Hidden Secrets of the Greats: Serena Williams

This is the fifth column I’ve written on the “Hidden Secrets of the Greats.” We have found that Roger Federer owes much to his Swiss heritage with its sense of precision and attention to detail. We concluded that Rafael Nadal benefited from an unusually supportive family atmosphere. Novak Djokovic developed an extreme toughness by being raised in war-torn Serbia where it was not unusual to hide in cellars during bombing raids. Pete Sampras was a gifted child who enjoyed the solitude and isolation of endlessly hitting balls against his basement wall for hours at a time. Finally, Jimmy Connors was indebted to his mother who taught him to be as aggressive as possible.

We now turn attention to Serena Williams. She has already won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, which matches her with both Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. The WTA has ranked her world number one on six different occasions. She is the only female player to have won more than $60 million in purses. She has also won 13 Grand Slam doubles titles with her sister, Venus, and is credited with ushering in the era of power and athleticism in women’s tennis. In addition, she has six Gold Medals in the Olympics. Add this up, and you have a truly transcendent athlete who, like Tiger Woods and Mohammed Ali, is compelling in every way. Her beauty, sex appeal, power and ability to win have garnered her wealth, fame and global influence. She has diverse interests beyond tennis, which include business interests in fashion, entertainment, ownership of an NFL franchise and charity work. She is, in short, a superstar on the level of Tiger Woods. If she is not present at a tournament, the TV ratings and attendance drop sharply. She can move the needle as they say.

Okay … we see why she is on the list of tennis greats, but what is her unique secret? Naturally, I met with tennis guru Steve Kaplan of Bethpage Park Tennis Center to get some answers. He told me that, “Serena is unique in her passion, drive and her defiance of convention. Serena is outspoken, unconventional and is a trend setter.” I liked that Steve used the world “defiant” in his description of Serena. By now, everyone knows her back story. Raised in Compton, Calif. in a world of poverty and violence, she and her sister were coached, protected and guided by their father. He would continually tell the girls, “Look around you. Do you want to wind up staying in this place forever? Of course you don’t … so stay focused on your tennis, and it will be your ticket out.”

It seems to me that this unique combination of poverty, sibling rivalry and a father who was totally devoted and protective of her helped to create her winning career. And during the process, she not only escaped the violence and poverty of Compton, but managed to transform and transcend the world of tennis as well.

What you can learn from Serena Williams?
What I said about Novak Djokovic applies to this column as well. Anyone who gets to the top does so by using their past pain as a motivation. Remember what Mr. Williams said to his girls, “If you want to get out of this place it will take lots of hard work.” The burning motivation to escape from the past is the fuel that keeps the athlete focused over the years. It is far more powerful than any energy drink, drug or coffee you can buy. So if you have suffered with parental loss, sibling abuse, poverty or shame in your past you certainly want to realize all that pain can be rectified with some hard work and diligence and patience. And like all sports, tennis gives you the public forum to finally show the world that you are not in any way lacking or bad or weak or small. Holding up that trophy is often a symbol of having arrived at a special place of self-worth. This is why they all kiss the trophy for the camera. What they are doing unconsciously is kissing the reflection of their new and better self that they see in their silver trophy.