Serena Williams says she was born with the innate to at all times need to win and be the perfect in all the pieces, whereas her sister Venus Williams did not have that.
Throughout their childhood, the Williams sisters have been coached by Rick Macci. Through the years, the 70-year-old spoke many instances about how amazed and impressed he was by what he was seeing from the 2 at a really younger age.
Each time he spoke about Serena, he would usually describe her as somebody who was the last word competitor even on the age of 10.
Later, she turned a Grand Slam champion at simply 17 after successful the 1999 US Open. That was only the start of an all-time nice profession which resulted in 23 Majors and plenty of different astonishing accomplishments. And the 43-year-old by no means hid her need to realize success and be the perfect.
Whereas she in the end fell simply wanting beating Margaret Court docket’s all-time file of 24 Slams, some nonetheless argue that there are legit arguments to contemplate the American tennis icon as the best gamers in tennis historical past.
“I think it’s definitely a little nurture but also something that’s innate. I was born to win. We used to have these talent show and if I didn’t win the talent show, I would go nuts. I would cry, throw a fit… It was innate for me to always have this drive to be the best and to win,” Serena mentioned throughout her look on the New York Occasions’ DealBook Summit.
“That part was innate and Venus always said that she didn’t have that part. She learned it… I think you can get it both ways. I think it’s good that if you don’t have something, you can still develop it later on by working on it.”
Serena Williams© X screenshot
Serena Williams: Venus would have extra Slams if not for me however I would even be at 30 if not for her
When her profession completed, the youthful of the 2 sisters completed with a 19-12 file of their head-to-head. Of these 31 conferences, eight got here in Grand Slam finals – the 43-year-old was triumphant on six events and twice misplaced.
Now, Venus sits at seven Main titles. Contemplating that the 44-year-old was one of the crucial dominant forces throughout the 2000s, many argue that she might have simply collected greater than 10 Slams. A type of was Macci, who mentioned the 44-year-old would have had 15 Majors if not for her sister.
The youthful Williams sister agreed with that time but additionally famous that she would most likely high the 30-Slams mark if she did not have her sister as a rival.
Within the 2017 Australian Open ultimate – which turned out to be the final time that the 2 tennis icons met on the Grand Slam stage – Serena received to enhance to 23 Majors.
“We had this rule that if we played against each other before the final, we had to win the title. I think Venus would have had a minimum of 15 Grand Slams if we didn’t play. I would have had 30. There was no separation at all. Looking back, I don’t know how we dealt with that. We were so close, we grew up so close. My family was like, ‘No fighting, you girls are always going to be sisters and that’s that,” Serena mentioned.
“But we actually lived together until I got married, which wasn’t that long ago. We just always lived together. I think that helped our relationship. We had to figure out a way to work it out. We had to communicate, you know, we had to have those difficult conversations. I think we just, without even realizing, leaned into that. As long as I was winning.”
Serena Williams© YouTube screenshot
Macci made a serious declare about Serena Williams
When she returned, the previous world No. 1 made 4 extra Grand Slam finals however stunningly went 0-4 in these matches.
In Macci’s eyes, the legendary American was “the best athlete ever to hold a racket” and deserved to succeed in 30 Majors.
“Serena could have had 30 Grand Slams if she would’ve played all the tournaments, wouldn’t have taken time off, wouldn’t have injuries but I think that’s irrelevant. People don’t realize how good Serena was. She checked every box and she added a few more,” Macci mentioned on the Match Level Canada podcast in late 2023.
“She’s the best athlete to ever hold a racket and maybe one of the best female athletes of all time. Big, strong, fast, quick, flexible, could do the splits. She also knew where you were going to hit the ball before you did.”
