Serena Williams reflects on her nearly 3-decade career and opens up about what she believes is her legacy as she prepares to hang up her racket.
As you know, Williams shared the bad news earlier this month that she was considering leaving tennis to grow her family. Although he isn’t too excited to say goodbye to his first love, the 23-time Grand Slam winner believes he has made enough of an impact during his time on the court.
Article continues below advertisement
Serena Williams Believes Her Legacy Is These Two Things
MEGA
In the August issue of Time magazine, Williams opened up about what she believes she has done not only for the world of tennis but the world of sports in general, especially for women of color. The iconic athlete shared that he thinks his legacy is “Confidence and self-belief.” She continued, “And teach other black kids, especially black girls, that they can do it too.”
Article continues below advertisement
Referring to rising tennis players like Naomi Osaka and Gauff Cori, Williams said, “No one has ever been able to tell such an inspiring and authentic story. You live through my mistakes. You live through my ups, you live through my heartbreaks. Surgery and comebacks. And it’s also the story of never letting anyone write your story. A lot of people can relate to that. Always be your authentic self. Own who you are. And love you. It’s a big story about self-love.”
The mother-of-one, who is married to tech billionaire and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, is often modest about what she has achieved in the industry. But as he approaches his final days, Williams owns his accomplishments.
Article continues below advertisement
“We changed the game of tennis,” he said. “We changed the way people played, period. People never attacked. People never took balls early. People never served like this. People never had to play so hard to beat two black girls from Compton.”
Even away from the court, the Compton native revolutionized the standards of beauty and what it meant to be feminine when most of the world branded her as “masculine.” He changed that, telling women that they should love themselves no matter how dark, muscular or thick they look.
Article continues below advertisement
In her words, “Giving them that confidence, that motivation, is something that has never really been done. You don’t let the world define beauty. And I’m thicker or whatever, I mean, curves are popular right now. Butt is popular. I try lost mine, and people are trying to get mine.”
Article continues below advertisement
Naomi Osaka, Lewis Hamilton & More Testify About His Legacy
MEGA
Williams’ belief in the meaning of her legacy is supported by many stars who agree that she changed the sport of tennis in a way that no one else has. Osaka, who defeated Williams in the 2018 US Open final in a controversial match, credits her interest in the sport to her rival.
Osaka admitted, “I remember as a child watching in awe, and I was so happy to see a strong black woman on my screen. Even though she is retiring, her legacy will definitely live on through Coco [Gauff]Sloane [Stephens]Madison [Keys], and other women of color at the top of their game. Serena is absolutely the best athlete ever. Forget female athletes, I mean athletes. No one else changed his sport like he did, and against all odds.”
Lewis Hamilton, the first black driver to win the F1 world drivers’ championship, echoed Osaka’s sentiments and revealed he was inspired to excel by Williams.
“They are the two sports figures who inspire me the most,” Hamilton told the publication. “Especially growing up in my sport, where I was the only person of color, seeing these two leading figures, also the only people of color, really gave me a lot of confidence that I could do something similar. It’s not impossible.”
Article continues below advertisement
Tennis Star Feels ‘Torn’ by Retirement
MEGA
Earlier this month, the star athlete announced her retirement in the September issue of Vogue magazine. As we covered it, he was candid about the struggle he faced to make the “painful” decision. Williams revealed that she had to sacrifice her love for the sport because of her daughter Olympia’s desire to be a big sister.
The 40-year-old admits she is not ready to leave tennis, stressing that her male counterparts in the sports industry will not be faced with such a choice.
“There is no happiness in this topic for me. I know it’s not a common thing to say, but I feel so sick. It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever imagined. I hate it. I hate that I have to be at this crossroads,” she said. .
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
