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Serena Williams Quotes

19 quotes from Serena Williams — Tennis champion with 23 Grand Slam singles titles — the most in the Open Era..

Read the full Serena Williams playbook →

“Don't let anyone work harder than you do.”

Perseverance

“Family's first, and that's what matters most.”

Family

“You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.”

Confidence

“Everyone's dream can come true if you just stick to it and work hard.”

Dreams

“If anything, you know, I think losing makes me even more motivated.”

Motivation

“I am lucky that whatever fear I have inside me, my desire to win is always stronger.”

Desire

“I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.”

Resilience

“The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up.”

Empowerment

“I've grown most not from victories, but setbacks. If winning is God's reward, then losing is how he teaches us.”

Growth

“I don't have regrets. I don't live in the past. I live in the present and learn not to make the same mistakes in the future.”

Mindfulness

“If Plan A isn't working, I have Plan B, Plan C, and even Plan D.”

Adaptability

“Playing Venus is like playing myself, because we grew up playing each other. She's my toughest opponent because she's tall, she's fast. She hits hard like me. She serves like me. It's really like playing a wall. And she knows where I'm hitting the ball before I hit it.”

— Serena Williams, TED2017

“She said, "I'm honored you asked, and I want to make it the best speech ever." Those were her words.”

— Maria Sharapova, on choosing Williams to introduce her at the Hall of Fame

“What others marked as flaws or disadvantages about myself — my race, my gender — I embraced as fuel for my success. I never let anything or anyone define me or my potential. I controlled my future.”

— Serena Williams, open letter in Porter magazine, 2016

“I have never liked the word retirement. It doesn't feel like a modern word to me. Maybe the best word to describe what I'm up to is evolution. I'm here to tell you that I'm evolving away from tennis, toward other things that are important to me.”

— Serena Williams, Vogue, August 2022

“It comes to a point where women sometimes have to make different choices than men, if they want to raise a family. It's just black and white. You make a choice or you don't.”

— Serena Williams, TIME, 2022

“I was hurt — cut deeply. I tried to compare it to other setbacks I'd had in my life and career, and for some reason I couldn't shake the feeling that this was about so much more than just me.”

— Serena Williams, Harper's Bazaar, 2019

“Winning for me is super addictive. Once you experience it, you always want to get that feeling again. When I won my first championship, I was only 17 years old but I never forgot that feeling. Every time, I want to reach that feeling of that first championship.”

— Serena Williams, TED2017

“I miss it a lot, with all my heart. I miss it because I'm healthy.”

— Serena Williams, TIME100 interview, 2025

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Serena Williams

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Serena Williams

Tennis champion with 23 Grand Slam singles titles — the most in the Open Era.