As Serena Williams chases history – her seventh US Open title and her 22nd major overall, which would place her side by side with Hall of Fame great Steffi Graf and put the finishing touches on a calendar-year Grand Slam – USOpen.org takes a look back at the 33-year-old star’s title-filled career, in her own words:
“You got to get on the Serena plan.”
“You can be beautiful and powerful at the same time.”
“I just keep reinventing myself.”
“The toughest thing to accomplish is just to stay in the moment.”
“I never set the bar low for myself.”
“I would love to get to 22.”
"I'm not involved in mystics or magic, nor have I ever went to Hogwarts.”
“I'm 33. I'm not going to play another 10 years, so I better not run out of gas now. I'm not going to quit.”
“You don't win Grand Slams by being unethical. I'm a really ethical player.”
“I'm not ever going to put myself in a position where I say 'I'm not good enough,' because I know I am.”
“My dad always said growing up, ‘Tennis is so mental. You have to have your mental, you have to be really mentally tough.’ I guess I really took that to heart.”
“It's pretty cool to be doing something that you've always dreamt of doing when you were a kid.”
“I have such high standards for myself and I expect the best from me and nothing less.”
“Not everyone can handle that pressure, but I'm OK with it.”
“I'm not involved in no drama. My drama days is over. But if you want to spill the tea, I'm ready to hear.”
“I don't necessarily want to hear about, ‘Oh, this history and that history,’ because I just want to be able to do the best that I can. I want to be able to win and I don't want any distractions.”
“A win is a win, and as long as you live to survive the next day, you can always improve.”
“Like a nice vintage wine. A good vintage red wine, I'd say, getting better with age, I hope.”
“I learned you probably shouldn't eat chili in Moscow.”
“I loved Monica Seles. I thought she was just super cool. I loved her grunt. I loved her fight.”
“There's 127 other people that don't want to see me win. Nothing personal, they just want to win.”
“I've never loved working out.”
“When you mention graceful, the first person that comes to mind is Roger Federer.”
“Believe me, if you won five Wimbledons, you would be smiling.”
“I get nervous every time I walk out on the court.”
“I have ways of avoiding doubt. That's my secret.”
“I always try to have a voice of reason and be positive and try to look at both sides of everything.”
“I've learned a lot, that I'm able to do anything. Anyone's able to do anything they really set their mind to.”
“My theory now is to relax and play the match as best as I can. When I step on the court and hear the announcer, I don't have to win anymore. I can just relax and have fun.”
“For me it's all icing on the court.”
“I have won the US Open at 17 and 32. That's not bad.”
“I've never felt invincible. I've never used that word to describe me, ever.”
“There's always another record, then there's always another person to catch up with or to pass.”
“Everyone in this room knows that Venus is probably one of the greatest people on the tour. She's really great. She's super professional. Complete opposite of me.”
“I'm not answering no questions that involve controversy.”
“Lately they've been saying they've been inspired by me and they wanted to do like me, help and be like me. It gives me chill bumps to know that they feel that way.”
“I think my father is probably the best coach ever because if we talk about numbers, he's got a lot and he's only had two players.”
“I've always made some legendary comebacks since 1998 when it first started. So that's kind of just been my MO for my whole career.”
“I love metaphors. I've never been on this train. If I'm standing on the middle of a track, I'm definitely going to get derailed. I have to make sure that I'm on the train and not in front of it.”
“Legendary? I don't know. I'm just Serena.”
“I'm a perfectionist. I always want to be the best.”
“I always ask my dad, ‘Why wasn't I a lefty?’ Even when I was younger I wanted to be lefty. I could have been really good.”
“I was put on this earth to be a tennis player.”
“I don't know anyone in life that hates losing more than I do.”
“I just love leopard print.”
“I feel like I don't have to win anymore. I've had a wonderful career. Tennis has given me so much, things I would have never expected in my life. I feel honored to even be a part of such a wonderful sport.”
“You just have to have a real love for the sport. That's the only reason I'm still here. I enjoy my job. It's fabulous. I get to travel the world, get to do what I really love to do. I think that's what everyone ultimately dreams of.”
“There's one thing I'm really good at, and that's hitting the ball over a net in a box. I'm excellent on that. And that's what I'm going to continue to do while I can.”
“I wouldn't want to play me at 21 or 31.”
“I just want to live the moment and the dream every chance I get.”
"I've been through death. I had surgery. I've been through a lot. It takes a strong person to be able to be at the bottom of the barrel and be able to come back.”
“There were times I thought the hill seemed nearly impossible to climb. During that whole time, I wasn’t even thinking about reaching No. 1 again, wasn’t thinking about tennis. I was just thinking about getting up out of bed.”
“If you can keep playing when somebody is shooting a gun down the street, that’s concentration. I didn’t grow up playing tennis at the country club.”
“I love me. I love everything about me. I love my legs, I love my arms, I love my lips, I love my eyes. It’s important for everyone to love themselves.”
“Roger [Federer] and I, we both have such a passion for the game. We've been playing for a really long time. We both just love the sport. You can tell when he plays that he loves the sport. I think that's something that we both have in common.”
"The guy who tells me what to do is obviously going to have a real problem, not because I'm strong, but because I'm really stubborn. I need a strong man, because I'm like a bull.”
“I’m definitely mortal. And yeah, I do struggle with self-doubt. Sometimes when I’m in a match, I do get tight and nervous. I think the difference is that great players can work through that. I always try to think of current players who can work through that, like Nadal and Federer. I’ll be like, ‘Okay, if they can do it, I can do it, too.’”
“I feel like all I want to do is play tennis, be the best and win. My whole life is dedicated to nothing but tennis.”
“In a perfect world, I would do a full season and be done in late September and then film a movie and start again in January."
“It has definitely been a lot of ups and downs − more downs than I care to know. I’ve had lots of injuries. My ranking fell out of the Top 100. But I had fun. I led my life. I met lots of new people. I don’t regret anything.”
“I love hitting aces. It's not easy, but it makes your life a lot easier.”
“I idolized Steffi Graf growing up, and Martina Navratilova was my role model, so when I think of those names I can’t even think of myself there. But people are starting to think about me that way, and that’s just uber-cool.”
“I’m a loner on the tour. When I was growing up, I idolized Monica Seles and Steffi Graf, and when you get on tour, you see that these people stick to themselves.”
“I love challenges. I do best when I am faced with one.”
“No one can kill time the way I can. I’m a professional time killer. I can sit for three hours and I couldn’t tell you what I did. If it was an Olympic sport, I’d be a 20-time gold medal winner.”
“The older we get, the closer Venus and I get. As people and players.”
“We don't mind playing five sets. We've offered to play five sets. The tournaments don't want us to play five sets. We're ready, willing, and able to play five sets.”
“I always believe I’m the best, whether I’m No. 1 or 100.”
“You should never be surprised by anything that I do.”
“I have never seen such tenacity, such ambition, such fight and such honor go into every shot as when I watch Rafael Nadal. I want to be like him.”
“I can do it all. I cook, I clean, I write, I make jokes, I tape. You know, I just pretty much do everything.”
“Being kind of the little sister and the one that wasn’t as strong and wasn’t as good yet it gave me encouragement, and gave me the fight that I have in my game.”
“I’m really excited to be a tennis player. And obviously I have such amazing passion. I think it’s been enabling me to have some 20 Grand Slam titles. I love fighting for every point, for everything.”
“I never want to become satisfied with what I may, or may not have done, because I feel like there’s so much more I would like to do. I have plenty of time to think about that when my career is over. I’m sure there’s so much more Venus would like to do as well, so that’s how we look at it. I mean, I use some of my trophies for make-up brushes.”
“The match is never over until you shake the opponent’s hand. It’s like you never give up and you always keep fighting. It’s just a good lesson for life, not even just in sports, but in life as well.”
“I love President Obama – he has such an unbelievable presence, and he seems to be so normal – and he noticed my shoes. I think that was the highlight of the whole day, was he liked my shoes. He asked me, ‘Should I be wearing high heels?’ So I thought that was kind of funny because he may have been right. Because it is a job hazard for me, but I insist on wearing them.”
“You need a wild streak … a kind of irrational killer instinct. You need to put it out that you’re reckless and unpredictable.”
“I’ve been playing tennis since I was 4 years old. I’m a darned good player, and I’ve always had outside interests. If all I did was play tennis, I’d be burnt out by now and out of the game. I really believe that. It’s not to say I don’t work hard at tennis. It’s a big misconception when people think I just show up out of shape and win. I work very, very hard, and I’m in better shape than people think I am.”
“On and off the court, I’m extremely emotional. I’m crying in the movies, you know, just sympathy. So it’s no surprise that on the court I do tend to wear my emotions on my sleeve. It can work against you and it can work for you, and that’s one thing I’ve always admired about Venus. You can never tell she’s down or she’s up. She’s just going steady. She’s kind of just monotone sometimes.”
“When I’m playing well, it’s difficult for anyone to beat me on the women’s tour – just for the record.”
“I realize that life is so precious and things could be a lot worse. It isn’t all about tennis. It’s about life.”
“If I say I just want to play well, it’s a lie. Would I be happy about losing? When I’m playing I get a little psycho and on the edge.”
“Every time you step out on the court you have to bring it mentally and physically. I'm really excited that I've been able to consistently – and hopefully I continue to consistently – do that.”
“I think my road has been a journey. I don't think anything's easy.”
“In my career, there are no letdowns.”
“That’s the beauty of my career. I don’t have to do anything at all. Everything I do from this day forward is a bonus.”
