If Serena Williams Started From 0 in 2026, This Is What She'd Do To WIN

In 1984, in Compton, is where I began my journey of becoming a tennis player on beaten-down courts. I went on the courts with just a ball and a racket and a hope, and that's all I had. I never dreamt of owning 21 Grand Slam titles. I never had a number in my mind. I just thought I'd play tennis, and here I am now. Sometimes you're going to be your own cheerleader, and you have to be your biggest and your best cheerleader. I have a really good team— my dad, my mom, my coach, my sisters. They're all so positive. I don't have those types of goals of, I I don't want this number, you know. I just have the goal of I want to play well at this tournament. I want to win this tournament.

She's an American professional tennis player who's ranked number 1 in women's singles. She's regarded as the greatest female tennis player of all time. She was the second highest paid female athlete in 2015, earning $24.6 million. She's Serena Williams, and here's my take on her top 10 rules for success. Number 2 is my personal favorite, and make sure to stick around all the way to the end for some special bonus clips.

In 1984, in Compton is where I began my journey of becoming a tennis player on beaten-down courts with my family by my side. My first goal, as Venus said, was to win the US Open. Now, what you don't know— actually, my first goal was to win Wimbledon. But what you don't know is I said I wanted to win Wimbledon because Venus said she wanted to win Wimbledon. And then my dad yelled at me. He's like, Serena, stop copying Venus. 'Cause every— I copied her way too much. And so I said, "Okay, I want to win the US Open." And so that's how that kind of came about. So I truly feel that that day changed my life, and now I had a goal to begin to work, and I began to work towards that goal. And I believed that one day I would stand on that court and hold that winner's trophy. And now I guess 30 years later, I still have goals and I still have dreams of winning. And this award makes me actually want to work harder to reach more goals. So I don't know if that's weird or not, but I like want to get off here and just go home and start training because this is so awesome. What a shot! Well, that's just mean. And she says, who's with me? Growing up, I, you know, I grew up, I wasn't the richest, but I had a rich family in spirit and in support and You know, standing here with 19 championships is something I never thought would happen. You know, just, I went on the courts with just a ball and a racket and a hope, and that's all I had. And it's inspiring for all you guys out there that want to do something and want to be the best that you can be and want to do the best that you can do. You just never give up because you never know what can happen. You never know who you can inspire and who you can influence.

She's going about redefining the overhead there a lot. That was delicious from Williams.

I don't feel pressure. I feel like I can retire today and I wouldn't have any regrets. Obviously, that's not what I want to do. I never dreamt of owning 21 Grand Slam titles. I never had a number in my mind. I just thought I'd play tennis, and here I am now. And I don't have to— I don't have anything to lose. Like, everything, every single match for me is like a bonus. It's a literal bonus round and a bonus thing. And I think that approach is able to make me stay calm and just enjoy, you know, being in Australia or being in these amazing countries and playing tennis. That's great tennis from both. What a smart reaction to the drop shot from Williams. Didn't go necessarily for a counter drop shot, but a short slice backhand down the line. I have to tell each and every one of you that it doesn't matter how, how old you are, how young you are, your age, you can achieve anything that you set your mind to. And I always say, if I can do it, anyone can do it. And the reason that I always say that, because I didn't grow up with things being it to me. I had to work hard, I had to dedicate myself, and I had to be determined, and I was. Even outside of sport, it could be education, it could be business, it could be anything, um, it requires discipline and hard work and determination. Most importantly, it requires self-belief, because like me, some people might not believe in you, but you have to believe in you. And sometimes you, you're going to be your own cheerleader, and you have to be your biggest and your best cheerleader. So to all you young athletes Just take that to heart and never stop believing in yourself and really always support who you are. Oh, that's just mean.

How easy is it when you go practicing now to have— what's your mindset?

Is it to improve or is it just to keep winning?

Or because it's— yeah, personally I found it very difficult at some point.

Yeah, no, for me it's always to improve, and I've had some tough losses this year, but those losses I think were necessary and they helped me to work on my game. It forced me to see that I need to get better at this, I need to get better at this and this, and now I've gotten better at it. So yeah. She's got the line. What a rally. Delightful stuff from both players.

But do you ever feel like, oh gosh, tennis again?

That never happens, does it? No, and that's the difference between now and a couple years ago. Like, ever since I went through my health issues and my near— my really, really bad health issues, every moment for me is new, and I feel like, wow, I'm here, I'm playing tennis. There was a time where I never thought I would even pick up a racket again, let alone play professionally. And then I've been able to come back.

And that's because of injuries. Injuries affect you emotionally, affect you psychologically, maybe even more than physically, don't they?

They do, and they really can wear you down. And then and they become really kind of heavy almost on your soul and on your energy. And so I have a really good team, my dad, my mom, my coach, my sisters, they're all so positive and I've been able to just be able to keep that positiveness around me. And so I don't know, I just feel, like I said, I just feel a lot better.

How much further can you go?

That's a really good question, and I don't know the answer to that. I don't have those types of goals of, I want this number, you know. I just have the goal of, I want to play well at this tournament, I want to win this tournament, you know, and then I want to win this tournament. And when I wake up one morning and I just absolutely do not want to go on the court, or I have no motivation to go on the court, then that's when it'll be good for me. When I first went into the tournament, I was just thinking how I wanted to do well and I wanted to go far. And whenever I enter a Grand Slam or any tournament for that matter, honestly, I just play one match at a time. I don't get too far ahead. I don't think about the future. I just have my mind focused on that one event and that one match and that one point. And that's how I go into every event. Honestly, I think sometimes it's innate mentally. Like, you have to really prepare yourself, you know. Like, I'm just mentally Mentally really tough. Physically, anyone can do it. You can go to the gym, you can work out really hard, and you can prepare yourself and be in the most tip-top best shape that you can be. But mentally, I think— personally, I think tennis is most like, you know, 60% mental and the rest is physical, so. I always felt like an underdog. I was really small for my age, and I was Venus Williams' younger sister. I always felt like I was just fighting to make it. I never felt I would be great one day. Training every day for 30 years is difficult. Then I also think someone is out there working really hard, and there's a post on their wall of me, and they're working to beat me. With that, I get up, I go. Every day I'm sore, but that's the life I chose. So there's obviously days I don't feel like training, but there's no day that goes by that I feel like losing.

Thank you guys so much for watching. I made this video because Lucy asked me to. So if there's a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave it in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I also love to know which of the rules had the biggest impact on you and why. What are you going to now change in your business or your life? Leave it in the comments and I'll join in the discussion. Thank you so much for watching. Continue to believe and I'll see you soon.

Talk to me about your own journey as a Black woman having this body the way it's crafted and constructed, appreciated and not ridiculed. Ridiculed as not being what we tend to think of when we think of what's beautiful. Yeah, well, I mean, that's a lot of problems that I ran into, which I wrote inside of my book on the line. I ran into a lot of things where people were like, well, she's big, and, you know, I'm thinking, well, honestly, it doesn't matter how much weight I lose, I'll never be a size 2. And at the time, I even said, I'm always going to have these giant boobs and this great big tush, but, you know, this is just who I am. And there's so many people out there that actually have my body type as opposed to someone on the runway. And I think it's important for you to just excel in what you have and just be you and just love who you are. And there are times I even say it, I look in the mirror, I'm like, oh, I hate my legs are too fat or my arms are too this. But you know, every— it's important for me to let everyone know that everyone has these feelings and everyone has this moment. But you know, I also just realize this is what I am and I love who I am and what I am.

How do you maintain your desire to keep being at the top all this time?

Well, that's a really good question. I've thought of different answers many times, and I just think it just boils down to this is what I do, and I'm very competitive on the court, playing Uno or whatever. So I'm just like, I like to do the best that I can, and if not, I work hard and I'll figure out a new way to be the best that I can be in my potential. And honestly, I just think I'm just blessed to be able to be good at what I do.

Knowing what you know now, what piece of advice would you give to yourself as an 18-year-old?

That's always a difficult question for me to, to answer because I think I think not knowing what could happen in the future just builds character. It builds who I am today. So the advice I would give to myself, actually, I wouldn't say anything. I would just enjoy every moment the way I did, and I would continue on.