6 tennis superstars who came from humble beginnings ft. Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams
Tennis legends like Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams carved their way through to eventually hold a Grand Slam trophy high above their heads. Along with the prestige also comes the prize money at the Majors that currently runs in millions.
However, before the monetary reward comes the expense. The high cost of equipment, court-time coaching and traveling on tour can make the sport inaccessible to many. While financial constraints may be considerable, many athletes have overcome them with talent and dedication.
Let's take a look at some of the players who came from humble beginnings and shone through with their perseverance.
#1. Billie Jean King
Billie Jean King was born to her father Bill Moffitt, a firefighter, and mother Betty Moffitt, a homemaker. Betty played basketball and softball before purchasing her first tennis racquet with money she earned working odd jobs. She eventually fell in love with the sport and practiced on free public courts.
King and Karen Hantze Susman became the youngest pair to win the Wimbledon doubles title in 1961. However, with women players earning much less than their male counterparts, King competed while giving tennis lessons to earn extra money in the early 1960s.
Facing inequality, the tennis legend became an advocate for equal prize money in the sport. She also established the WTA and was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009 for her advocacy for women in sports and LGBTQ rights.
#2. Novak Djokovic
Arguably one of the greatest players to grace the tennis courts, Novak Djokovic grew up in late 1990s war-stricken Serbia.
In his book, Serve To Win, Djokovic described how difficult it was to pursue tennis at the time. He wrote:
"We [Djokovic and his trainer Jelena Gencic] would go to the site of the most recent attacks, figuring that if they bombed one place yesterday, they probably wouldn’t bomb it today. We played without nets, we played on broken concrete. My friend Ana Ivanovic even had to practice in an abandoned swimming pool."
The 24-time Grand Slam champion added that his childhood experiences had a profound impact on him.
"These experiences became lessons. To truly accept your own powerlessness is incredibly liberating. Whenever I am extra nervous, not happy with something, or frustrated, whenever I feel like I am spoiled and I want more than I deserve, I try to refocus myself and remember growing up, remember how it was back then."
After the war, Djokovic's parents who owned a fast food joint, struggled financially and took high-interest loans to put their son through tennis academies across Europe.
With millions in prize money today, the former World No. 1 gives back through the Novak Djokovic Foundation which develops early childhood education projects primarily in Serbia.
#3. Serena Williams and Venus Williams
The William sisters grew up in Compton, California where their parents Oracene Price and Richard Williams worked shifts to raise them and their three half-sisters. Richard Williams home-schooled and coached his daughters while trying to convince professional coaches to train them for free.
The family eventually moved to Florida where Venus and Serena attended the Rick Macci academy and started their pro journey.
At the 2015 Australian Open, after winning her 19th Major, Serena Williams reflected on her beginnings.
"Growing up, I wasn't the richest. I had a rich family in spirit and in support. Standing here with 19 championships is something I thought would never happen. I went on the court with just a ball and a racquet and a hope and that's all I had," she said.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion hung up her racquet in 2022 while 7-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams has not yet retired from the sport. The sisters run successful businesses and have substantial off-court earnings.
#4. Jannik Sinner
The reigning Australian Open and US Open champion Jannik Sinner hails from South Tyrol, Italy. His father worked as a chef and his mother as a waitress in the same ski lodge in their hometown.
He had an inclination for skiing but gave it up in favor of tennis at the age of 13. He went to train at the Piatti Tennis Center under Riccardo Piatti and Massimo Sartori where he lived with one of his coach's family and later rented an apartment with two other boys.
The 22-year-old chronicled his life as a teenager in a short video by the ATP on Instagram.
#5. Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek grew up in Warsaw, Poland with her parents and an older sister. While the family may have had a humble financial background, Swiatek found a big support in her father who is also an athlete.
Her father Tomasz Świątek is a former rower who competed at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and shaped much of the 5-time Grand Slam champion's early career. In an interview in March this year, Tomasz opened up about the family's financial situation.
"There was a moment when I was against the wall financially. When I explained to Iga that there might come a time when we would have to stop training, I was convinced to try again," he told Jacek Kurowski in the "Eye to Eye" series, via TVP Sport.
"There was a moment when I earned enough money to earn my bread and butter, but there was nothing extra, thanks to which I could afford additional financing," he added.
Swiatek also acknowledged her father's love and support after her bronze medal victory at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
#6. Frances Tiafoe
Frances Tiafoe was born to Constant Tiafoe and Alphina Kamara who were immigrants from Sierra Leone. The couple struggled to make ends meet as Constant worked as a day laborer and Alphina as a nurse.
In a recent interview, Frances spoke about getting picked on during his childhood.
“The circumstances in my life have definitely changed,” said Tiafoe as per andscape.com. “But those poor, poor jokes back then really hurt. It made you feel, in the back of your mind, that you weren’t cut from the same cloth.”
Tiafoe turned pro and made his maiden Grand Slam main draw at the 2015 French Open as a wild card opening gates for the American to sign high-value deals including with Jay-Z's Roc Nation.
Tennis may be branded as an elitist sport but these players show that its gates undoubtedly remain open for talent regardless of one's background.