Venus Williams is undoubtedly one of the greatest women’s singles players of all-time. The 45-year-old is the first African American woman to be ranked World No. 1 in the Open era, and she recently reflected on what it means to her to be proud of her heritage.
Williams broke out on to the scene in 1997, when she reached the finals of the US Open aged just 17. Over the next two decades, the tennis stars went on to win a total of 21 Grand Slam titles.
In a recent interview with Marie Claire UK, Venus Williams reflected on being the first African-American woman to dominate the tennis world. She explained that her parents raised be to be proud of who she was, and that she was oblivious to the magnitude of her success when she was younger, saying,
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“I was thinking, gosh, if I have kids, I really have to raise them the way my parents raised us - just to be proud of who we were, to know our history as African Americans. So, me being there was not necessarily even special. It was like, I am who I am. Looking back, I'm glad I had that level of oblivion.
She went on to add that she wouldn't have wanted to conform even if she did realise she was different, explaining,
"If I did know that I was different. I don't know if I would have cared. I've never wanted to walk on the path that everyone else walked. All I could think about at the time is that I was just much better than everybody else. And that's what I wanted more than anything: to be the best and to be better.”
Over the years, Williams’ success has extended far beyond the tennis courts, and she has often used her platform to advocate for equality for women.
Venus Williams ends her tennis hiatus at the Mubadala Citi DC Open
Earlier this month, Venus Williams put an end to her 16-month long tennis hiatus as she returned to the court at the Mubadala Citi DC Open. In Washington, the American competed in both the singles and doubles events.
She opened her singles campaign with a win over Payton Stearns, becoming the oldest woman to win a match on the WTA Tour since 2004. In her second round, she faced off against fifth seed Magdalena Frech, losing the match 2-6, 2-6.
On the double end of things, Venus Williams paired up with youngster Hailey Baptiste. The duo made it all the way to the quarterfinals, where they lost out to second seeds Taylor Townsend and Zhang Shuai.
Venus Williams and Father Richard recall one match that 7-time Grand Slam champion "should have won"
