"If it's not a thunderstorm, I'm not feeling it" – Serena Williams on how growing up in Compton helped her adapt during matches
Serena Williams faced numerous challenges while growing up in Compton, California. She has spoken about this on numerous occasions in the past, as was shown in the famous film on the Williams family's life - King Richard.
Williams recently shed more light on the same, explaining how that experience eventually helped her adapt to certain difficulties during matches.
The American tennis great was recently part of a sit-down about all things tennis with the likes of Billie Jean King, Reilly Opelka, and Borna Coric, among other young tennis stars. The dinner was organized by Wilson Tennis.
King, Coric, and others opened up about racket stringing in tennis and how most players often take 'racket stringing tension' and other such technical aspects quite seriously.
While others argued how changes in their rackets and other equipment often trouble players on the court, Williams said she often remained unaffected by such challenges.
"I play the same everywhere. For me to notice a difference, it must be a real difference. I do the same string I've been doing since I can remember. I don't feel anything," Serena Williams said in a recent video shared by Wilson Tennis.
Williams then revealed that every time she started to feel something affecting her on the court, she remembered her time in Compton, and that helped her adapt quickly.
The 41-year-old further stated that she played on poor-quality courts with bad tennis balls as a kid, suggesting that she became pretty much immune to distractions such as equipment and the like. When she found herself strongly affected by something, she knew it was something big.
"If it's not a thunderstorm, I'm not feeling it," Williams expressed.
"Honestly, every time I try to feel something, I go back and say, 'Serena, you're from Compton.' Yeah (I can adapt to anything). Because of all the things that we had to go through, I think of the courts and the dead balls, and then I literally don't feel anything. But when I do feel something, I always look at my hitter or my coach and say like, 'Something's off.' Because if I'm feeling it, something is way off," Williams explained.
Watch the video below:
Serena Williams hails the impact of technology on tennis
During the recently-released chat, which took place shortly before this year's US Open, Serena Williams also shared her thoughts on the importance of technology in tennis.
Williams feels the influx of technology has helped tennis players' longevity. She also joked that thanks to technology, she was able to have a long career despite turning to "dust" in the latter stages.
"I think it's been good for the longevity of players," Williams said on the same. I mean, I'm almost dust and I'm still playing professionally," she added with a chuckle.
Williams bid goodbye to tennis after an illustrious 27-year-long professional career after her 2022 US Open campaign came to an end in the third round.
However, she has been teasing the tennis world with comeback hints of late.