"Everyone said I didn't look like an athlete": Serena Williams opens up about her difficult beginnings on the circuit

In a poignant interview, Serena Williams looks back on her professional beginnings marked by criticisms about her physique.

u00a9 AFP

Jules Hypolite

le 01/12/2025 à 20h43

1 min to read

Williams

A little over three years after her retirement, Serena Williams continues to make headlines in the media, having given an interview to the outlet Net-a-porter this Monday.

The American champion, winner of 23 Grand Slam titles, notably discussed her difficulties in accepting herself physically when she was young.

"Everyone said I didn't look like an athlete"

Serena Williams indeed felt that she didn't fit the standards of women's sports, in addition to receiving many criticisms on the subject:

"When I started playing, it was hard for me. My body was different. I had a big chest, buttocks... and every athlete around me was super thin. That was the norm. Yes, it affects you mentally. Everyone said I didn't look like an athlete.

Your whole life, you think you're too imposing, then you look back and realize I was just in great shape. Yes, I had big muscles. I didn't look like the other girls, but we're not all the same.

After winning my first Grand Slam in 1999, I decided to stop reading articles about myself to protect myself.

Now, things have changed. These players are no longer treated the way we were treated. Back then, we were told we looked like men, and many other things."