Review by Ahmed Olayinka Sule, CFA
On the Line (Queen of the Court-UK Edition)
By Serena Williams with Daniel Paisner
Grand Central Publishing
Hardcover: 272 pages
Determination, determination and determination. These three words come off each and every page of Serena Williams’ autobiography entitled ‘On the line’, which was released in September 2009 during the US Open Championship. The autobiography is an honest account of Serena’s journey, from her humble beginnings as a three year old struggling to grip a standard sized tennis racquet on the Compton tennis courts, to her triumph as an eleven times Grand Slam winning tennis icon.
The youngest of five children, Serena grew up along with her other sisters in Compton in Los Angeles. Her father Richard and her mother Oracene were hardworking African Americans who had a desire to make a better life for their children. As parents, they instilled in their children strong values and motivated them to believe in themselves.
Serena’s journey to the game of tennis began three years before her birth. In 1978, after watching the French Open champion Virginia Ruzici collect a cheque of $40,000, Richard Williams, who was surprised at the amount of prize money, became determined that he would produce daughters that would become global tennis icons. He told his wife: “we need to make two more kids and make them into tennis superstars”. Serena began her tennis training at the age of three, playing alongside her sister Venus under the watchful gaze of her self-trained father and mother. Her training regime involved training several hours a day on the dilapidated courts of Compton.
As the youngest of her siblings, Serena was used to having her way and was very naughty and rebellious. She sometimes struggled with her self-image as a youngster, as she did not feel she was on a par with her other sisters in terms of style, fashion and flair. Her sisters, however, were always caring and treated her like a princess.
The Serena story is incomplete without discussion of her relationship with her sister and tennis double partner Venus, who she describes as her best friend. Serena writes that in spite of her family’s belief in her capability during her formative years, outsiders, including players and the media, focused their attention on Venus. As a result Serena lived under Venus’ shadow for a long time. However, the underestimation of her abilities only motivated Serena to prove her detractors wrong. When a journalist suggested that Serena would only amount to a ‘footnote in Venus’ career’, Serena kept it the article, later stating: “I promised myself I’d never forget that article, that one day I’d prove the reporter wrong. It was a cruel thing to say, but I turned it into some more of that silent fuel”.
In spite of the one year and three months age difference between the two sisters, Serena describes Venus as being very protective of her. This is still evident today, as demonstrated in the recently concluded 2009 US Open in which Venus rose to Serena’s defence in response to the media questioning Serena’s outburst against the umpire during her semi-final game with Kim Clijster. Besides seeing Venus as a protector, Serena also sees Venus as a motivator. She writes: “Without Venus to lead the way, it would have taken me longer to get to where I wanted to be”.
If there is one defining characteristic that defines Serena, it is her resilience in the midst of adversity. For instance, during the final of the Indiana Wells tournament, despite being jeered by a hostile crowd throughout the match, Serena was able to overcome their verbal taunts to win the championship. “If Althea Gibson could fight her way through far worse, I had an obligation to fight through this. And not just fight – I had an obligation to prevail”, she writes with regards to her feelings during the match.
I had the opportunity to see a sample of Serena’s resilience in the midst of adversity during the 2007 Wimbledon Championship when she defeated Daniela Hantuchova despite collapsing in pain earlier in the match due to a serious calf injury. What really amazed me in that match was her will power and determination to win the match even when the odds were against her.
When her boyfriend jilted her in 2002 she felt dejected. However, rather than play the sympathy card, she channeled her energy into her game, which resulted in her achieving her legendary Serena Slam between 2002 and 2003, winning the French, Wimbledon, US and Australian Championships in succession.
She also had to overcome a personal tragedy in the form of the loss of her elder sister Yetunde who she describes as having a giant heart. This loss, coupled with a career threatening injury, resulted in a lack of motivation to play the game of tennis, culminating in a spate of inconsistent results between 2004 and 2006.
After entering the tennis wilderness for the first time in her career, Serena experienced a Damascus Road encounter during a trip to West Africa in November 2006. Like Obama, Mohammed Ali, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X before her, the visit to Africa enabled her to appreciate her heritage. “It put me in full mind of my heritage and my responsibility to that heritage”, she notes. Her visit to the notorious Cape Coast Slave Castle in Ghana was very meaningful to her. “I came away thinking I was part of the strongest race in human history. Someone else might have been depressed by what I’d just seen, but I chose to find the power in it, to be lifted by it”, she states regarding her experience at the castle.
Her return from the trip marked a turning point in her life both on and off the court. As she puts it, “Really, my entire mind-set changed as a result of that trip… there nothing that can break me. On the court. Off the court. Anywhere”. Since the trip her career has continued on an upward trajectory both on and off the court.
So, what lessons can be we learn from Serena? First, the road to success is often marked with sweat, blood and tears. Second, focus and determination are key ingredients to success.
THE ALATENUMO 