On February 13 2013, the Women’s Tennis Association ranked Serena Williams World No. 1.
It was the sixth time they bestowed her with that title. And she held it for 186 consecutive weeks.
It’s indisputable she’s at the top of her game in the tennis world. Especially after her spectacular win last night at the Australian Open.
Her arrival onto the world tennis stage in 1995 – when she was just 15 – ushered in a new era on the women’s professional tour: one of power, quality and significance.
She’s a success in every sporting aspect.
“You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.” – Serena Williams
But with success comes money. With money comes power. And with power – unfortunately – frequently comes a lack of humility.
The general rule is that with success any air of modesty is cast aside, because once you’ve ‘made it’ – once you’ve achieved mastery – why be modest? Why pretend you’re no the greatest? That’s the general rule.
Serena Williams, however, is an exception to that rule. She breaks the ‘professional sportsperson’ mould, and she does so in all the right ways.
Mia Freedman, Jessie Stephens and Monique Bowley dicuss Serena Williams’ general kick-arsery on Mamamia Out Loud. (Post continues below).
At a press conference during the US Open in 2015, Serena fielded questions from the media. Five minutes into the interview, a reporter inquired as to Serena’s noticeably dejected facial expression – because, obviously, women must smile.
“What’s wrong?”, the male reporter asked.
“To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t want to be here…”