Serena Williams is a former professional tennis player from America. Along with her older sister, Venus, Williams was coached by her parents growing up and eventually became one of the most influential and successful tennis players of all time. During her career, she was ranked number one in the Women's Tennis Association for 319 weeks, including a 168 consecutive week joint streak. Aside from her career as a tennis player, Williams has found success as a fashion designer. She's also said some very poignant and meaningful things about motivation and success in interviews, allowing people to get a glimpse of her more human and vulnerable sides. Here are some of the best quotes by Serena Williams to help you get motivated and focus on what's important.
To populate this list, we started by looking for lists of quotes by Serena Wiliams. Then, we picked the most meaningful, regarding success, family, or human nature. We tried to select quotes that were complete rather than small selections of larger quotes. We also did additional research to ensure that the quotes were, indeed, attributed to Williams, especially if the quote came from a less-than-reputable source like another published list of quotes. This allowed us to ensure that we selected the best quotes that were truly attributed to the source. However, many of Serena Williams' quotes are based on common knowledge and wisdom. So, there may be some quotes that look and sound similar to quotes from other famous people, researchers, philosophers, and athletes as this wisdom is often carried on as a torch that successful athletes and others follow.
"Everyone's dream can come true if you just stick to it and work hard."
"I'm thankful to my family, friends, and fans for all of their support."
"Luck has nothing to do with it, because I have spent many, many hours, countless hours, on the court working for my one moment in time, not knowing when it would come."
"I've had to learn to fight all my life – got to learn to keep smiling. If you smile things will work out."
"I'm really exciting. I smile a lot, I win a lot, and I'm really sexy."
"I don't know if I've had my share of drama, but I've definitely had my share of hard times."
"I'm a real extrovert, but when I'm round someone new, I'm super shy."
"I love who I am, and I encourage other people to love and embrace who they are. But it definitely wasn't easy – it took me a while."
"I am not a robot. I have a heart and I bleed."
"Since I don't look like every other girl, it takes a while to be okay with that. To be different. But different is good."
"If you can keep playing tennis when somebody is shooting a gun down the street, that's concentration."
"If anything, you know, I think losing makes me even more motivated."
"Tennis just a game, family is forever."
"You can be whatever size you are, and you can be beautiful both inside and out. We're always told what's beautiful and what's not, and that's not right."
"My dad is the nicest guy you'll ever meet, and the easiest going."
"I was just tired of losing… Life was passing me by."
"I'm not used to crying. It's a little difficult. All my life I've had to fight. It's just another fight I'm going to have to learn how to win, that's all. I'm just going to have to keep smiling."
"I'm definitely not a fearless individual."
"Someone like Billie Jean King is completely my idol."
"Having a pulmonary embolism is definitely easier than heart break."
"There's one thing I'm really good at, and that's hitting the ball over a net, in a box. I'm excellent."
"I decided I can't pay a person to rewind time, so I may as well get over it."
"I'm an athlete and I'm black, and a lot of black athletes go broke. I do not want to become a statistic, so maybe I overcompensate. But I'm paranoid. Oprah told me a long time ago, 'You sign every check. Never let anyone sign any checks.'"
"I've always considered myself the best and the top. I never considered that I was out of it."
"I think a smile can make your whole body. Models, they look fabulous, but they don't smile, and they look so mad."
"Once I serve well, my whole game goes up."
"No one likes getting their nails done more than I do."
"My dad is a marketing mastermind."
"The knee just isn't 100 percent. It's hard to be out there when you know that you can't play at your best and could potentially make it worse."
"Venus told me the other day that champions don't get nervous in tight situations. That really helped me a lot. I decided I shouldn't get nervous and just do the best I can."
"My mom taught me how to sew when I was 2 or 3, so I've been sewing for as long as I can remember."
"I want to be a giving woman and just a nice person in general."
"I hate losing."
"I wanted to get really fit. I wanted to lose some weight. So I've been doing Pilates and yoga, trying to lean out my body so I won't be bulky."
"I'm a perfectionist. I'm pretty much insatiable. I feel there's so many things I can improve on."
"To this day, I don't love my arms. People want more fit arms, but my arms are too fit. But I'm not complaining. They pay my bills."
"We're going in really fresh. We're going to have fresh legs and bodies, we're going to be able to stay the distance, and that's our goal."
"I love going shopping."
"My story isn't over… This is just a new part of my life. My baby is going to be in the stands – hopefully cheering for me and not crying too much!"
"I always say that when I'm playing well, no one can beat me. I'm not just saying that to sound full of myself or anything, but it's true."
"I'm totally human."
"I'm an unbelievable designer."
"I love going to movies."
"My school was really small, but I was called the Class Clown!"
"I'm so frugal, you wouldn't believe it."
"I love tennis more than designing because it's actually easier and I don't get nearly as nervous."
"When I'm down, I talk to myself a lot. I look crazy because I'm constantly having an argument with myself."
"I love designing dresses and tops."
"I feel like I'm really young and I'm only thinking about my career and continuing playing."
"I've never been over-dramatic in my whole career."
"All my life I'd woken up to tennis, tennis, tennis. Even if I don't go to practise, I'm thinking about it all day."
I feel as a brand I'm here to be around for a long time.
"I've developed a karaoke habit. I've become a crooner."
"I do want to look good still; I do want to be healthy."
"People see me on the court only as a superhero, grunting and winning. They think you're a robot, and I'm not."
"I've thought it would be cool to have a baby young. You know, be my road dog – like my dogs, they travel the world – but there's always something you have to give up for success. Everything comes at a cost. Just what are you willing to pay for it?"
"I'm Serena Williams on the court, but away I have so many different names. I call myself Butterfly."
"What's going to make me happy is going on the court and holding up trophies, singles and doubles."
"I'm really super feminine, and I'm really soft. I'm very sensitive, I realized."
"I love my dogs."
"When I was younger, I was always obsessed with nails."
"How many people yell at linespeople? I see it happening all the time. I don't know how many times I have seen that happen."
"I try not to have too many rituals because I believe that rituals don't help you win. I used to do rituals a lot and it was crazy."
"I want to knock on people's doors and preach. But I also meet a lot of people on planes and in restaurants, and you can preach with them or place some literature with them."
"I think it's bad when people start booing between serves."
"I am here to play women's tennis. I'm a lady. Predominantly, most of the time I always like to play ladies."
"Honestly, I don't read the press. I don't know what they're saying."
"I'm definitely not at my best. Honestly, I'm under 50 percent. But I've won stuff under 50 percent before."
"It's always good to get a smaller tournament under your belt so that by the time you get to the Slams, you have a lot of experience."
"Tennis is my job, but it's not my life."
"I've always enjoyed acting. When we were younger, my sisters and I would put on plays for our parents."
"I definitely have found a balance. I've had so many offers in the past to do different movies or different things and I always choose tournaments over it."
"If I step on a scale, I won't eat for five months."
"I'm super-curvy."
"Family's first, and that's what matters most. We realize that our love goes deeper than the tennis game."
"I've always been a fighter and I've always fought through things my whole life."
"Hopefully, we can build a rivalry and we'll be able to do this a lot. Make a legacy, then retire champions."
"As a Black tennis player, I looked different. I sounded different. I dressed differently. I served differently. But when I stepped onto the court, I could compete with anyone."
"I really think a champion is defined not by their wins, but by how they can recover when they fall."
"Catsuit anyone? For all the moms out there who had a tough recovery from pregnancy – here you go. If I can do it, so can you."
"The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you're very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble."
"There weren't a lot of role models for me to look up to and say, 'Wow, I want to look like this!'. I kind of had to be that role and be that person… Venus and I started out being successful, continued to be successful, and we were also unapologetically ourselves. We were not afraid to wear braids. We weren't afraid to be Black in tennis. And that was different."
"I'm interested in doing the best than I can and winning grand slams and being a champion… I'm not out there thinking, OK, I'm not going to go to gymnastics class today because I don't want to look fit. I literally was born with this most amazing body, and to be historic, and to be amazing, and to be badass. And if anyone doesn't like it, then they don't have to. Because at the end of the day, I like it. And I know a lot of other people who like it too."
"Sport has literally changed my life. I'm here because of sport. It has given me a lot of confidence, a lot of courage, and a lot of discipline. It's helped me to be the person that I've grown to be today."
"Being strong is never easy. Not in this world we are living in… Standing up for yourself is not going to be easy, but it's always eventually respected. Those are the people who've made a difference in this world, people that stand up for what's right. If you look at history, those are the people that you really remember."
"I don't have regrets. I don't live in the past. I live in the present and learn not to make the same mistakes in the future."
"I'll always think about what I could have done better. Could I have come up on the net? Been more consistent? It's not anger. It's analysing: What can I do next time?"
"Am I the greatest? I don't know. I'm the greatest that I can be."
"I've learned to love me. I've been like this my whole life and I embrace me. I love how I look. I am a full woman and I'm strong, and I'm powerful, and I'm beautiful at the same time."
"I've grown most not from victories, but setbacks. If winning is God's reward, then losing is how He teaches us."
"If I don't get it right, I don't stop until I do."
"I just never give up. I fight to the end. You can't go out and say, 'I want a bag of never-say-die spirit'. It's not for sale. It has to be innate."
"With a defeat, when you lose, you get up, you make it better, you try again. That's what I do in life, when I get down, when I get sick, I don't want to just stop. I keep going and I try to do more. Everyone always says never give up but you really have to take that to heart and really do never definitely give up. Keep trying."
"I was never suppose to be good, I was never the one that was suppose to be like a great player, but I was determined to not become a statistic."
"I'd have to say hard work and dedication are the cornerstones of success, and if you believe in yourself, even when others are doubting you, and society is pushing you down, it's important to have that self-belief in yourself."
"The art of failure for me, is not limited to athletes or entrepreneurs or even seasoned executives, it's open to everyone in life, and part of the journey for me is taking the fall and dusting yourself off."
"My mom always said, fear will hold you back. And I remember serving for a match, I think about being afraid, and I thought, "Oh my gosh, you prepared decades for this moment, so seize it now and don't be afraid"."
