Venus Williams hits back at body-shaming critics and celebrates her athletic physique - days after sister Serena was targeted by online bullies .

After cruel critics lashed out at her sister Serena's appearance, Venus Williams is taking her turn to speak out about body image, focusing on 'looking strong' first.

Following 33-year-old Serena's 36th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon on Saturday, she was hailed by sports fans the world over for her incredible athleticism - but sadly some also took the opportunity to take stabs at the tennis star's athletic appearance, with several people claiming that the champion player was 'built like a man'.

Now, in a new interview with Cosmopolitan.com, Serena's 35-year-old sister, and on-court rival, Venus, has addressed her own feelings about the way her body looks on and off the court.

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Powerhouse: Venus Williams, 35, has claimed that she doesn't think about how she looks as much as she focuses on what her body is capable of

Opening up: Venus addressed body confidence in the interview and made it clear that she simply wanted to have 'my opponents to look at me across the net and just not want to play me because I look so fit and strong'

Sisterhood: After her sister Serena (R) was targeted by online trolls over her physique, Venus (L) has spoken out in an interview with Cosmopolitan about how she just let's her 'body do whatever it wants to do'

When asked if she thinks about misconceptions that exist around strong women, such as how they have traits that some may associate with being masculine and therefore unattractive, Venus said: 'I always thought of it like, "What can my body do for me?" and not, "How do I look?" 

'I've always been happy with my body.'

The sporting star, who has 22 Grand Slam titles to her name, added that she was more focused on putting across her strength on the court - than worrying about how people at home think about how she looks in her outfit.

'Of course I want to look well and fit - and as an athlete, I want to look strong,' she said. 

'I want my opponents to look at me across the net and just not want to play me because I look so fit and amazing and strong. So that's always my goal.'