"Nobody says Liger but Serena Williams, greatest athlete to hit the planet" - Venus Williams reveals sister's choice of spirit animal and her own
Venus Williams revealed her sister Serena Williams' unique choice of spirit animal, suggesting that only her younger sister could have come up with a thought like that. While the older of the iconic Williams sister duo also revealed her choice, she discussed why Serena picked 'Liger' as her animal spirit, a combination of a lion and a tiger.
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion feels nobody would come up with Liger as the animal they are most connected to, but her sibling Serena Williams, whom she called the 'greatest athlete to hit the planet.' Venus opened up about her discussion with Serena and her reaction upon learning of the concept of a Liger.
"She told me she was a 'Liger.' Of course I laughed, I died," Venus Williams revealed in a video on her YouTube channel.
"When anyone says, 'What animal would you want to be?' or 'What's you spirit animal?' nobody says Liger but Serena Williams of course. The greatest athlete to hit the planet, she says Liger. Now you know what you want to be when you grow up, it's a Liger, straight from Serena Williams."
Explaining the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion's reasoning behind creating the concept of a Liger and calling herself that, Venus WIlliams said that the supposed animal would have qualities of both a lion and a tiger and thus be able to 'win' from any situation on the court and in life.
Given Serena's obsession and dedication towards overcoming any difficulty and ending up on the winning side, she feels Liger perfectly defines her.
"We're talking about being able to win in any circumstance and sometimes very difficult circumstances where you feel like you're pressed against the wall and don't have any choice, but you still want to win," Venus explained.
"She says she's a Liger because she comes out of any circumstance...under any circumstance she has got to win, so she brings the attitude of not only a lion but also a tiger."
Venus Williams also revealed her own choice of spirit animal, which is a 'Black Widow' - a species of spider. The 42-year-old feels that the black widow matches her personality the best as she too is obsessed with winning, probably even more so than her sister. However, like the black widow, she is more subtle and not as aggressive as a Liger.
"Black Widows are a lot more silent. A tiger or lion or Liger, you can see them coming, they're running at you, they will maul you, you know it's happening. I'm more of a Black Widow because, no matter what, I also have to win," she expressed.
"Not a lot of people beat the Black Widow too. I'm a little more subtle but I also must win, perhaps even more than Serena at any and all costs."
Serena and Venus Williams set to bring back another inspiring sporting story in the form of a movie after 'King Richard'
After the success of King Richard, a feature film starring Will Smith which was based on the lives of Serena and Venus Williams and the contributions of their father Richard, the legendary tennis duo are set to take on the role of executive producers again. Collaborating with Smith's company Westbrook Studios, which also co-produced King Richard, the Williams sisters will now be involved in a new movie focusing on the 1971 Women's World Cup.
The event was an association football tournament and was held two decades before the first-ever FIFA Women's World Cup. The documentary has tentatively been named Copa 71 and aims to tell the story of a major sporting event that has almost been forgotten in history.
Serena Williams called the 1971 Women's World Cup one of the "most inspirational and significant moments" in the history of women's sports.