SERENA WILLIAMS —SOME THOUGHTS
Serena Williams became the greatest female tennis player in the open era. The Williams sisters are the greatest siblings in Tennis. We should be proud of those girls.
I have been watching the William girls since Chrissie Evert told us we should watch out for Venus Williams. She was nine at the time. She did not look too impressive. Her shadow, Serena Williams, was always with her. When we wanted to disregard the shadow, Richard Williams used to say, “Do not disregard Serena. She will be a better tennis player than Venus. Venus, herself, would not allow us to disregard Serena by saying, “Serena is a fierce competitor. You cannot disregard her.”
We remember when she talked about having what Venus had and winning at Wimbledon. We saw her exceed Venus. I remember the first time she beat Venus. She acted like she was in a trance. All she could say to the interviewer was “I just beat Venus.; I just beat Venus.” I had seen her beat every other player. I told people, if she ever beats Venus, she will be unstoppable. My prediction became true. She is exceptional as a player and for her longevity. She is an inspiration with her sister.
I have been blessed to see Arthur Ashe, a Black man, become the first winner of the United States Open in the Open Era and Serena Williams become the leader of majors in that open era. We should be proud of her and her sister. She is a role model for girls. We see her influence it in the size of the girls. Tennis players who are female no longer try to look like models. They do not starve themselves. They are healthy and look healthy and strong. She has a life away from the court. She has a balanced life. One wonders how many majors she would have if the Williams girls had been more focused just on winning. It does not matter. We are proud of her. Venus and Coco were two of the most improved players in tennis this year. This was a remarkable accomplishment. We are proud to be Americans when they are in a tournament. Serena has longetivity. She and her sister resisted changing coaches when people said they could not win with their parents as their coaches. They were loyal to their parents and won anyway. In tournaments, we know that she will be fighting for herself and America to win. Congratulations to Serena and Venus. They represent women well. We should be so proud of them. She stands for the empowerment of women. Congratulations to the winningest female in the Open era in tennis!
