CNN interviewed Serena Williams when she was 9. Here’s what she said:
On making a big move before she was ready to:
“I think I got a little ahead of myself and in the time that I had, I didn’t stop to think that I should be focusing on my game,” she said. “I think the first game, I remember I just started crying, and because I was so nervous, I wanted to start crying. But then I kept it together, and then I started to feel like I started thinking too much. I wanted to play my game and focus on my game. And after I would’ve been down about four games, I was still focused about my game.”
On whether she had a coach at the time:
Serena: “No, I didn’t. My mom did, but she started sending me to get help, and so I didn’t have the full support of my mom at that time. I started practicing by myself, and it was like, this is weird. But then I got really good at tennis, and I felt like I was really good. So I could be playing a little bit and focusing on my game and not being too nervous or too excited or too nervous and just being able to play good. I’d see other girls and they were getting on in their career, and they weren’t as good as me and they were focusing on their game and not being able to play as well.”
On whether she thought of it as an opportunity or a curse:
“I think it’s a little bit of both. I think at the beginning, I was like, ‘oh my gosh, I want to get better. I need to get better. I need to go out there and play some more, and I need to get better so I can do better.’ But then I was like, ‘oh, I’m not going to be playing as much, and I just want to be better.’ And then I started focusing on my game, and I started getting really good. But at like that point, I think I was really excited. And then at around that same time, I heard from my mom that I could compete for a scholarship.”
On if she played in the French
