In a recent interview, Serena Williams discussed the value of the serve in tennis, particularly the second serve.
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Williams was one of the best tennis players of all time and had a reputation for having the most powerful and technically flawless serve in the world at her peak. Williams believes that many players have won Grand Slams in the women’s game despite having subpar second serves, even though she acknowledges the importance of the second serve. Williams joked that the main reason they won was that she played poorly that day when asked what contributed to their victory.
The American tennis great recently participated in a conversation about all things tennis, hosted by Wilson Tennis, with Billie Jean King, Borna Coric, Reilly Opelka, Linda Fruhvirtova, Clervie Ngounoue, and Nicholas Godsick. King brought up the famous tennis adage, “You are only as strong as your second serve,” during the conversation. According to King, a player’s second serve can make the difference on a day when their first serve is having trouble.
I think it’s different in the women’s game,” Serena Williams expressed. “If your second serve is good, it’s still wonderful, but a lot of people have won Grand Slams that haven’t had a super strong second serve.” The 41-year-old then sarcastically asserted that many players could defeat her despite having terrible second serves. Because I played terrible that day, against a number of players. It’s true,” the 23-time Grand Slam singles champ added when asked to elaborate on her point of view.
Serena Williams spoke candidly about her motivations for beginning to play tennis and her subsequent intense interest in the game. Williams’ younger sister claimed that she followed her sister Venus in all she did and that this contributed to her taking up the sport. It is no secret that Williams’ father Richard introduced her to the sport. After realising how skilled she was at tennis, the American great was inspired to continue playing.
I played tennis because my dad put me into it. Venus played and I literally do everything that Venus does, or I used to,” Serena Williams said on the same. That’s literally why I played and then I got pretty good at it and I love to win. So yeah, I just kept going,” she added. In her final season on the pro tour, Williams was recently nominated for the WTA Comeback Player of the Year award. Along with Tatjana Maria, Donna Vekic, and Daria Saville, she received a nomination.
