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“When I play, I’m so in the zone,” Williams says.
“You have to purge your mind of everything.”
Photo by: Mark Seliger
This article originally appeared in the September 2016 issue of SELF.
This full issue is available August 9 on national newsstands.
“I am who I am.
I love who I am,“Serena Williamssays.
“Just that whole attitude of being strong and powerfulthat’s something I can get behind.”
She’s talking about her cameo inBeyonce’s explosive visual albumLemonade(“I was so honored!”
she says), which premiered on HBO the night before.
Williams has won an astounding 71 singles championships.
Williams will play for her fifth gold medal at theRio Olympicsin August.
In September she’ll turn 35.
“It’s always been, like, bring it onand more,” she says with a grin.
When she does it, she means it.
“I’m a little more calm,” Williams says.
“But at the same time, I’m even hungrier to win.”
Watch: Serena Williams Teaches Us How To Twerk:
Still, Williams is graceful even when she loses.
She admits that every loss nevertheless stings.
“I usually beat myself up,” Williams says. "
‘Gosh, why did I lose that?
I know I could have done better.’
"
She speaks excitedly about the championships yet to come.
“After I analyze it, I figure out: Am I going to be better next time?”
Mainly, I’m looking forward to it.”
She adds that she’s still carving out time to put her feet up.
Now, Williams is also beginning to share a side of herself with fans that’s increasingly unfiltered.
It’s out there.”
(Who came up with the name?
“I did,” she announces proudly.
“I’m obsessed with Superman.")
“The past few years have been eye-opening.
Now, I’m winning matches based on my approach,” Williams says.
“Where in the past, I would win just on my desire.
“Photo by: Mark Seliger
Williams isn’t afraid to get real on a deeper level, either.
“I’m happy to even be alive right now,” she says.
“I win a Grand Slam, and I’m more appreciative about it.
I’m not like, on to the next….OK, I still am!
But I at least take five minutes to be in the moment.”
Part of that appreciation may stem from the fact that Williams has faced steep challenges from the start.
At the time, gangs ran rampant and violence proliferated.
“I think that ended up helping me,” says Williams, squinting in the late afternoon sunshine.
“My mental game has always been from my dad.”
Her physicality, however, is all her own.
Sitting in the Florida sun, Williams wears a sleeveless maxidress that shows off hersculpted arms.
These are multimillion-dollar limbs, responsible for the shots that have made Williams a legend.
But her body has also been subject to scrutiny over the years.
“You’re an idiot.”
Williams’s take on the haters?
“Ilove my body, and I would never change anything about it,” she says.
“I’m not asking you to like my body.
I’m just asking you to let me be me.
“I have this platform that other people don’t have,” she says.
“I was nervous,” Williams laughs.
“But Beyonce was impressed.
I was like, ‘Well, you told me to dance like no one was looking!’
The role is a recurring one for Williams.
She called and texted every few days to tell me, ‘You have my strength.’
She was there through my hardest hours of grief, no matter what she had going on.”
Williams is also devoted to her family.
Of her sister, she says, “Venus is the best.
She adds, “I hate playing Venus.
She’s the toughest opponent I’ve ever faced.”
“I’m not asking you to like my body,” Williams says.
“I’m just asking you to let me be me.
Obviously, being black in tennis wasn’t easy, even in the ’90s.”
Over the years, Williams has become increasingly involved in race, social justice and education issues.
“All we can do now is help others,” says Williams.
“It was terrible.
Another philanthropic victory came at last year’s tournament in Indian Wells.
Williams famously sat out the event for 13 years in a row, returning in 2015.
Williams raised more than $100,000 for the organization.
What will a day in the life of Serena look like in, say, five years?
“In five years, I’m on a boat or an island, sketching the latest collection.
Maybe there’s a baby, maybe a couple, we’ll see.
I’m done travelingI’m throwing away my passport,” she says dreamily.
“Yeah, I’m done with it.”
But five years is a long way off.
Right now, her focus is on getting that next big win.
“This is my heart,” says Williams.
“This is my blood.
I live for this and have for the last 32 years.
When I step out on the court, you’re going to get all of me.”
“It’s going to be the summer of Serena,” she says.
“I know it.”
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Photo Credit: Mark Seliger
