right? That’s what the fans want, too.
And what I remember most about that
Australian Open was that Venus gave
me three really hard sets. That’s the
way it should be.”
The Serena Slam also permanently
distinguished her from Venus, career-wise. “Serena has had the better career
overall,” says former pro and ESPN
analyst Pam Shriver. “She’s always been
a slightly better athlete, with a considerably better serve. But Venus has had
an edge in Wimbledon. It was the Slam
year that made the difference. In golf or
tennis, that’s a remarkable feat. It took
Serena’s career to another level, to that
of an elite superstar. And people like
to watch her. She’s charismatic. She’s
beautiful. She handles herself very well
in public. And the story of her and her
sister is amazing. If just one of them
played tennis like they have, it would
be a great story—to have an African-American woman overcome so much to
have so much success. But to have two
of them, and both are sisters? That’s
really compelling stuff.”
The Queen of Controversy
The fireworks works both for and
against Williams. As she has throughout her career, she took heat again at
Wimbledon in 2007. She suffered an
acute muscle spasm as well as a thumb
injury. Critics say she walked onto the
court against Justine Henin with a
heavily taped calf and thumb to hype
up the drama—another Curt Schilling
moment, anyone? Then, after losing,
she earned more wrath by saying she’d
have won if not for her injuries. Today,
she remains—as is her style—
unapologetic.
“I don’t read that criticism and
stuff in the newspapers,” Williams
says. “Somebody told me about what
was being said, though, and I think
that’s outrageous. They should go on
You Tube and take a look at what happened to my leg. I didn’t even know if I
was going to be able to play. I couldn’t
bend my thumb by the time I left England. I don’t know how anybody could
play through that. I always have to deal
with the whacked-out criticism. But
I was in excruciating pain.”
Critics are also quick to note the
frequent number of tournament
no-shows for Williams. Williams says
injuries are the driving factor, not her
passion. But she doesn’t apologize
for having interests outside of tennis.
There’s her acting career—she’s appeared on ER, Law and Order: Special
Victims Unit and reality TV. (“I want
to do an action movie,” she says.
“Something like Die Hard. I could see
myself in something like that. Then,
I’d like to branch out into dramas.”)
Then there’s her line of designer
clothing, Aneres, which is “Serena”
spelled backward.
“This is something that I’ve always
loved,” Williams says. “When I was
a little girl, I designed my own dolls’
clothes out of old shirts and socks,
and then I’d sell them. I still carry
around a sketchbook wherever I go.
We spend most of our lives in hotel
rooms. Eventually I want to expand
Aneres into home goods, like bed-sheets and blankets.”
She’s also looking to launch her
own foundation. The Williams family has always been active in various
causes, especially when it comes to
helping young people. But, as has been
her style, Williams now seeks to steer
something on her own.
“For now, we’re calling it the Serena
Williams Education Foundation, but
that could change,” she says. “
Education has always been important to me.
It’s about more than getting a degree
so you can get a good job. You need an
education to help you get the right focus in life, and that’s what we’re going
to encourage with this.”
But make no mistake about it:
Williams will always come back to
tennis. Her family took a big risk
in making the move to Florida all
those years ago—a calculated risk,
but a make-or-break move regardless.
Then, in 1998, ranked No. 96 in the
world, Serena Williams and her dad
signed an astonishingly dicey deal
with Puma, one that would pay her
$12 million—but only if she cracked
the top 10. The next year, she did. As
with other choices in her life, Williams
never thought twice.
“I was taught that if you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will,” she
says. “So I believe in myself more than
anyone will. That’s my way of living
well. If I’m taking a big risk, I’m gam-
