How Serena Williams changed tennis, on & off the court forever | After the Arena

Introduction [Music] welcome to after the arena presented by TJ Maxx I am joined by professional women's tennis player and 2024 Wimbledon doubles Champion Taylor towns and I am Clinton Yates thank you for joining us Taylor you know after the eight-part docu series in the arena about Serena Williams Serena Jama Williams as I like to call her by her full name we're going to look back at her life and time cuz you have obviously competed against her but I want to start at the beginning the very beginning what are your first memories of Serena period just as a human being on Earth never mind a tennis player wow I was born in 96 so woo early Taylor Townsend's earliest memories of her idol, Serena Williams memories but my earliest ones were remembering seeing her in Venus playing in beads and I just thought that was the coolest thing because we weren't allowed to get beads when we played because they fall out of our hair and my coach was like yeah we're not doing this so I thought it was the coolest thing to be able to see Serena and Venus at the US Open on Arthur Ash with beads in their hair looking like me someone who had my same skin color and just representing us like as a culture I just I remember that so vividly I'm like oh my God this is absolutely amazing as far as Serena's career goes and the William sisters you know sort of embody a lot of that they were Rivals very much through the 2000s what do you remember first about her as a tennis player Serena that is well I just remember the power and Townsend reflects on Williams' career like she was so ferocious and like there was always this look in her eyes where it was like this determination nothing was going to get in her way nobody was going to get in her way and it was just it was so cool to be able to see um because I feel like as a black woman we know what that look means and we know what that looks like and so for me being able to see her look at her competition a certain kind of way and just like how they were carrying themselves on the court it was it was just something you couldn't really describe but it was just one of those things like kind of unspoken where you just you know what this means and it's like this means business and this is about to be not good for the person on the other side of the net you know at that time in America I remember that black families in particular had so much pride in watching her play because unlike a lot of other sports where we for lack of a better term are famous it's not a team sport you're out there by yourself unless of course you are adult Champion when you were coming up playing how did that sort of psychological Edge that you could see her using on her opponents help you growing up in what your game was well it's really interesting because I have a sister that's two years older than me so Townsend describes the generational impact of Venus & Serena Williams we both grew up playing together so the William sisters were always kind of like a role model for us like we wanted to be like that like the next the next you know so it was it was ironic enough that we grew up playing together um we weren't allowed to play doubles with each other because we didn't get a l that's another story but you know for me knowing and seeing what they were exuding on the coure but it it was very inspirational for me because knowing my sister and I we we wanted to be like them we wanted to do everything that they were doing and were using them in their careers as a role model and a guideline to see if we can make it to that level unfortunately my sister got a kind of career- ending injury but for me I continued and knowing what Serena has done for the game and for us as black women especially at that young age like it's it's something that we can't describe what was that like being that I don't want to say carbon copy but being a very similar comp to the Williams sisters where you grew up in at the time how did other people respond to that well I think that it's difficult sometimes because it kind of puts an extra layer of pressure and kind of like expectation because you seeing these sisters accomplishing something at such a high level at such a young age you know and it's like you don't realize that sometimes this is like once in a generation type of thing you know it doesn't happen very often so for us like we tried to use it as like a blueprint but you really and it's very interesting because I literally just had this conversation with seren and Venus like you don't really know the things that went on behind the scenes we only know what was being presented to us so we were kind of working off of like partial information you we really didn't know all of the things that were going on behind the scenes where they were going who they were training with where they were traveling you know we just saw what Richard was putting out and that was the guideline in the blueprint so sometimes it was kind of like it was tough because you want to be able to fill those shoes you feel like you have the potential but it's kind of like a once in a generation thing like the way that they did things and how it happened was like it was for them but that doesn't mean that it's for everyone and I kind of realized that as I got older they played in four straight Grand Slam finals against each other speaking of once in a generation do you think we'll ever see anything like that again I don't think so especially not sisters I just think that you know what they were able to accomplish was just again it was just something so spectacular and I think it's so cool to have your older sister be able to kind of pave the way so I can't imagine in a grand slam final what that feels like and it was such a special moment for me I remember I believe in 2017 when Serena was pregnant and Venus ended up making her Australian Open final like I was there and I was in the box and like I vividly remember just being a part of that whole situation it was like so special but you could feel the tension you can feel like how much that meant to each one of them because for Venus it was going to be a chance for her to get over the hump for Serena it was going to be one step closer to his history um and on top of that not knowing that she was pregnant so it was it was a fantastic time and I was I was so fortunate to be around but yeah it's it's something that's just it's amazing but I don't think that we'll ever see it again they're sisters and they're related too that's a joke what is your best Serena memory as personal I don't want to say friends but somebody that knows her and has had the opportunity to compete you mentioned the aop and that's one thing but do you have any other anecdotes that you think of that come to mind immediately when somebody says her name yes it's so funny because you know like the friend group they're like she's the Shady one so um it's really funny because you know we we had dinner um this year actually in Paris with her and Venus and like you know the whole family and friends and so I was really honored to be able to be invited and to hang out with them but for me I think my best I Townsend on her friendship with Williams would say closest memory would be being having a chance to be invited to her house and she opened up her home to me and we sat down for hours and talked about just like motherhood it was when I was pregnant and we sat at her table talked for hours she made me a whole Amazon like registry for my kid and she was like you need this this this this and like made a whole registry based on what she had for Olympia and everything that she put on that list I used and it was fantastic so I was just like thank you so much so like that was one of the most special memories for me because it was just completely disregarded from tennis disassociated from tennis didn't really have anything to do with that it was you know very personal um and that meant a lot and then also knowing that she was in my corner to be able to talk to her and kind of share experiences one about giving birth and everything like that in her experience because she had to have a C-section and I did as well but then also the recovery and I reached out to her several times on my journey back and I was just like what is this like I need help like is this your experience and it was particularly like with our bodies and how our bodies changed um after giving birth and like what her experience was with breastfeeding and everything so for me I really leaned on her advice a lot in terms of being able to like give me guidance and direction to know I'm like am I far off or is this like kind of normal so it was really special in terms of that way I mean I have a lot lots of tennis m with her but for me like I felt like that was super personal and and it just made me feel good I feel like it made us connect on a different level please tell me you got to hang out at that overflow apartment in Paris where she's got all her other trophies that are not the main ones she keeps in her main home no no I haven't we go to a special restaurant that is like some of the best food it's African food is some of the best food I've ever had in my life but that was that's our little meeting point Bama that's not not a bad situation I do want to ask you more about motherhood and Tennis particularly being a black woman you know one of the things that was very controversial for her was when she had her cats suit that had to do with her blood clots that had to do with her having her baby and I just wonder as an athlete who competes and is a mother how has Serena's identity as a mom helped changed advocated for mothers in general as athletes we saw this Alison Felix at the Olympics first time they ever had a nursery there because she advocated for it how has Serena changed what it's like to be a mom in tennis for everybody well I think outside of the representation and showing that someone at her level and stature can come back even if you're not at your best and still perform at such a high level I think that was the first thing um but the biggest thing for me I think is being able to be front-facing and being someone who has driven the sport for so many years to be able to come back and find that purpose again and be able to really bounce back in terms of like dealing with expectations I think that that was like the most difficult was everyone is expecting for her to return at this high level that she was playing before she had her kid and I believe that there were so many unrealistic expectations like oh you should come back and win slams and now GR she made four slam finals which is amazing but you know it was like no Grace and so for me I think that being able to show how to deal and maneuver through those type of situations dealing with the media dealing with you know expectations outside expectations as well as your own because she's a competitor she hates to lose loves to win hates to lose so it's like how to manage that self as well as everything that's happening around and it's really interesting as well because like I've had conversations with Naomi Osaka about kind of the same thing and you know she's a new mother as well and so I think that that was one of the the trailblazing moments that that she's given us in terms of the sport is being able to show how to deal with those things and kind of go Inward and just work and kind of return to that professionalism and you know also just being who you are like you know she's such an icon and such a pillar in the sport that you know we need needed her we needed her pre we needed her after and you know it was really cool that to know that like she came back she did amazing such great things for the sport but then also being able to seamlessly transition to the next part of life which I think is really cool as well because sometimes you know athletes we feel obligated to announce our retirement and kind of make this large exit but for her you know it was I'm choosing family this is what I'm doing and I'm shifting gears so I think that that was is like also very cool to see kind of like that seamless transition like out of the sport if any of you out there have ever been to the Serena building on Nike's campus in Beaverton the biggest room there is named after Olympia and it's her favorite color purple you mentioned that Serena is always the competitor what was it like to be looking up to a tennis player and then next thing you know you can see her across the net warming up from you you all faced off tell me about the mindset that it was like going into a match against Serena well it was so special for me I played Reliving Townsend vs Williams at 2012 US Open our second night match on ash um here at the US Open I think in 2014 and I was so nervous I was like what is about to happen I was so scared um but honestly for me like I'm a competitor too so like once I got out there I was like all right like let's play um but for me I feel like it was such a missed opportunity for me personally because I didn't feel like my team properly prepared me for the moment you know and you know it was just go out there and just have fun and I'm like what like it's a match you know it was kind of like yeah we know you're going we we know that this is about to be bad for you um but it was it was so cool and because it was the first round I had kind of I was telling myself to make me feel better I was like yeah I lost like I think two and three and I don't think that anyone else got more than five games like up until like the semis or finals so I was like okay well I set the tone for the tournament and she ended up winning that year so it was it was amazing but it's so funny because the next time that I played her which I played her in doubles um she was playing with Caroline Waki and we my partner and I played against her in Auckland in the finals of the doubles and I remember how I felt playing against her in singles and I was like you know what I'm going to take this opportunity and like I'm taking it to you you know I was like I'm not scared like come on let's go so she was hitting them returns at me I was like come on let's like I was so pumped up and I was so amped and you know I think that she saw it and it was certain level of respect I was like all right and I was like yeah like come on but um it was it was so much fun but the intimidation level is real I'm just going to say that off the rip I don't want to take you to task here but you lost 3-1 in 55 minutes oh three and one okay four games not bad not bad you know what I'm saying not that not that I'm one to speak I just wanted to correct for the record what was happening got up to got up to 122 she had 16 winners and eight unforced errors so you know take my one game it's okay okay I do want to stick with something you brought up that I think is a very underrated part about Serena's game which is her doubles career it's something that you play you are obviously a grand slam Champion tell us more about what it's like to be a How to balance playing both singles & doubles as a professional tennis player player on the tour who does both and excels at a high level yeah it's it's something that I'm working to try and actively change the mind mindset on on tour because tennis is very linear so they try and like put you in a box like you're a singles player or you're a doubles player but like you can't be really great at both because it's so difficult to juggle both and I'm like no like every single tournament that I play in I play singles and doubles so it's like you know I try I'm trying to just change that mentality number one and number two just not validating doubles as an accomplishment as you know heavily as singles I'm like you it's just as hard like and to be able to do it and to play both singles and doubles to succeed in both singles and like it's not easy so for me like I think that is very important it it helps my game it helps everything that you're doing because you still have to execute you know I'm like it's the same lines it's the same court you have people on the other side like it's not that different and there's a mentality sometimes where it's like oh it's easier or it's this and it's not and you know the transition from Singles to doubles doesn't always correlate so sometimes people who are really good in singles aren't good doubles players because there's strategy changes and you know things positional things that you have to know where to go what to do and Venus and Serena were so successful in doubles I think one because they're sisters and they have trained for so many years together that when you're on the same side of the Court you know how to work together you know how to move you know how to shift you know what the strengths and weaknesses of your partner are which is which are huge like that's a game Cher so you know I think that their double success came because they knew each other so well and they knew how to work together in order to win and also the power the strength the serves all the things that you need to be a successful doubles player they already had so it just it just was the icing on the cape you were a pro on tour when Serena was trying to complete her second Serena slam one of my favorite terms in all of sports what was that like in terms of the hype around it talk from other players the idea that this could happen again the fact that it even happened the first time is crazy yeah I mean Serena has always been kind of the talk of the of the tour you know and due Townsend's experience playing through "Serena Slam" era to her accomplishments I mean rightfully so you know so it it's always a story and and it was very cool to be around because it's like constantly like one-upping herself you know there was nobody else in her Lane that was doing what she was doing that was even remotely close to the accomplishments that she was making so she was it was really her versus her you know so it was it was very cool to be a part of that and to be around it and experience it the The Vibes in terms of just like the aura in the locker room like there I said the intimidation Factor was real you know that locker room presence where you know who you are and you know what you do your accomplishments and like it speaks for itself to where when you walk into a room things change the vibe shift and that was real like she would win games and sets because people were scared and so that was very real and so it was cool to kind of like experience that and kind of see those shifts but then also I was just like hey like I fell victim to it too you know when I played her at the US Open like I was like I don't know what to do where do I stand on the serve like where do I you know just it it that put a certain doubt in your mind of like you start doubting yourself because of the skill set that was presented on the other side of the net by Serena so it was it was very interesting to be a part of that but the the intimidation Factor was real the Serena slam it was it was her versus her so she was chasing history she was chasing you know to be able to make her stamp and and her Mark in the sport and in the tennis world and and to really be the best to ever do it so um it was it was very cool and and I'm I'm blessed to have been able to witness it she won the psychological battle pretty much at all times to the point that she has mentioned not just for accomplishments but in the same vein as the likes of the Tiger Woods is and the Michael Jordans of the world were you able to take anything from that as a competitor yourself seeing it when she wasn't on the court against you across the net absolutely um I really paid attention to the tough moments I really paid attention to how she switched gear years in terms of like the focus and intensity in certain moments all the time the pressure was never from the outside it was always internal and I think that you could see that and Serena has always been very expressive in terms of kind of like what she was feeling on court you would be able to see it and also you could see that shift like when she locked in you could see that and so for me especially now like I've appreciate it a lot more where you can see those shifts and when things were tight when things were hard what she would focus on and kind of Bear Down with and a lot of the times I remember it was like her racket preparation her footwork would like speed up so you could tell that she was going through her mind and going through her process and her head of what she needed to do to hit her shots the best that she could but now I really appreciate that now but another part of that as well is the fearlessness I was so impressed and I'm always so impressed with like she would never just fall into a place of like I just want to make the ball it was what am I doing to this ball I'm about to punish this like this and so that that intensity was is something that I really look at now because that's where I am it's like what do I want to do it's always me I'm in control it has nothing to do like on what's happening on the other side of the net they have to react to what I'm doing and that was how it was for so many years where even from the the time that she retired you knew the serve you were going to have to figure out figure that out because her serve is amazing she's able to hit her spots on a dime like that was just always something that you were going to have to fight against so from start to finish like I just really appreciate those subtle things and and now being in the place where I am in my career I really look at those type of things because that gives you that psychological and mental Edge to be able to see when those greats click and what in what moments and kind of what situations entice that click you know and what makes them lock in and how they lock in and then how long they stay there and so like now I really pay attention to that type of stuff because more than ever I mean I've always said tennis is very mental but it's so mental like 90% mental so really being able to like hone in on what the greats do and how long they're able to stay there it is it's teaching me a lot one of the toughest moments that I think we all remember very well was of course the 2018 final right there in New York where her and Naomi Osaka had to deal with what they dealt with I said very publicly when Serena cries on TV I cry at home what do you remember of that moment in terms of the grace she showed Flashback to Serena's dispute with umpire in 2018 US Open final in a very tough position yeah it was such a strange like situation and with the chair Empires I mean we're even dealing with this stuff today where it's just like we have constant questions as to like why is there no you know consistency with rules there's just so many different things but it was such a strange situation and and also for in a grand slam final like you have to kind of ask like what was really going on because to me personally I didn't really think that she did anything wrong I mean it was a high tension high stress environment and I didn't think that anything really was said that was wrong um so then it goes to personal interpretation and all these different things that really have nothing to do with what's happening on the court so for me I think that for the champion that she is she handled it amazing like I mean it's not easy you know losing in a grand slam final especially in a time like that where it's like so tight in the match so many so tensions are so high but the grace that she showed you know the Embrace that she gave Naomi to congratulate her on winning like you know you don't for Naomi like you don't want to win that way quote unquote but it was like you know such a such a spectacular moment for her but it's just it's tough but I mean Serena's been in that situation so many times and she returned back to that situation again being in another grand slam final was able to handle that gracefully because she didn't win but at the end of the day she's still a champion and I think that being able to kind of like rise above that situation and really just kind of give Naomi her time to shine and not not taking that Spotlight away from her just really spoke to her character okay Taylor it's time to have some fun it is Style Spotlight presented by TJMaxx: Serena's iconic "Catsuit" time for the style Spotlight presented by TJ Maxx and our first look is going to be the iconic 2002 cats suit at the US Open that she wore against Venus talk to me about the look girl okay so you guys want to know something I actually wore cats suits in 20 all of 2022 and part of 2023 because of Serena because of this look I texted her and I said I am terrified to wear this but I'm going to do it and I wore it at the US Open was the first time that I wore them and she was like girl I'm terrified every time that I go out when I'm about to wear something just do it just put it on and I said I'm doing this because of you like I felt like it was such a opportunity to like pay homage to her because she debuted the cats suit at the US Open and I was like you know what I'm bouncing back just had a kid I'm going to debut this and basically show like I'm more confident than ever so it was more of a statement piece for me but she was like do it do it do it and I was like okay if you're telling me to do it I'm going to do it so it was super iconic for me I remember it like no tomorrow I remember that and I was like this is so fire the body was bodying she looked amazing and you know it was just everything that we didn't know that we needed but fantastic on her Puma it was it was everything okay the last one I want to ask you about is of course the 2022 US Open where she came out with the trail the I don't even know what to call it it was sort of a Tut two it had the Stars representing the night sky Olympia was there with the braids as well I mean I was at this match I covered this match and I remember seeing her with my eyeballs and just thinking wow what a look what did you think of that one and it's funny because in 22 then she told me I'm nervous about what I'm wearing and so she then when I saw it I was like oh okay she was like I got crystals falling all over the place like I was like girl we were in the locker room she had crystals in her in her ponytail like fixing her ponytail like crystals in the ponytail like amazing but you know it was very Queen like you know very Royal but I think it was the perfect representation of of who she is and she's actually very very girly so the tutu kind of it was and she has dance background as well so I felt like the tutu is kind of like you know a tribute to that but I thought it was beautiful I thought it was amazing and just I thought it was fantastic but we can't also forget about the denim the denim jean the denim jean skirt with the zip up black jacket and the zip up boots we can't we can't forget about that one that was another one I was like oh my gosh we don't know we need it but we need that those are in the lobby at the Serena building are they on Nike's campus yes they represent that particular outfit I remember seeing it I thought wow Taylor thank you for joining Closing thoughts us I'm going to ask you one last thing before you get out of here where are we in 2024 in terms of Serena Jamaica Williams's impact on not just black women not just tennis but frankly America and sports as you see it overall well her impact it travels globally you know and we talked about Tiger Woods Michael Jordan but Serena is a household name and you don't even have to say Serena wood you just say Serena and everyone knows who you're talking about and you know just the impact that she's had is you know we it's something that we can't even describe but one of the things that I'm so thankful for and and so I'm taking notes with this as well is like the transition from sport into the business world and she's taken all the things that she's learned and and her experiences and has gone into VC funding some amazing compan like and is just really doing some great great things in terms of the business space and I think that it's so cool that we can see how athletes can be really great business people and sometimes it's not really encouraged that you know you just stay linear just be good at your sport do your thing maximize you'll have time for that stuff later and you know I think that the impact that she's making off court now in fashion in finance in just being able to just give opportunity to so many people like in other ways outside and in inspiring in other ways outside of just playing tennis like I just think that that is such a long lasting impact as well and and she's creating Legacy even outside of the tennis court like outside of the lines the Legacy that she's making in terms of her name stamping her name in other spaces and other places and being so multifaceted I just think that it is something that we can all learn from I'm definitely going to pick her brain more and more um you know I I appreciate her she sends me Beauty packages from wi all the time which I love you know her stuff is amazing yes so she's her stuff is fantastic and that's another thing like I really appreciate that the way that she's doing things is is quality as well you know anything that she puts her name on anything that she's associated with is going to be great because that's who she is so all kudos to her I'm looking forward to seeing them soon Serena Venus everybody but you know Serena is oneof a kind spectacular and personally the best to ever do it in the tennis lines she's Taylor Townson 2024 Wimbledon doubles Champion I'm Clinton Yates of ESPN thank you for watching after the arena presented by TJ Maxx