It has been difficult for me to forget spending hours crying in the Indian Wells locker room after winning in 2001, driving back to Los Angeles feeling as if I had lost the biggest game ever -- not a mere tennis game but a bigger fight for equality. Serena Williams More Quotes by Serena Williams More Quotes From Serena Williams If you can keep playing tennis when somebody is shooting a gun down the street, that's concentration. Serena Williams tennisfocusgun I've always been a fighter and I've always fought through things my whole life. Serena Williams whole-lifefighterwhole 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. Serena Williams bagsgiving-upfighting 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. Serena Williams sizebeautiful 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. Serena Williams badasswho-i-ampeople Nothing comes to a sleeper but a dream. Serena Williams sleepersdream I went on the courts with just a ball and a racket and a hope...and that's all I had. Serena Williams racketcourtballs 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.' Serena Williams blackathletelong I've had to learn to fight all my life - got to learn to keep smiling. If you smile things will work out. Serena Williams smilework-outfighting I never left my roots. You can identify me as someone that didn't become high and mighty. Humility is a defining [trait] all of us can forever learn, and I try to be as humble as anyone can be. Serena Williams humilityhumbleroots I think I can improve a lot. I think I can get a lot better. I feel like there's much, much more I can do. Serena Williams i-canfeelsthinking I'm a perfectionist. I'm pretty much insatiable. I feel there's so many things I can improve on. Serena Williams motivational-sportstennisperfection If I'm winning, I have to act like I'm not bored. If it's A tough match, I have to act like I'm having A good time. I'm a drama queen. Serena Williams queenswinningdrama I love "Phenomenal Woman." The experiences she had of being African American in the U.S. - that itself is a task. I appreciate the hardships Maya Angelou went through for our generation. I'm super influenced by the black people that paved the way for us. Serena Williams our-generationappreciatepeople I'm a high-performance athlete: I'm running, I'm sprinting, I'm sliding, I'm doing pretty much everything and the last thing I want to worry about is my chest. I want to just worry about playing the sport at the highest level that I can. Serena Williams athleterunningsports My smile is my favorite part of my body. I think a smile can make your whole body. Serena Williams bodyacceptancethinking I always say if I play my best it's difficult to beat me Serena Williams difficultbeatsplay Legendary? I don't know. I'm just Serena. Serena Williams legendaryknows I am not a robot. I have a heart and I bleed. Serena Williams robotsheart If I have a daughter and she plays tennis, and I have a son who plays tennis, I wouldn't say that my son deserves more money because he's a man. I would say they deserve the same amount of money. Serena Williams daughtermenson
