*Tennis champ Serena Williams sat down with her ex-boyfriend Common for a candid discussion in a one-hour special that aired Sunday night on ESPN’s “The Undefeated.”
During their conversation, Williams touched on her legacy, her body image, activism, and of course race and racism were talking points.
“I do remember one time… these kids came up behind me while we were practicing and — I was probably, like, 7 — they were calling me Blacky,” Williams tells Common. “I remember thinking, ‘I don’t really care.’ That’s pretty crazy to think that at that age.”
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Serena believes much of the criticism she has endured over the years stems from being a fierce black woman who is confident and competitive, which is very threatening to many non-black folks.
“I was black and I was confident… I am black and I am confident. I would say, ‘I feel like I can be No. 1.’ Well, why shouldn’t I say that? If I don’t think I’m going to be the best, why do I play?”
Williams — who is worth $150m, and in 2016 was ranked by Forbes as the highest paid female athlete in the world — also revealed that the negative comments about her body once made her feel uncomfortable.
“I felt like I was too strong,” Williams said. “And then I had to take a second and think, who says I’m too strong? This body has enabled me to be the greatest player I can be and I’m not going to scrutinize that.”
She added, “And now my body is in style, so I’m feeling good about it… I totally embrace who I am and what I am.”
You can watch Serena Williams on “The Undefeated” in its entirety HERE.
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