aryna Sabalenka.

Meanwhile, Gauff drew laughter in her press conference after the Wuhan Open by announcing her place in the WTA Tour Finals before the governing body were able to do it themselves. "I saw that I qualified on the ranking race," she said after realising that her ranking would seal her a spot in the eight-player end-of-season event.

"Oops, they said they didn't announce it yet. If you look it up online, there's a checkmark by my name. They told me not to say anything. Sorry. But it's by my name. You can look it up."