Serena Williams made her professional tennis debut at 14 in 1995, establishing the foundation for one of the most illustrious careers in the history of tennis. By her retirement in September 2022, she had captured 73 career titles, including a record-breaking 23 Grand Slams. But let’s be real, greatness doesn’t come without pressure. Does it? Serena faced it all in all her life, from nail-biting matches to facing life’s toughest challenges. Now, as an author and entrepreneur, she reveals the secrets to staying composed under pressure and turning hardships into triumph.
From confronting postpartum depression to undergoing emergency surgery in 2017, followed by two additional procedures and enduring life-threatening blood clots in her lungs in 2011, Serena Williams has encountered persistent health challenges. And on the tennis court? The pressure was just as intense as her personal life’s battle. Her professional tennis journey began at a 1995 qualifying event in Quebec City, where she fell short to fellow American Annie Miller. She didn’t return to competition until 1997, but when she did, she made a statement, claiming her first Grand Slam title at the 1999 US Open by defeating Martina Hingis 6-3, 7-6. From that moment onwards, Serena confronted pressure at every turn.
However, Serena faced the ultimate challenge in her career in 2003, when she underwent knee surgery. Although she came back from the knee injury, it haunted her for the next three years. Despite that, she won the Australian Open in 2005 and 2007, where her ranking dropped to 139. But later in 2008, she came stronger by winning the US Open, followed by next year’s AO and Wimbledon, which helped reclaim her rank back to the top. And, after giving birth to her first daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian in 2017, she returned to tennis in 2018, defeating the pressure of motherhood before saying goodbye to Flushing Meadows in the US Open in 2022. And after almost 2 years after retirement from core sports, the American came before the world to inspire with her story, once again.
The American GOAT recently sat down with an event hosted by Audemars Piguet and Vanity Fair at the Art Basel, where she turned reflective. “Some of the best advice I’ve ever heard is, pressure is a privilege. When you win a lot, you know you have a lot of pressure on your shoulders. And everyday people expect you to win. And it’s bigger news for you to lose. If you win it’s like now small. That pressure that you have to carry around every single day for eons is, it can be stressful if you look at it as stressful. But if you look at it as a privilege then it can really change your entire dynamic. It can change you as a person, it can change you as your career continues. And so for me, I just love that. I do think that pressure is a privilege and I would rather have it than not,” she said, somberly.
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While Serena Williams may have already said goodbye to the hyper-competitive world of tennis, she is still actively involved in businesses, her venture capital fund, and own beauty brand. And naturally, her words echo across the divide, as she discovers herself exploring more avenues. However, within tennis, her words actually have a much deeper meaning in tennis words – the legendary words are a touchstone for players.
Arthur Ashe Stadium greets with ‘Pressure is a privilege’
Serena Williams words hail from a rich legacy. Whenever players walk into arena at the Arthur Ashe stadium – the flagship court at Flushing Meadows – they are greeted with the words “Pressure is a Privilege” on the wall. Well, ever wondered who came up with the trademark lines? The 39-time Grand Slam winner Billie Jean King, aka, BJK, the primary author of her book, ‘Pressure is a Privilege: Lessons I’ve Learned from Life and the Battle of the Sexes’. And the former world number one has signified its origin.
King once captained the US All-star team with a squad that included legends like Lindsay Davenport, Monica Seles, Jennifer Capriati, and Lisa Raymond in the 2000 Fed Cup in Vegas, dubbed the ‘World Cup of tennis’. Davenport had to face then-world number one Spaniard Arantxa Sanchez Vicario who had recently won the US Open (1998) and always gave Davenport trouble. And, on July 17, 2024, the American icon, in an X post, finally revealed how the famous words came about, which in the modern day, equate with greatness wrought through perseverance.
“We’re in Las Vegas. Lindsay Davenport walks up to me and she’s not happy. She looks down at me, because she’s 6′ 3”, and I’m looking up at her. And she goes, ‘Just say something! And I went, ‘Pressure is a privilege, and champions adjust.’ It just came out of my mouth like that. I never even thought of it, but I loved it,” she explained. And, her words never went into vain as then 24-year-old Davenport went on to beat the Spaniard 6-2, 1-6, 6-3. Later, the US team also emerged champions in the final, winning 5-0 against the mighty Spanish team.
