venus williams
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Keeping The Eye On The BallTRANSCRIPT
Endeavour Magazine | 7
Venus WilliamsKEEPING THE EYE ON THE BALLBY DONNIE RUST
Professional athlete and entrepreneur secondly and a big
sister first, Venus Williams has created a legend around
herself for being something unique not only in the sporting
world but as an iconic heroine. Born in June 1980, Venus Ebony Starr
Williams is arguably one of the most famous sportspeople: A world
class, professional tennis player who has been ranked Number One
in the world on three separate occasions, the first time on February
25, 2002 when she also became the first African-American woman to
achieve it during the Open Era. We’ve waited a long time to feature
Venus Williams.
Credited with changing the women’s game and ushering a new,
modern era of power and athleticism on the women’s professional
tennis tour and for her dedication to promoting and influencing
equality for the genders in the sport.
Known as a dominating player with a preference with playing
on grass, Venus Williams has played a part in shaping the way we
view tennis today, by bringing on a strong sense of beauty, technical
brilliance and talent to the game. Often sharing the limelight with her
sister Serena there are very few people who have accomplished as
much on the court as these two sisters.
Growing up in Southern CaliforniaIt is safe to say that Venus would have succeeded in whatever
arena she chose. If she had grown up in South Africa she may have
pioneered women’s rugby or brought about the revolution in volley
ball three decades early however it was tennis that took her hand
and it didn’t take long for her
coach Rich Macci from the
Macci Academy to notice the
talents of the two sisters. At
the age of 11 Venus had a 63-0
win factor in the United States
Tennis Associations in the junior
division!
Ranked at No 1 at the age of
11, her father pulled both her
and her sister Serena out of the
Macci Academy and took control
of the coaching from their home.
This has been said that part of it came from the racial problems with
the other kids, which according to Venus, was not a prevalent point in
her childhood:
“I guess some kids around me had to grow up quickly, had all those
problems. But I wasn’t one of those kids, or around those kids, not at
all,” she’s said, “I don’t focus on what I’m up against. I focus on my goals
and I try to ignore the rest.”
In tennisTennis is a fast paced game that takes a lot of tactical technique as
well as stamina and Venus, who has been a professional player since
the age of 14, has always been a strong all-rounder and powerful
baseliner, equipped with an attacking all-court game that does not
offer many opportunities to
opponents.
“I’m better adapted to
grass,” she says, “It’s where I
am comfortable. I’ve got a long
wingspan and had to develop into
a volleyer.” Additionally, Venus
has a notable agility around the
net, great court coverage and
with her long reach the ability to
play balls that most opponents
would not be able to reach,
hammering outright winners
“If I didn’t play tennis I don’t know where I’d be.”
devastating weapon and while clay is Venus’ weakest surface and has
caused numerous injuries she has still succeeded in winning many
titles.
“My goal is always the same: to keep the other player from ever
scoring a point,” she says in explaining the basics of her game play,
“That doesn’t always happen, but that’s what I try for.”
Venus Williams, tennis player, entrepreneur and big sister
Unlike many celebrity sportspeople who get caught up in the
storm of being a celebrity, Venus’ main focus is to be a positive force.
A relentless work ethic that her father ingrained within her and her
from a defensive position. The
strength of all this is reflected in
the five Wimbledon singles titles
won in eight of the last ten years.
The record holder for the
fastest female serve clocked at
a racket shattering 130 mph
(209.2 km/h) Venus also holds
the record for fastest serve in
three of the four Grand Slam
tournaments. Known for being
an explosive hitter of the ball
from the ground her backhand
has proven to be the most reliably
consistent for groundstrokes
which is effecting down-the-
line or crosscourt. Even her
forehand, which has a tendency
to break down under pressure,
still yields many winners from
a variety of court positions. In
fact, even though the weakest
of her arsenal it is one of the
most powerful forehands in
the woman’s game, frequently
struck in the region of 85-90
mph (140km/h). Interestingly
enough, the only other women
who are known to have such a
powerful strike are Ivanovic,
Justine Henin and her own sister
Serena Williams.
Grass also produces low
bonces that tend to turn
her serve into an even more
sister from birth has created a
kind of mental focus that keeps
her working to constantly better
herself.
“The day I’m not improving
will be the day I hang up the
racket.”
The product of a family ethos
of striving to improve, Venus was
accustomed to practicing for four
to five hours a day to develop
their physical discipline and have
in-depth conversations with
the family around the table on
subjects such as economics and
social Darwinism. Her mother
inspired within them a curious
nature and most importantly a
resolute sense of self-worth and
an entrepreneurial attitude.
This attitude was brought
to providence when in the early
2000s, while at the top of her
game she took the initiative and
enrolled in an interior design
programme and became a
Certified Interior Decorator, this
led to the creation of V*Starr
Interiors 2002 which capitalized
on a long love affair she had with
interior designing.
Soon after she followed this
move by obtaining an associated
degree in fashion design which
led to the launch of EleVen, which
for her was the opportunity
to fill a niche in tennis gear for
something that was not only
accessible and comfortable, but
fashionable as well. Recently
she’s also enrolled in an online
programme at the University of
Indiana East to pursue a business
degree.
“I’m this overachiever type,
I’ll just work and work and I’ll
just do it over and over and over
again.”
IN 2010 she became a New
York Times bestseller with her
book “Come To Win: Business
Leaders, Artists, Doctors, and
Other Visionaries on How
Sports Can Help You Top Your
Profession” by Williams and co-
author Kelly E. Carter, published
by HarperCollins.
“In the book, I’ve interviewed
such luminaries as Sir Richard
Branson, Condoleezza Rice,
and Vera Wang about how their
early experiences as competitive
athletes and how it helped forge
their successful careers.” Venus
Williams.
One of her own heroes
was tennis pioneer Billie Jean
King who had a reputation
for being very vocal on the
topic of inequities between
pay rates for male and female
players. After a failed attempt
in 2005 to change the minds
of the Wimbledon Officials,
Venus wrote an essay that was
published in the New York Times
on the eve of Wimbledon 2006
putting a spotlight on the double
standard. It had such a significant
impact that in 2007 Wimbledon
announced parity in the prize
money for its male and female
champions.
The fight for gender equality
didn’t stop there, in 2009 Venus and her sister, Serena Williams, also a
tennis champion, announced they had become limited partners in the
NFLs Miami Dolphins and became the first African-American women
to obtain ownership of an NFL franchise.
It isn’t often that you find a pair of sisters so evenly matched in a
game, who have played each other in major tournaments on a number
of times and Venus and Serena have made records as they have, for
the most part, remained parallel all the way up the tables. Yet, while
competitive on the court it has not affected the relationship between
them.
As Venus has been quoted on many occasions, “My first job is big
sister and I take that very seriously.”
The fall, Sjögren’s syndromeThe rise, tennis hero
It was well documented that for some time before the summer
of 2011, Venus was suffering from a mixture of symptoms including
fatigue, muscle aches, breath shortness and the inability to recover
during a set. While doctors were convinced it was a case of adult-
onset asthma nothing they prescribed brought any relief and it was
discovered that it was actually Sjögren’s Syndrome, an autoimmune
disease in which immune cells attack saliva and tear glands.
However, like anything Venus has attacked this with her usual
aggressive focus and has become an advocate for a vegan/raw
food diet which helps minimize the inflammation brought on by the
condition. No more cherry pies, as sugar is strictly verboten and her
training is now tempered with one or more rest days per week.
Her return to tennis was enivitable and recently she has once
again stood her ground in a Wimbeldon Grand Slam, surprising
everyone with the strength of her comeback.
“If I didn’t play tennis I don’t know where I’d be.”
will be the day I hang up the racket.THE DAY I’M NOT IMPROVING
“ ”