‘Crying All Night’ – Serena Williams Narrates Childhood Incident to Talk About Her Obsession With ‘Perfection’

Published 08/10/2022, 1:00 PM EDT

Over the years, watching Serena Williams play tennis has become part of our lives. The 40-year-old American has been an inspiration for many. She not only achieved unparalleled success but also set a new benchmark for future generations. Yesterday, the former world number one declared her plans to retire after the ongoing season.

Serena is going to say goodbye to tennis after the US Open 2022. The girl from Compton had only one dream growing up, to become a professional tennis player. While announcing her retirement, the 40-year-old looked back at her journey.

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Williams recalls her early tennis days

According to Serena’s father, Richard Williams, she started playing tennis at an age of 3. However, the former world number 1 believes it was even earlier. “My whole life, up to now, has been tennis. My dad says I first picked up a racket when I was three, but I think it was even earlier. There’s a picture of Venus pushing me in a stroller on a tennis court, and I couldn’t have been more than 18 months,” she said.

Further, the 23-time Grand Slam champion recalled how she had that hunger for perfection from a very young age. “I remember learning to write my alphabet for kindergarten and not doing it perfectly and crying all night. I was so angry about it. I’d erase and rewrite that A over and over, and my mother let me stay up all night while my sisters were in bed. That’s always been me,” Serena recalled.

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I want to be great, I want to be perfect. I know perfect doesn’t exist, but whatever my perfect was, I never wanted to stop until I got it right,” she added.

And this could not be far from the truth. Serena Williams, the legendary tennis player, has etched her name in history, through her monumental achievements.

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Serena Williams’ records over the years

Serena Williams has amassed some brilliant records over the years. She has 73 tour titles to her name, and 23 Grand Slam titles in the Open era.

She topped the WTA rankings for 319 weeks. Additionally, the 40-year-old has won four Olympic gold medals. She is also the only tennis player to have achieved a career Grand Slam in both singles and doubles.

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Watch this story: Serena Williams graces the red carpet premiere of Thor Love and Thunder alongside husband Alexis Ohanian

Having achieved all that, Serena has etched her name in the history books. Can she add another Grand Slam title to her name? Let us know in the comments.

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Written by:

Gaurav Verma is a Tennis Author at EssentiallySports. He has post graduate diploma in management from IILM Graduate School of Management and a BBA degree from Bangalore University. He has 1-year of experience in the banking sector.

Edited by:

Deepakshi Chaudhary

‘Crying All Night’ – Serena Williams Narrates Childhood Incident to Talk About Her Obsession With ‘Perfection’

Williams recalls her early tennis days

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Serena Williams’ records over the years