CNN interviewed Serena Williams when she was 9. Here’s what she said.
The CNN Sports interview is the last time I was allowed on camera with Serena Williams. I never saw the interview. I didn’t see the video. And I didn’t see the transcript. That was some time just before her retirement, when she was 10 years old.
On a personal level, I’ve always admired Serena Williams. I have a very special relationship with her and her family. We’ve been through ups and downs together. When she was growing up in the Dominican Republic, she was one of us. She was our sister. And, although she was born in the United States, she was Dominican in spirit and soul. Her voice, you could hear it in the car and when she was talking on the phone and how it felt.
I knew a lot of people in the Dominican Republic. They were very nice to me. They treated me like their own daughter. The way she talked and the way she lived was always, “What are we going to do for dinner?” I mean, I knew that feeling. I felt it when I was trying to get my life on track. I felt it when I was at home trying to be a good citizen.
Serena, you’ve said: “I will get in trouble for saying this… it’s hard to express the power of a woman’s love.” You’ve shown that over and over again. What did that do for you?
In that interview with CNN, I expressed that power of a female athlete. A female athlete’s love gives you extra strength and extra protection. It gives you extra courage. It gives you extra confidence. It gives you extra energy. It gives you extra passion.
What I’m trying to express is the power of a woman’s love. It gives you hope. It gives you strength. It gives you courage. It gives you resolve to go after your goal and give everything you have. We’ve been through a lot of ups and downs together. We were always on the same journey together, and I