"I would send them out and stay home where there's good plumbing" - Venus Williams picks four tennis players for a camping trip
Former World No.1 Venus Williams has picked four tennis players she would like to take on a camping trip. She picked her younger sister Serena Williams, American lanky player Reilly Opelka, former Danish player Caroline Wozniacki and Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov.
Williams held a Q&A session on her brand EleVen by Venus' Instagram account, where she asked her fans to drop their tennis questions. However, one fan shot her an off-the-court question, asking which current ATP and WTA player she would like to spend a week in a tent. Venus joked that she would like to stay at home, where she will get good plumbing facilities.
"And you know it would be Serena. But if it's group camping, it would be Serena Williams, Reilly Opelka, Caroline Wozniacki, and Grigor Dimitrov. I would send them out and stay at home where there's good plumbing," she said.
Meanwhile, Venus Williams also shared a few tennis tips, shedding light on the technique and the mentality a young budding player should possess.
Asked for advice on a great overhead smash, she said:
"Keep your shoulders turned, most of the players miss overhead because they open up their shoulders. And don't worry about hitting a winner. Hit the best shot you can. That mentality reduces the error."
When one of the fans asked her for the trick to impress coaches to get selected into the high school varsity team, Williams highlighted a few attributes that a player should master.
"Big serves, huge forehands, lot of speed and a good attitude. Go get them," she stated.
"Serena Williams has taught me so much and there’s so much you can learn just from being around greatness" – Venus Williams
Venus Williams, who was picked as the October cover star for Glamour UK, shared her experience of how it was to grow alongside Serena Williams. The Williams sisters pushed each other to the limits on the court and played a key role in one another's success.
“Yeah, Serena and I are very co-dependent. We do the same thing that the other one does. It just goes on and on, it’s an endless cycle – even when we were around eight years old and going like, ‘I want to do it, too!’,” she said in an interview with Glamour Magazine.
“It’s more of a motivation and when I see her doing great, it’s my success. It’s also motivating for me and lets me know I also can do that, and that’s how you have to look at other people’s success,” she added.
Earlier, Serena Williams credited Venus Williams for her successful career following her last professional match, which was against Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round of the US Open.