"We changed it from being two great Black champions to being best ever, we took out color" - Serena Williams on how she and sister Venus altered tennis landscape
Serena Williams is proud of the way she and sister Venus "took out color" from tennis and established themselves as legends of the sport. In an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, Serena said she and Venus were aware that they were entering an "all-white sport" and that they relished the challenge of making it to the top.
Tennis was more or less dominated by white players before the arrival of the Williams sisters, with the exception of a few pioneers like Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe.
The Williams sisters have also paved the way for new generations of Black players like Naomi Osaka, Sloane Stephens and Coco Gauff.
In the interview, Serena said she and Venus were responsible for changing people's mindsets, not only with respect to tennis, but also in business and fashion.
"We changed it from being two great Black champions to being the best ever, period," Serena Williams said. "And that's what we did. We took out color and we became the best. It is what it is, we changed the sport, we changed the fashion, we changed how people think, we changed how people think in business.
"Before we played tennis, we wanted to do something that was frowned upon and now I have two amazing companies, one which we came to talk about, Serena Ventures, all because of what we did to change the sport.
Williams added that all the hardships the sisters faced growing up molded them into stronger individuals.
"We did not look at it as a color thing, we knew that we were entering an all-white sport but for us, we're entering tennis and we're here to win. Yes, we had to play harder and we had to be better but it made us better and at the end of the day, every time we faced a tennis and every time we overcame a challenge, we became Venus and Serena," the American said.
"We changed it from being two great Black champions to being the best ever, period. And that's what we did. We took out color and we became the best."
@serenawilliams on the remarkable achievements of both herself and her sister Venus. https://t.co/ydcJNu8ms5
"I'm not giving up" - Serena Williams on chase for 24th Grand Slam title
Serena Williams has won 23 Grand Slam titles so far, one short of Margaret Court's all-time record of 24. Her last Grand Slam title came at the 2017 Australian Open. She has since reached four Major finals, but has fallen short on each occasion.
Given that she is now 40 years old, fans and pundits have written off her chances of equaling Court's record. But Serena has insisted that she will never give up the chase.
"You know I'm committed to me, I love tennis and I love what I do, and right now, I have to commit to me," she said." What does that mean? I don't know, I still play tennis, obviously, I still train. But I am the kind of person who thinks, 'Shouldn't it be like 30 or 32?', so that's how I look at it.
"I haven't done it at all, that's what it is. I should have had it, I had many opportunities, but I am not giving up," the American added.
At the beginning of the week, I sat down with one of the greatest tennis players of all time @serenawilliams in Paris.
I asked Serena whether she thinks she can still match Margaret Court's record 24 Grand Slam singles titles. "I'm not giving up," she tells me. https://t.co/0zrMCGlRIN