Serena Williams’ Life Lessons
Hailed as one of the greatest female tennis players of all time, Serena Williams, 39, has won Wimbledon seven times – and is back this year in pursuit of another title in the tournament. We look at what she’s learned during her prolific career...
‘BE PROUD OF WHO YOU ARE’
The champ has revealed it was tough when she entered the “all white” sport, saying, “It definitely wasn’t easy, looking back. I was also very young, and I just adapted. I wasn’t there to be besties with anybody, I was just there to play tennis.” Serena adds she’s proud of the colour of her skin, “I just feel like I wouldn’t be who I am, I wouldn’t be as strong as I am, I wouldn’t be able to be as amazing as I have been so far in my career – and I wouldn’t be me – if I wasn’t black.”
‘SUPPORT YOUR FRIENDS’
Serena is a long-term friend of Meghan Markle and has spoken in support of her during the backlash she received for “Megxit”. Serena says, “Meghan Markle, my selfless friend, lives her life – and leads by example – with empathy and compassion. She teaches me every day what it means to be truly noble. I want Meghan’s daughter, my daughter and your daughter to live in a society that is driven by respect.”
‘LEARN FROM DEFEAT’
Earlier this month, Serena – who’s won 23 Grand Slam titles during her career – lost the French Open. She said, “There’s always something to learn from defeat. With a defeat, when you lose, you get up, you make it better, you try again. That’s what I do in life, when I get down, when I get sick, I don’t want to just stop. I keep going and I try to do more. Everyone always says never give up, but you really have to take that to heart and really do never definitely give up. Keep trying.”
‘SPEND MONEY WISELY’
Born in Michigan in 1981, Serena was the youngest of five girls. Her family moved to Compton, California, where Serena, aged four, and her sister Venus started playing tennis. A rough area, they often took cover from gunfire while training. Serena says, “I never ever, ever felt broke. I don’t know how my parents were able to make me feel that way, but they did, and it was special. So I never felt when I came into money that I needed to spend big. We were always taught that when you work hard, you reap the benefits as a result. And I think it’s important for young people to understand how to spend money... to make truly informed decisions versus spending from pure emotion.”
‘I want to live in a society that’s driven by respect’
‘ACCEPT MOTHERHOOD MAKES YOU VULNERABLE’
Serena and her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, share daughter Alexis Olympia, three. On motherhood, Serena said, “As an athlete, you can’t be vulnerable. You have to be strong. As a mom, you’re completely vulnerable to everything. And that’s what makes it scary. I work a lot, and I can’t imagine working a full day like most working women who then go back to their babies. I’m fortunate enough that I have days off, and I get to make my schedule and then can spend the rest of the day with her. And that’s still hard.”
‘APPRECIATE YOUR BODY’
Speaking about body image, Serena says, “When I was growing up, what was celebrated was different. [My sister] Venus [now 41] looked more like what is really acceptable: she has incredibly long legs, she’s really, really thin. I didn’t see people on TV that looked like me, who were thick. There wasn’t positive body image. It was a different age. But how amazing that my body has been able to give me the career that I’ve had, and I’m really thankful for it. I only wish I had been thankful sooner. It just all comes full circle when I look at my daughter.”
‘HAVE UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS’
Tragedy struck Serena’s life when her half-sister, Yetunde Price, was murdered in 2003. Yetunde, who was 31 at the time, was an innocent victim of a drive-by shooting. Serena said, “I think we need to get comfortable with having uncomfortable conversations, like gun violence. Situations are never really gonna get better if you always avoid it, you have to take it headon... I went through depression. I never even talked about it to my mom. No one knew I was in therapy, but I was. I was so close to my sister.”