"My mom was an inspiration" - Venus Williams credits her mother for drive to fight for equal pay in tennis

Venus Williams has set multiple records in the world of tennis, but the former World No.1 is especially proud of being an advocate for and finally achieving pay equity for women in the sport.

For Williams, playing Wimbledon as a young athlete was an eye-opening experience in that regard.

“Getting there and realizing, ‘Wow, I’m not being paid equally,’ was just definitely a slap in the face to a 16-year-old. … It hit me hard,” says Williams, who at age 25 formally began crusading to close the pay gap so that women would earn equal prize money to men.

When she won her first major singles championship at Wimbledon in 2000, she was paid less than Pete Sampras, who took the men’s title. Seven years later when she won Wimbledon, she became the first woman to be paid equally to her male counterpart, Roger Federer.

“Two short years later, after 30-plus years of fighting for equal prize money, we finally arrived. It was a wonderful moment,” says Williams, who at 41 is training rigorously for a forthcoming tournament following a break after playing Wimbledon last July.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion has fond memories of growing up in a family of girls: “There was always someone to gossip with, and we always had — and still have — a blast to this very day.” While their hard-charging father, Richard Williams, pushed Venus and Serena to become world-class players, it was their mother’s coaching, strength, humor and healthy life perspective that also helped motivate and shape the sisters in their formative years.

“My mom was an inspiration,” says Williams. “She’s a wonderful, fun lady, strong lady, good tennis player and a great cook. She’s also very spiritually strong, so it gave us an opportunity to have belief and hope and to be calm and not be stressed about the regular worries of the day.” Moreover, their mother, Oracene Price, “impressed upon us the importance of telling the truth and living the truth.” And, says Williams, she’s a great singer!