Venus Williams

"She is the consummate professional. She has proven extremely dangerous to any top-10 player and has a 4-3 winning record against Venus Williams which says a lot about her," Perry said.

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"It felt like Venus Williams lodged a tennis ball in the right of my spine," said Howick, who initially thought she had a pinched nerve. "And cancer was the furthest thing from every doctor, every person I went to. Cancer was the furthest thing from everybody's mind."

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"Serena and Venus are just a different story," Fernandez added. "If they are willing and able to participate, I think that's a great experience for everybody involved in it to learn from."

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"It's definitely a little bit of pressure without the Williams sisters," Oudin said. "I thought that I might not even be playing, and definitely not No. 1 singles, but it's a good feeling because I like representing our country and I've been on the team twice before. I'm really looking forward to playing and just fighting hard and having a good time again this weekend."

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Stephan Ross, the majority owner of the Dolphins, said "We are thrilled to have Venus and Serena join the Dolphins as limited partners. They are among the most admired athletes in the world and have become global ambassadors for the game of tennis. Their addition to our ownership group further reflects our commitment to connect with aggressively and embrace the great diversity that makes South Florida a multicultural gem."

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"Oh, my God, no," Williams said, smiling. "No, that's not part of my expertise."

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Williams herself commented, "Somewhere in the world a little girl is dreaming of holding a giant trophy in her hands and being viewed as an equal to boys who have similar dreams."

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"He's a great guy", Williams said.

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"I don't think I returned as well as I wanted to," said Venus, the defending champion, who played four late-night matches that each lasted three sets during the week. "Sometimes I made her service games a bit too easy."

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"It's wonderful, I'm so excited," Venus said. "It's the way I wanted to end my year."

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