"It's changed, no one's calling these girls the things I was called": Serena Williams offers comparisons to battles she faced in contrast to Gauff and Osaka now

Serena Williams has had to battle through a lot in her life to reach the astounding heights in tennis. The 23-time Grand Slam champion is grateful that younger black players such as Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka have it easier than she did.

Speaking to Porter, the 44-year-old was reminiscing on her glorious career. She was the dominant force on the WTA Tour for well over two decades, breaking barricades and accumulating accolades regularly. She won a total of 39 Grand Slam titles from singles to doubles, four Olympic gold medals and 73 tour-level singles titles in a decorated career. While the titles came at a rate of knots, there were setbacks in her career.

Despite finding herself in the headlines for her brilliance and success on the court, this was never a position Williams felt comfortable in or relishes. “I do not like attention on me. I guess in tennis, I just did the best I could do, but I’m not the kind of person that needs to be in the centre, in the front," Williams said. "It felt really good to be honoured, but I was like, I’m never doing this again. Everyone’s like, congrats and good job. And I’m like, can we just not talk about me right now?”

Out of all she had achieved, many people were quick to take a jab at her. One was her physique, with many ostracising her from other players in this topic. “It does affect you mentally. Absolutely,” she admitted. “You think you’re large for your whole life and you look [back] and you’re like, I was fit. Yeah, I had big muscles. I didn’t look like these other girls but not everyone looks the same.”

Early in her career, she made an important decision that would avoid her from drinking in the negative attention she would sometimes be a victim of. “When I was 17, when I won the Open for the first time, I took a decision there. I was so young, but I said I’m never going to read anything about me. At the Open, there was so much positivity, and I thought, I don’t want my head to get too big. I wanted to stay humble. I also thought if it’s negative, I don’t want to read it. I never really read an article after that.”

Williams gave an insight on the sad reality of being black while growing up in the sport. “Growing up and being Black in tennis, it’s just like, well, that comes with negativity,” she stated. “You have something mean to say, get in line. You got to go way back. It’s going to take you a few days to get there. Join the crowd. I don’t hear the noise. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. How am I going to sit here and change someone’s thought? If [you] don’t like me, you don’t have to.”

Luckily in tennis, Williams believes that this has changed for the better, despite the 'internet trolls' that persist most players in the sport. It is massively to the benefit of black players such as Gauff and Osaka, Grand Slam champions who have already made a lasting impact in the sport. “It’s changed. No one’s calling these girls the [things] I was called. People would say we were like men and all this other stuff,” she confessed.

“I’m not going to let anyone bring me down. I put enough stress on myself. The last thing I’m going to allow is someone else to do that. But I’m so happy that girls nowadays don’t have to go through it as much. I mean, I think internet trolls are different. So, you have that to deal with.”