Venus Williams Thinking Quotations

I think nowadays it's so easy as an athlete to become a statistic whether or not you lose everything or having trouble or whatever it may be.

As far as everyone else's opinion, I mean, if I would have thought that everyone was right, I probably wouldn't have left Compton, so I don't get too caught up on what the next person thinks.

Serena and I have done some great career planning, and we're playing really at the peak of our tennis right now. I think tennis has been a sport where people play this insane schedule from 14 years old, so of course at 26, it's over. We've really paced ourselves.

I think I've been fortunate to be at the top of the game and in the media for years, and a lot of times, people want to be your friend when you're on the top. You know, there have been times when I've been injured and I never got a phone call. So that's the way it is.

My dresses are designed to win, so going through it, I think about, what do I want to represent? So, definitely, Vera Wang has been an inspiration for me.

The big push for me is the Olympics this year. If I'm healthy, I'm not worried about my ranking. I think I can hit the ball. It's just about my body cooperating. It's about being able to play matches in a row. Right now, I'm not sure how much I can do with that, but we'll see.

It's always nice to go into a match thinking you have the edge, ... Even if I don't have the edge, I'll have to try to tell myself that I do.

You know, growing up my - you know, I came from Compton, Calif., and, you know, it was a place where a lot of people did come out when a lot of people stayed. So I've been able to see the top and the bottom of life, and I think that balances you if you allow it to and if you remember where you came from.

In my mind, I'm always the best. If I walk out on the court (and) I think the next person is better, I've already lost.

It is very important not to think about losing.

I believe I live in a black and white. I think things are like either black or white. I don't really believe that much in the gray. I think that there's gray for a lot of people, but I don't live in the gray. I realize whatever action I have or take, it's going to have a consequence -- either good or bad. So I live my life in a way where I don't have bad consequences. I just notice there's a lot people around me just live in the gray. I don't know, for me, I'm just really straightforward.

I think that Billie (Jean King) and Zina (Garrison), they have a whole lot of experience. Even if I don't quite agree with something or have a different way of doing it this week, whatever they said, I did it right away and I found out that it was correct. I think that's helped a lot...I'm having fun. I had a lot of fun out there. Sometimes I was ready to smile -- but I knew I'd lose focus -- because I was doing things that I'd done in practice and we talked about. I was ready to laugh and give someone a high-five, but it wasn't time for that.

I feel a little more tired than usual, ... Ive had to recover from everything, my illnesses and things this summer. Its not perfect circumstances, but Im definitely going to be out there and hopefully have my letdown after the Open ... I think Ill go in mentally a lot better. When it comes down to it I dont think anyone really wants to play me because I have a lot of weapons and not a ton of weaknesses. My main weakness would probably be an occasional self-destruction mode. So Ill try not to touch that red button accidentally.

We're all conditioned that we shouldn't like our brothers and sisters, that we should be angry and fight. But that's abnormal. A lot of people think that the way Serena and I are with one another is weird. It's not.

Sometimes, when there's a video montage. I'm thinking, 'That's my life. Oh, my God, I did that.' Yeah, it's amazing.

When you step out on the court, I don't think anybody thinks about age. Because if you're out on this tour, it means you deserve to be here. You've got the skill. It must mean you know how to play.

I think I can change the game.

I think if you have the opportunity to bully your opponent then you have to take that chance.

I think every single point will be important, .. I think more than anything, I'll just have to be able to compete better. When you're playing Serena Williams, you have to compete better than her. I got a lot of tricks from Serena just watching her. She inspired me so many times. I also got motivated by her in the early part of my career, and even now. I just have to compete better, bottom line.