Staying power
Jenni Carlson is a big fan of Venus Williams’ resilience.
The same year that Venus Williams turned pro, Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, Nelson Mandela first became president of South Africa and Netscape Navigator was the
hip, new way to browse the World Wide Web.
Things have changed since 1994.
But Venus is still playing tennis.
Good tennis at that. A year ago, she made the finals in
two Grand Slam tournaments and the semis in a third. She hasn’t had as many good results in the first two Grand Slam events of this year, but even still, at the age of 38, she is the ninth-ranked player in all the world.
“I think you see some players, they're clearly not playing well and they can't keep up and they just can't compete," Williams said in a recent Time Magazine article. "This is not a problem that I have." That's a credit to her.
On the day Williams comes to town for The Oklahoman's
All-City Prep Sports Awards, I'll be the first to admit I'm a bigger fan of hers now than when she was in her prime. Back in the 2000s, Williams won seven Grand Slam singles titles. She was so powerful.
She was so skilled. She made everything look easy.
Now, we know everything isn't.
Back in
2011, Venus was diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder called Sjögren's syndrome. It causes, among other things, fatigue and joint pain.
Imagine trying to chase down forehands and rally to lobs and compete against worldclass tennis players when you get easily worn down. Or when you have pain in your hands and elbows and knees and all sorts of other parts of your body even before you pick up a racket to practice.
It could've ended her career.
It would've ended most.
Williams has been though dark days, early on mostly. She has talked about mornings when she didn't have the energy to get out of bed. After an hour or two, she'd find herself still lying there, not even having gotten up to go to the bathroom or anything.
Just singing along to music in the car became an ordeal, often leaving her out of breath.
No one would've blamed Williams for calling it quits. She was already in her 30s. She had accomplished just about everything a player could've hoped to accomplish.
And since Williams has always had other interests — business and fashion prime among them — life without tennis would not have been empty.
Instead, Williams forged ahead with her tennis career and figured out ways to deal with Sjögren's. It can't be cured. It can only be treated.
And in her case, treating it went beyond medication.
She had to figure out how to train and play so that she could stay competitive. She has said she doesn't push herself as hard as she once did when she's lifting or conditioning or practicing, but she admits that winning nowadays oftentimes has more to do with her want-to than her skill or her plan.
She just has to gut it out.
She doesn't just have to be the better player. She has to be the tougher player, too.
"You can't make excuses, even though you have one of the biggest excuses available," she recently told ESPN. com. "I don't like being defeated by anything.
"There is never not an answer. For me, that's the solution." What a champ. Listen, I have no idea if Venus will ever win another Grand Slam. She may never win another tournament of any kind.
But the way she has played her sport since turning pro in 1994 is a testament to her. She isn't the same as she was then. She has changed like many other things from those days. But she has proven just how much hard work and will power can accomplish.
It is inspiring.
So is Venus.
Jenni Carlson: Jenni can be reached at 405-475-4125 or jcarlson@oklahoman. com. Like her at facebook. com/JenniCarlsonOK, follow her at twitter.com/ jennicarlson_ok or view her personality page at newsok. com/jennicarlson.