Serena Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, has suffered her fair share of hardships. Be it on the court or off the court, she has had been through enough. However, she stayed calm and focused, took her stand firmly, and turned the tide.

An incident that proves the same is the one related to people’s perception of her physique. Williams herself expressed how glad she was that she paid no heed to the backlash back in the day.

Serena Williams once shared her story about body shaming

Williams in 2016 sat down with her ex-boyfriend, rapper Common and spoke about how people’s mentality changed over time. Regarding people’s ill comments and harsh behavior towards her for having a not so feminine build, she said, “There was a time when I didn’t feel incredibly comfortable about my body because I felt like I was too strong.”

However, later she developed a healthy take and started cherishing her body. As she accepted, “Who says I’m too strong? This body has enabled me to be the greatest player that I can be. And now my body is in style, so I’m feeling good about it.”

Thereafter, she added, “I’m just really thankful for the way I was brought up by my mom and my dad to give me that confidence. I could have been discouraged. And I wouldn’t be as great as I was because I would have done different exercises or I would have done different things. “

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Williams was often criticized for having an unfair advantage over her opponents because of her muscular built and powerful strokes. However, prominent stars like Martina Navratilova stood by her side and supported her. The nine-time Wimbledon champion herself went through similar treatment and didn’t want to see a young talent like Serena get trampled.

The impressive records of Serena

Serena Williams retired from the sport this season. She made a comeback in London from a year long hamstring injury and performed her last dance in the US Open. Throughout her 27-year career, Williams has achieved enough to ingrain her name in the annals of the sport.

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She is only second to Margaret Court in terms of Grand Slam victories, and has more than any player, male or female, in the Open Era. Further, the 41-year-old has over 100 wins in the hard courts of the US Open. Also, she was just two games away from securing the same record at Wimbledon and sharing the pedestal with Navratilova. Along with her dominance in singles, she teamed up with her sister, Venus, to dominate the doubles category as well, winning an astonishing 14 major titles.

Do you think Serena was unfairly targeted for her physique during her illustrious career?