Venus Williams: The eternal favourite

Where some players require regular reinvention, Venus Williams is an enduring force. Playing her first professional match at age 15 in 1994, the American claimed her maiden Slam title at Wimbledon within five years, and rose to world No.1 in 2001. Having now contested a record 73 Grand Slams, Venus maintains a top 20 ranking and recently told an American interviewer that she’s targeting an appearance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Often asked to explain her longevity, Venus provided some fascinating insights.

I became No. 1 when I was 21 … I was still pretty young. I really never played for the ranking; I just played for me. Whatever that ranking is, it’s not like I’m going to play more or less for any ranking. I don’t know if that was a hit or miss on my career, but it was something I was comfortable with.

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I definitely have the will (to keep competing), so I think I will keep finding the way.

With effort something’s got to happen. I put a lot of effort into this (maintaining dominance). It’s not by luck at all. So, you know, I definitely feel like my wins are deserved. I feel like I’m going to get more as the future goes on.

Everything I’ve gone through (in suffering from auto-immune condition Sjogren’s Syndrome, which was diagnosed in 2011) has proven to me that I love the game. Because to be out here is an effort, to say the least. So it’s proved that I love this clearly enough to go through this. And to reach perfection is something I still expect from myself, no matter what, whatever it is I’m going through.

An as an athlete, you’re always aiming for perfection, you want more and more and more. It’s never enough. That’s what I’m looking forward to, to peak every time I get on the court. That pretty much doesn’t happen ’cause I’m always wanting to be better.

(Perfection) doesn’t happen often. Just as good as perfection is just feeling like you are in a rhythm. When you’re in a rhythm, that’s good enough, because then you feel like you can get into points and find a way to win them. That’s a good place to be, as well.

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(Achieving consistency) is just a lot of willpower. That’s really what it is. I started to feel better more consistently this year, so I’m always trying to find things to help me feel my best. But even if I’m not feeling great, I still manage to get a good fight in out there.

People are probably intrigued that myself and a number of other players are playing quality tennis at this age. It’s something that never happened before… I guess 36 is the new 26.

I’m blessed (to have played a record 73 Grand Slams). All I’m hoping for is just health that I can keep that record going. I don’t know when I’m going to stop playing. I don’t have plans now. I’m playing too well to be thinking about stopping. I appear to be getting better each and every month. So I’d like to make that record hard for someone to break.

I’m grateful that I can still play the game I want to play right now. As an athlete, as a tennis player, that’s what you want. You want to be out there and play the game you want to play. If you get to the point where you can’t do that, that’s where you need to start to think, ‘Okay, I need to move on’. I’m not at that point yet, and hopefully I’ll be able to play the game I want to play right until the last day that I’m done.

(I’m) clearly enjoying the game to (still) be here. I love what I do.

I love that I love it. So when you love something, you put the work in. I love the challenge. Definitely I like the pressure. I like the high stakes. All of that makes it just perfect for my personality.