The 40-year-old Serena Williams explains the effect of the opinions of people around her on her tennis career. She shares how she is able to convert such negativity into a fuel of motivation and thrive on those opinions.
The 23-times- Grand-Slam winner has been on the sidelines for about a year now. Serena sustained an injury during the Wimbledon Championship last year, leading to a walkover in the first round. Williams has been working on her hamstring and fitness level throughout, to make a comeback this year.
She recently announced her return to professional tennis, which will be at the Wimbledon Grand-Slam later this year.
Serena Williams enjoys proving people wrong
When the American athlete hears a negative opinion, she thinks- “I’m like, ‘Oh that’s what I needed to hear. You’re going to regret what you just said.”
Williams shares that growing up with Venus Williams, was a factor in developing such a strong personality.
During the interview, Serena explained her transformation from getting affected by others’ opinions by about ten percent to now which is basically at zero.
In addition, Williams said- “Growing up in the public eye, you really are affected by what people say. But there was a point where I said, ‘I don’t care what people think.’ God made us able to make our own decisions, and if people don’t want to like me or what I do, that’s okay.”
The 40-year-old added that anyone who passes judgement on her will be on a long list of people whom she needs to prove wrong.
Although Serena Williams is at a point where she is unaffected by the negativity, she still can hear what others say about her. But, she uses all this as fuel and motivation to play on the tennis court.
Serena concluded by saying- “Whether it’s venture people saying that I shouldn’t be doing it, or it’s tennis when people said I’ll never be good at it, I do think there’s a part of me that always will enjoy proving people wrong. And sometimes you just need something to feed the fire, right?”
Williams is currently gearing to make a huge comeback at the prestigious grass-court Grand-Slam tournament after a year of break.