Venus Williams joins sister Serena on Washington Kastles roster

For the past decade, the Williams sisters have been the face of women's tennis. The two have squared off a total of 23 times, eight of those matches Grand Slam finals, with Serena holding a 13-10 record against her older sister, Venus. The two siblings also have teamed up to win 12 Grand Slam doubles titles.

This season, World Team Tennis's Washington Kastles will have both sisters at their disposal as the team looks to defend its league title. Venus Williams was acquired in the offseason.

"It's actually very cool," she said when asked in a conference call Monday about playing on the same team as her sister. "I'm looking forward to both of us being on the team and I hope with us being on the team, [we] will lead our team to winning the championship."

But the siblings will not take the court on the same day for the Kastles; a league rule limits each team to one "marquee" player per match.

Venus, who is scheduled to appear three times for the Kastles, will make her season debut in the team's third match against the New York Buzz at Kastles Stadium July 7. Serena will begin her season with the Kastles two days later against the Buzz in New York. She is set to play in four matches.

Venus, who will enter her seventh season in World Team Tennis, played for the Philadelphia Freedoms last year and has made playing in the league an annual event despite a busy schedule that includes her Women's Tennis Association stops and her own clothing line, EleVen. This month she also will release a new book, "Come to Win" -- a collection of short memoirs from a variety of individuals including President Bill Clinton and Nike founder Phil Knight -- and follow it with a book tour after Wimbledon.

World Team Tennis has "just become a tradition," said Venus, who will be a team captain. "Not only everything that goes on on the court, but also things I get to do with the kids in the clinics makes it a lot of fun."

The Kastles begin their 17-day, 14-game regular season on July 5, when they visit the New York Sportimes.

"I've played a lot of consecutive summers now [in World Team Tennis] and it's something I see myself doing for as long as I can play pretty good tennis and I'm an asset to a team," Venus said. "So probably long after my professional career. I just love it."