Home

Tennis

“Spike Lee Wants Me to Play as Hard as I Can” – Serena Williams

Published 04/18/2020, 3:38 PM EDT

Follow Us

American film director Spike Lee was asked ‘what is the first thing he thinks about when he hears tennis,’ without any second thought he hastily replied, Serena Williams. The two renowned personalities of the USA are good friends they have been in touch with each other for a long-time now.

“I’ve known Spike for many years. We always have dinner. He has a house down the street from mine in Palm Beach,” Serena Williams once said.

“I sometimes go over there and we eat dinner. We play tennis together. He’s super intense. He wants me to play as hard as I can. I’m like, Spike, are you sure? I mean, C’mon. He’s such a great person. I love his kids. We all just get along.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“He loves debates.  Whenever we’re at dinner, he’s looking for a debate.  You have to join in and pick aside.  I always try to pick the opposite side so it can just be a debate. It’s fun though. I love it.” 

They always have an argument regarding their preferred basketball teams. Serena being a Miami Heat fan and Dolphins fan and Lee supporting Knicks, they always engage in debates.

Serena Williams compared to Ali and Jordan

Spike Lee shows up at the US Open every year, he sits in the Arthur Ashe stadium of Flushing Meadows and always cheers for Serena. In 2018, filmmaker Lee was interviewed on the courtside during Williams’ match against Karolina Pliskova at US Open. During the interview, he drew comparisons of American tennis ace to Muhammad Ali and Michael Jordan

“I’m looking at Jordan, I’m looking at Ali, (Joe) Namath, Jim Brown, we get to see these people, it’s amazing,” Lee said.

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest Tennis stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

After learning about Lee’s comments Serena was obliged and said, “That’s what I wanna do and that’s what I want to be remembered for. It’s not what I do out here, but how I can inspire people off the court,” Serena said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Lee feels intelligence, athleticism, and heart make Serena Williams super special. He also shared warm words for the Williams sisters’ legacy in tennis. “They’re winners. Their legacy is cemented already.” Lee also told Inside Tennis.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Mahalakshmi Murali

1,909Articles

One take at a time

Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.
Show More>