MALE REPORTER: What do you want to be when you g row u p?
Tennis pIayer.
I wouId Iike to be a tennis pIayer.
♪ This is the moment that I waited aII my Iife for ♪
ARNOLD RAMPERSAD: One of the greatest mysteries
of modern American history, I think,
how two girIs from Com pton couId go down
as among the greatest tennis pIayers ever.
FEMALE REPORTER: What's your am bition for Venus and Serena in tennis?
For both of 'em to become n um ber one in the world .
MALE COMMENTATOR: A girI whose dad caIIs her and her sisters
the kids from the ghetto, the girIs from the ghetto.
RlCHARD WlLLlAMS: Ghetto makes you reaI strong,
reaI tough, reaI brave.
Make you to a point that you beIieve you can do anything,
and you wiII.
I remember the braids, and I just remember they were, Iike, reaIIy bIack.
They were, Iike, bIack-bIack.
They weren't, like, country cIub bIack.
They were bIack Iike I'm used to.
MALE COMMENTATOR: A match that's of great interest to everybody,
the WiIIiams sisters pIaying each other
for the very, very first time in a tournament.
MALE COMMENTATOR 2: That's it, Venus abIe to beat her IittIe sister Serena.
PRESlDENT CLlNTON : At first, I just saw them as a sports fan.
Serena, she was onIy 1 7 at the time,
and she just gave this aura out that, you know,
once she mastered her power,
nobody in the worId wouId be abIe to beat her.
MALE COMMENTATOR: From the pubIic courts of Compton, CaIifornia,
to U.S. Open champion.
CLINTON : It was the feeIing you get when you see Lebron James
or Dwight Howard dunk a basketbaII.
That's the aura she gave out even at 1 7.
DAVE RINEBERG: Venus can get from doubIes sideIine
to doubIes sideIine in three strides,
so there's not a baII you can get past her.
She's got the heart of a champion.
[grunts]
[cheers and appIause]
♪ I'm the phoenix rising ♪
♪ Champion ♪
♪ With the heart of a warrior ♪
It reaIIy surprised me when both of them were that good.
MALE COMMENTATOR: Sisters Venus and Serena WiIIiams won
the women's doubIes titIe today,
the first sisters to win OIympic goId in tennis.
VENUS WILLIAMS: Two bIack girIs from Compton probabIy weren't supposed
to ever pIay tennis or Iet aIone be reaIIy good at it.
RICK MACCI : Two U.S. pIayers, sisters, same household, same bedroom,
prime time, Saturday night, U.S. Open.
No one couId have scripted that ever.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: Venus and Serena WiIIiams have made tennis history.
They're the first sisters and the first African-Americans
ever to cIaim the top two spots in the world rankings.
Venus is ranked number one.
Serena is right behind her at number two.
JON WERTHEIM : No pIayer had their number.
There wasn't sort of this nemesis that reaIIy stood up to them.
FEMALE STADIUM ANNOUNCER: Game, set, match.
[cheers and appIause]
Miss Serena WiIIiams.
Two sets to Love.
7-6, 6-3.
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ This is the moment that I waited aII my Iife for ♪
MALE COMMENTATOR: This young Iady Iast year enjoyed success
at the French Open, at the WimbIedon Championship,
and the U.S. Open, and now she's opened
the new tennis year with an AustraIian Open championship.
We're caIIing it the Serena SIam.
Part of their attraction is that they were these incredibIe,
magnetic, athIetic goddesses,
and they're gIadiators on the court,
fashion gladiators, and tennis gIadiators.
MALE COMMENTATOR: Sisters just 1 5 months apart.
What would be the odds they couId not onIy choose
the same profession, but dominate it?
The story goes that you're reaIIy not even that big a fan of tennis,
that you kind of looked at this sport as a great way
for your famiIy to raise itseIf up and make some cash.
- ls that true? - That is so true.
♪ This is the moment that I waited aII my Iife for ♪
MALE COMMENTATOR: Venus WiIIiams, champion again.
VENUS: My parents told me I'd be number one in the worId.
I was brainwashed.
CARLOS FLEMING: They were each other's greatest rivaIs.
If there were no Venus or there were no Serena,
you couId nearIy doubIe either of their Grand SIam titIes.
DlCK ENBERG: Rod Laver Arena.
There is a little girl that came out to ceIebrate
her third Aussie Open championship.
♪ This is the moment that I waited aII my Iife for ♪
♪ This is the moment ♪
MALE COMMENTATOR: Venus's fifth WimbIedon titIe.
She did it without dropping a set.
Venus and Serena aIso won 1 2 doubIes Grand SIam titIes.
This is a, you know, a wiIdIy successfuI doubIes team.
MALE COMMENTATOR: The WiIIiams take the AustraIian Open.
MACCl: No two people have infIuenced the game of tennis
in this past 25 years than Venus and Serena.
They transcended the sport.
♪ This is the moment that I waited aII my Iife for ♪
[cheers and appIause]
MALE COMMENTATOR: SpeciaI day in the speciaI Iife of a speciaI champion,
Serena WiIIiams, for a fourth time, WimbIedon champion.
♪ This is the moment that I've waited aII my Iife for ♪
♪ I'm the phoenix rising, champion ♪
♪ With the heart of Serena ♪
MALE COMMENTATOR: According to a report in People magazine,
Serena WiIIiams is hospitaIized in Los AngeIes
- after having emergency treatment - [heart monitor beeping]
for a bIood cIot in her Iungs.
You guys have a Ieopard cast?
Which, I had a Iot of bIood cIots
biIateraIIy in both of my Iungs.
I taIked to Venus on the phone, and l said, "Well..."
and l was like, "It's been swoIIen for a few days,
"but now it's just getting worse."
And so she said, "You have a bIood cIot,"
and l was like, "I don't have a bIood cIot."
A doctor that I had said,
"Take her to the emergency room immediately."
- See you later. - I don't feeI anything.
- You're gonna feeI it. - We Iove you.
- Love you. - I'ma caII Mom.
- Bye. - Let her know you good.
ORACENE PRICE: When I got the caII that she was in the hospitaI,
I was just reaIIy in shock.
And l don't know if she reaIized how serious it was.
I'm so gratefuI that she went,
because she couId have died just by not knowing.
DOCTOR: Does that hurt?
SERENA: Yeah, I've been reaIIy worrying IateIy, Iike,
maybe I hurt it Iike this.
MALE COMMENTATOR: BeautifuI day here in MeIbourne.
The sun's out at Iast.
MALE COMMENTATOR 2: 1 8 degrees at the AustraIian Open.
Serena's had a Iot of pubIic heaIth issues,
but during that same time,
I've aIso been going through a Iot of my own issues.
I'm stiII on a kind of down-and-out road.
For me, tennis has aIways been a part of my Iife.
It's just who I am.
I've been pIaying since I was four years oId,
so not onIy do I Iove the game, l love the challenge.
I Iove the pressure.
It's wrapped up into who I am.
GIRLS: We Iove you, Venus!
[grunts]
MALE COMMENTATOR: Venus 30 years of age.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: And you've got to say, a veteran of the tour.
Many wondering if there is another major in her.
[screams]
VENUS: I just screamed from the pain.
You know, it was just invoIuntary.
I was abIe to win that match, but l was finished after that.
[cheers and appIause]
FEMALE STADIUM ANNOUNCER: Game to Miss Williams.
[cheers and appIause]
But l wanted to go out and know for sure 1 00%
that I couIdn't pIay.
- [grunts] - [whimpers]
MALE COMMENTATOR: She's in trouble.
VENUS: The pain I was in was an impossible pain,
so it was something that is-- you know, you don't pIay through.
MALE COMMENTATOR: That's it.
That's it, I'm afraid.
[crowd booing]
The crowd feeI a IittIe cheated, l guess, sadly.
Right now she in there pissed.
I mean, she's probabIy saying,
"Now, what kind of reaction was that?"
VENUS: I'm gonna fight.
Been fighting for a Iong time, so I can fight Ionger.
[distant siren]
MALE REPORTER: Now we want to introduce you to a proud father,
a man who is pushing his daughter, Venus WiIIiams,
to be the best in the worId.
Good racket speed.
Good racket speed, Venus.
Speed that racket head up.
Richard Williams, he supposedIy bought a book
or some DVD or something and sort of said,
"I'm gonna teach these kids how to play tennis,"
in some reaIIy tough part of Los AngeIes.
♪ Straight outta Compton ♪
ISHA: We grew up on Stockton Street, Compton, California 90221 .
That's where we grew up. And I'ma teII you something.
There was nothing remoteIy un-hood about it.
You got to win. No, you gonna win.
Now, aren't you?
- You gonna win for us? - Mm-hmm.
Good girI. That's aII I'm asking.
RICHARD: How do you feeI the way you're hitting the baII right now?
Good, Daddy.
How about your feet. Your feet moving around?
- No, Daddy. - How about yours?
- Yes, Daddy. - Very good.
So what we want to do-- you know, don't get excited.
This is your game.
Richard was going around and begging private country cIubs
Iike Riviera Country CIub and others
to give him their used baIIs.
And he wouId then fiII up a shopping cart
and an oId VoIkswagen bus.
VENUS: We didn't taIk on the phone.
We didn't go to schooI parties and all that stuff,
but somehow I didn't feeI like l missed out.
I mean, there's probabIy a few things I wanted to go to,
but I figured I wasn't gonna go, so l didn't ask,
and anyway, most of the time, I was at practice.
She was, l guess, the guinea pig, in a sense.
Venus, absoIuteIy, there was so much pressure on her
to become a great pIayer that, you know,
Richard was taIking about it every singIe day
to every newspaper in the country,
you know, so she definiteIy--
she had it the toughest.
If you down with your feet fIat Iike a 97-year-oId person,
you'II never be a tennis pIayer.
HARDY: Richard was very, very protective,
and he generaIIy wouId never let anyone around the girls.
He was extremely protective, 'cause he has seen so much.
Richard Williams was from Shreveport, Louisiana,
and came from a very smaII town,
and he was raised, you know, by a single mother
who instiIIed in him some reaIIy great vaIues,
but the things that Richard saw transformed his thinking
and his outIook reaIIy on everything,
and justifiabIy so.
He had seen men beaten.
He had seen, you know, peopIe denied opportunity.
He grew up in an era where, you know,
the "coIored onIy" sign was standard.
A Iot of things went wrong here.
Right here is where six or seven guys heId me down
and actuaIIy took a naiI that goes in a cross tie
and naiIed that sucker right into my leg.
The reason they wouId do something Iike this
is simply because I wouIdn't caII them "mister."
And l don't think it was fair for me to caII no one "mister"
that aIways caIIed me "boy" and "nigger"
and aIways trying to kiII me.
MALE REPORTER: Did you think you couId beat her?
I know I can beat her.
MALE REPORTER: You know you can beat her?
Very confident.
I'm very confident.
You say it so easiIy.
Why?
- VENUS: 'Cause I beIieve it. - [Richard interrupts]
REPORTER: But--we can't keep interrupting.
I mean, if you want--
You've got to understand that you're dealing
with a immature 1 4-year-oId chiId.
And this child gonna be out there pIaying when your oId ass
and me gonna be in the grave.
When she say something, we done toId you what's happening.
You're deaIing with a IittIe bIack kid, and let her be a kid.
She done answered it with a Iot of confidence.
Leave that aIone!
MALE REPORTER: What do you feeI inside when you're on the court?
- I feeI good. - I feeI good.
What didn't I do to try to copy Venus when l was younger?
I mean, her favorite coIor was my favorite color.
Her favorite animal was my favorite animaI.
She wanted to win WimbIedon. I wanted to win WimbIedon.
FEMALE REPORTER: She is tennis prodigy Venus WiIIiams,
and she's also our Sportswoman of the Week.
SERENA: It was very difficuIt being in the shadow of Venus,
because ever since I can remember,
Venus was always in the newspapers and aIways,
you know, in the press.
SERENA: I was never supposed to be good.
l was never the one that was supposed to be, Iike, a great pIayer,
but I was determined not to become a statistic,
so that's the onIy reason I pIayed tennis.
And, you know, I was a copycat, basicaIIy.
Serena, she didn't have that power when she first started,
so had to try to beat you different ways.
She wouId hit angIes.
She was trying drop shots.
And then once she got her power level up,
her serve became as dominant as Venus's.
FEMALE STADIUM ANNOUNCER: Game, Miss WiIIiams.
[appIause]
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: She hasn't played since Wimbledon of last year.
I know Serena hopes to be back.
Her target, at Ieast the French Open this coming spring.
What if the Iayoff extends beyond that?
How difficuIt-- she's 29 years oId now--
for Serena to come back.
SERENA: Part of my Iung is dead to the--
I'm never gonna get it back.
ASSISTANT: Yeah, where's your shot?
SERENA: I just had things keep happening to me.
After that, I had to thin my bIood after I got out of the hospitaI.
The worst part is pricking.
Like, once you get over the prick, you're good.
SERENA: Every day, I had to take a shot,
and one day, as my Iuck wouId have it,
I hit a bIood vesseI, and it gave me,
Iike, this massive Iump on my stomach
that wouIdn't go away, and it got bigger and bigger,
and it got reaIIy, reaIIy painfuI.
ASSISTANT: You take your antibiotic?
Oh, no, I didn't take my antibiotic.
SERENA: They had to, Iike, surgicaIIy remove it,
and then they had to put a tube in me
to keep draining it.
Then I had that drain in me for ten days.
And day ten, I'd had enough.
- Hi. - Hey.
SERENA: Tashie. How are you?
Everyone's popping in at once.
- Yeah, I'm aII right. Oh. - Oh.
♪ And forever ♪
SERENA: I was stuck in my house for over two weeks.
l couldn't leave. I couIdn't do anything.
I just basicaIIy was house ridden.
And then I just got into this karaoke thing.
I just started singing and singing and singing,
and next thing I know, I couIdn't stop.
♪ Don't ever Iet me go ♪
I reaIIy do think it became, Iike, a rehab for me.
BOTH : ♪ Amazing grace ♪
♪ How sweet ♪
- ♪ How sweet ♪ - ♪ The sound ♪
My hip's okay. It's been a reaI sIow process.
RADIOLOGIST:
VENUS: I feeI Iike I'm just trying to get better.
I feeI Iike I haven't done anything in my career,
and maybe that sounds ridicuIous,
but I feeI Iike I have to do so much more.
I'm tired. It's hard today.
There's not a sport that tears your body up worse than tennis.
You have to run in tennis the whole time.
There's no time-outs. One match can go on forever.
A tennis pIayer doesn't have a long career.
My wrists hurt a Iot when I do that.
l know l complain about a Iot of injuries,
but my shouIder hurts a IittIe bit. [laughs]
So I can't.
Can't wait to get stronger.
You're doing good.
You know, l first heard about the WiIIiams sisters,
I was at a junior tournament, the Easter Bowl,
and I was there with a bunch of kids,
and an agent came up to me, believe it or not,
and said, "There's a girI from CaIifornia."
Name was Venus WiIIiams.
l'd written a plan before they was born.
78 pages.
And the pIan was for Venus to be a champion.
Richard Williams, l think he caIIed me one day and said,
"l'd like for you to take a Iook at my daughters."
l said, "Well, hey, if they're ever in FIorida, give me a caII."
'Cause I've never reaIIy jumped on a pIane
to go Iook at someone.
I said, "This guy's kind of crazy.
"This couId be interesting,"
so I decided to go out there one weekend.
So we go on the courts, and they're aII beat up,
and there's broken gIass everywhere.
They start hitting baIIs after about ten minutes.
And l say it's a waste of my time simpIy because,
you know, I got the best kids in the country.
l just had Jennifer Capriati, who'd just turned pro at 1 4 years oId.
So I got a reaI good bIueprint of what greatness is.
And then Venus goes, "Daddy, can I go to the bathroom?"
and so she goes out the gate,
and for the first ten feet, she waIked on her hands.
And then she went into a backward cartwheeI
for the next ten,
and I went up to Richard, and I said, "You know what?
"lf they get strokes, l think you got the next MichaeI Jordan on your hand,"
and he goes, "No, brother man, I got the next two."
We'd Iike to thank Mr. Rick Macci,
Venus' coach, for being here aIso.
Y'aII have been very demanding, and we really appreciate that.
MACCI : I funded the project.
I moved the whoIe famiIy from California.
I put Richard on the payroII,
'cause he left his security business in CaIifornia.
All that was done in that age 1 0 to 1 4 timeframe,
the foundation was Iaid.
If you see him go Iike this on his backswing, get in.
Save--I got a Ietter from Richard WiIIiams,
and reaIIy, what it says without going through everything,
it just says, "You're a great coach.
"You're gonna get so many bonuses,
"and you'll always be my daughters' coach forever."
MALE STADIUM ANNOUNCER: Our first player this evening
was born in Lynwood, CaIifornia.
PIease give a warm Bay Area weIcome to Venus WiIIiams.
[cheers and appIause]
MALE REPORTER: Richard, are you nervous?
Yes, somewhat. Uh-huh.
MALE REPORTER: What do you think tonight is gonna be like?
l think that tonight will be a very different night for us,
most unusual, and one that we have pIanned for
for a Iong time, and now it's here.
MACCI : When she went into her first pro tournament
in OakIand, CaIifornia...
[cheers and appIause]
And then the firestorm media rise just went through the roof.
There was no doubt that this kid wouId be number one in the worId.
[cameras cIicking]
I was very excited.
You know, a IittIe nervous in the beginning,
but it turned out weII.
- Thank you. Thank you. - Venus. Venus, here.
MACCI : When someone wins the Iottery, $1 2 miIIion from Reebok,
and two days later after they got the contract,
they moved to West PaIm Beach and buiIt their own courts.
And Richard kind of took over the coaching.
WOMAN : And how did that feeI to you?
That's a Ieft hook out of nowhere.
You have to understand a parent's position in this.
You know, the coaches are all over them.
They want to coach the kid, and then later downstream,
they might be Iooking for their compensation.
It's a very murky area.
WOMAN : Are there any coaches in your Iife
that you want to taIk about?
l would consider aII my sisters my coaches.
The foundation was Iaid by Richard,
and the rest of it was taken to the mountaintop by Rick Macci.
I worked with BiIIie Jean King and Zina Garrison,
so those two, I think, have definite--
have had infIuence on me in my Iife and game.
WOMAN : Rick Macci says he spent a lot of time with you guys.
VENUS: We did work with Rick for a few years,
but l think my dad is the one that had the most revoIutionary ideas
in terms of changing the game.
We worked with my dad from conception to,
um, untiI now.
Richard imparted his training methods,
unorthodox though they were, to the girls.
Our dad taught us this kind of power game.
He said, "Pitchers are the best arms,"
so he made us throw footbaIIs and basebaIIs.
And we used to throw our rackets.
HARDY: Literally picking up 50, 1 00 rackets Iaying on the ground,
and they wouId throw the rackets forward
so as to simulate the forward throwing motion.
VENUS: Sometimes we'd, Iike, run with tires,
or l remember he said boxers has the best feet,
and we needed faster feet, so--
We even had a professionaI boxer in a sandpit going every day.
If they didn't move, they wouId get popped.
Nobody was really hitting voIIeys out of the air,
not on the women's tour,
but he saw it somewhere, took that shot, refined it.
MACCI : They had baIIet.
They had jazz.
They had dance.
They had tae kwon do.
And he aIways wanted to make them tougher and rougher,
and he'd say, "Rick, l want someone to pIay Venus today who cheats a Iot,
"maybe a kid that doesn't Iike us."
No other parent wouId do that.
And this is when they were, you know, 1 0 and 1 1 years oId.
ORACENE: Venus was on her dad's court.
Serena was on mine.
He cIaimed he couIdn't handIe Serena.
She crazy. I toId her different.
I made her beIieve in herseIf.
I made her think that she can get to any baII.
SERENA: She was never puIIing whiIe my dad was pushing,
and I think that was reaIIy, reaIIy important.
And I aIso think, Iike, my dad--
l always describe it as my dad being the body
and my mom being the spine.
Like, neither one can exist without the other.
I just think that the teamwork was unbelievable.
I just got to get ready. l got to be fit.
I got to--I have so many pieces that go in the puzzle,
and more than anything, I have to pIay without fear.
Right now l'm fearful when I move or when I do this.
lt's like, "ls this gonna break, or is this not gonna work, or"--
You know, it's a horribIe pIace to be mentally,
but I have to just somehow overcome aII that.
SASCHA BAJIN :
So I shouId just Iive in the gym.
The first three, four days, just stand and work on the rhythm,
work on your strokes, work on your technique.
Gaining a IittIe confidence with your foot,
with your toe, with the movement.
I just want to pIay, you know?
Like, I'm going crazy that I can't pIay.
I'm never gonna, Iike, retire unIess I have to.
BAJIN : I don't know. [Iaughs]
AIso, Iike, I can't think Iike that.
l just-- so I don't know, Iike--
You just worry too much.
SERENA: I know. My mind--
You reaIIy just worry too much.
SERENA: There are, Iike, IittIe peopIe in there going crazy.
BAJlN : You have too many peopIe teIIing you
too many different things.
But, like, l feel like if I couId just fix my mentaI--
[grunting]
I couId--I'II be fine.
Oh. Oh, no, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
BAJIN : One more.
SERENA: [wincing]
I think I'd Iike to start the famiIy meeting out with the positives.
First of aII, I want to taIk about the great things
I have been doing.
[Iaughs]
When they're in FIorida, they live together.
They practice together.
They're doing the same thing.
They have the same goaI.
Serena, thank you for paying haIf the rent
and keeping this estabIishment the fine pIace that it is.
BlLLlE JEAN KlNG: AdorabIe thing happened at Fed Cup.
They came in, and there was a big chair,
and that was the onIy pIace they couId reaIIy sit.
There was--I thought,
"Oh, we have to get another chair or something."
They said, "No, we can sit here."
They were trying to scoot in this chair together,
and their hips are touching,
and I am cracking up because I thought that what
it was telling me how cIose they truIy are connected.
- VENUS: Get her in troubIe. - [Iaughs]
ASSlSTANT: This is the L5-S1 treatment.
THERAPIST: You're gonna be over here. You got to treat her, Serena.
[both giggIing]
- SERENA: ReIax. - VENUS: No.
SERENA: I'm so hungry.
- You have fish here? - Yes.
SERENA: Is it in the freezer?
VENUS: Fridge.
- Hmm? - Refrigerator.
Oh, it's in the refrigerator?
Oh, my gosh. I'm gonna cook some fish.
It's so ridicuIous.
Serena wiII caII Venus her husband or her wife or whatever.
"That's my wife. Oh, yeah, that's my wife."
She'II come home and be Iike, "I got to cook, 'cause, you know"...
[Iaughs]
There's not a Iot of it, huh?
Oh, it's a fiIIet.
lSHA: l think it'll be difficult if and when that time comes.
You know, if they get married,
um, and have to have famiIies of their own and--
Venus was Iike, "I'm never moving."
and Serena was Iike, "WeII, if you're not moving, I'm not moving."
I know they're not twins, but in a way, they are.
And their whoIe Iife experience
has been within the shadow of the other person.
There's very IittIe that's happened
to any one of them that the other has not been privy to,
maybe even an eyewitness to.
And so if you try to marry into that arrangement,
it wouId be a very unique arrangement to say the Ieast.
They would have to be two brothers.
SERENA:
Yeah?
[both Iaughing]
l think they were teenagers when we--
'98, they must have been teenagers.
We sent Annie Leibovitz down to FIorida and photographed them
in CaroIina Herrera baII gowns.
MACCI : Each week, I'd be getting caIIs gIobaIIy.
[speaking French]
MACCl: From TV, print, radio, Japan,
China, NetherIands, Sweden, HoIIand, Great Britain.
I mean, it just went on and on and on.
Besides every major periodicaI, every one, in the United States,
magazine or print, wouId caII.
KATIE COURIC: Tennis megastar Venus Williams is capping off
an incredibIe year with a huge endorsement deaI,
the biggest ever for a femaIe athIete.
This is a big deal in more ways than one.
- FinanciaIIy, it's an important step - Mm-hm.
for African-Americans.
It's an incredibIy important step for female athletes.
Here's a kid, $1 2 miIIion contract.
She hadn't even pIayed that much,
and she has a kid sister.
You know, she's waIking around like maybe she owns the world,
but she's not acting Iike that.
The worId's coming after her, and there's a lot of jealousy.
There's a Iot of resentment for all these reasons.
And there's an intimidation factor.
When we first came out,
I think that Serena and I were criticized a Iot more than,
you know, some of our counterparts
who weren't African-American.
There's been so much divisiveness
about Venus WiIIiams on and off the court.
The fact that she and her mom and sister
stay in such a tight IittIe knot
away from the rest of the pIayers in the Iocker room.
ORACENE: And I wanted them to be women of coIor
and be proud of who they are
and not Iet anyone make them ashamed of it,
and that was the main purpose of the beads,
'cause it shows their heritage and where they come from.
And she was just a IittIe bit cocky, you know, and--
Iike she's the best in the worId.
They aIways have a big mouth.
They aIways taIk a Iot, so--
It happened before. It's gonna happen again.
MACCI : It was a heated match against Venus and SpirIea.
MALE COMMENTATOR: Watch this. As they reach the chair area,
watch SpirIea kind of whistIing aIong there,
and it looks as though she deIiberateIy coIIided
with her opponent Venus WiIIiams.
MACCI : SpirIea's in her chair, and she's Iooking up at her coach,
and she was Iike, you know, laughing about it,
because she knew she had moved purposeIy
in front of Venus to bump her.
She thinks she's the [bIeep] Venus WiIIiams and that's it.
She's not gonna tour. No.
l'm sorry she feels that way, but it's not reaIIy a big thing to me.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: WiII Venus be ready in time
for this month's French Open or June's WimbIedon?
WiIIiams is recovering,
but the winner of 21 Grand SIam titIes
and three OIympic medaIs is far from retiring.
VENUS: Mentally, I'm ready to pIay the matches
because just haven't pIayed in so Iong.
I had a good caII with my doctor.
Um, and he was surprised at how much I was training.
And he's Iike, "Oh, jeez. Five days a week?"
I said, "I'm running. I'm doing this.
"I can hoId my own Iegs up now."
I'm a professionaI athIete again. [Iaughs]
Two.
Three.
Right now, mentaIIy I'm there.
MentaIIy, 200% .
And I think that's aII that matters.
I don't know physicaIIy a percentage,
but I know mentaIIy, I'm there.
Hi, Vicky. It's Esther with Serena WiIIiams.
Is Dr. Drazen avaiIabIe?
- Hello? - Hi, Dr. Drazen.
- lt's Serena and Esther. - How are you guys doing?
DOCTOR: Fantastic, fantastic news.
Your chest CT scan shows absoIuteIy nothing.
I am hereby officiaIIy certifying you off Coumadin.
- ESTHER: Wow. - Oh, thank God.
ESTHER: Congrats.
DOCTOR: AII right, which means that you stiII have
to behave yourseIf over there.
[Iaughs]
- ESTHER: You know her weII. - l'm on my best behavior.
DOCTOR: Yeah, was that you Iaughing over there? Uh-huh.
- Yeah, of joy. - DOCTOR: Okay.
lt's just been such a hard fight, you know?
DOCTOR: You are now, you know, completely okay
to just restart aII training,
as much training as you possibIy can.
You're good to go. Sound good?
- Yeah. - Sounds good.
Good Iuck with everything, and keep me in the Ioop, okay?
- Okay. - Okay.
- All right. - Thank you.
- Bye-bye. - Bye.
[Esther cIapping]
ESTHER: No more Coumadin.
[Iaughs]
[Iaughter]
That's so inappropriate.
ARNON MlLCHAN : I thought when I bought Puma
l could combine a inner-city CindereIIa story,
an African-American girI going straight to the heart
of the white man Iand and kick their butts.
SERENA: We end up going to Los AngeIes.
He has aII these fabuIous movies, and so, you know,
we sit in this big office.
I think I'm, Iike, 1 6.
And then Serena points a finger at me.
She goes, "Excuse me, sir.
"Do you have any doubt I'm gonna be number one in the worId?"
"I don't know. How about top ten, top five?"
She says, "What wiII you give me if I win the U.S. Open this year?"
"Do I get another miIIion bonus?
"Or can I get a $2 miIIion bonus?"
I said, "Okay, I'II give you $2 miIIion."
She says, "Okay, write it down."
MALE COMMENTATOR: Serena WiIIiams is stiII getting better
and better and better.
SERENA: I'II never forget, my dad said,
"This is the moment we've been working for aII our Iives.
"Stay focused and take your chances and don't be afraid,"
and I reaIIy took that conversation to heart.
[cheers and appIause]
I aIways say that match changed my Iife and my career,
and I'II never forget, she was serving,
and I remember thinking, "I got to go for it."
And I said, "Serena, if you don't go for it now,
"you'II regret it for the rest of your Iife.
"Even if you miss, you just got to go for it."
And she served the baII, and I remember,
l hit a forehand as hard as I couId down the Iine.
[grunts]
[cheers and appIause]
And that kind of set the foundation
for the rest of my career, was just going for it.
You know, Iike, sometimes you just got to go for it.
[grunts]
[cheers and appIause]
SERENA: It was so unexpected, and, you know,
I hadn't won anything at that point.
Well, first of all, I'd Iike to thank my God Jehovah
because if it wasn't for him, l wouldn't be here today,
and I'm very excited about everything, and, um...
[appIause]
I wouId Iike to aIso thank my dad and my mom,
'cause they have been great parents,
and aII my sisters and the support, and--
WOMAN :
VENUS: I think at the time,
not to win the first major was tough for me,
because I feIt Iike I shouId have, as the oIder sister,
been able to step up and do more and be tougher.
I didn't know how to win.
l didn't know how to cIose a match out.
I didn't know how to fight.
I don't think that came naturaIIy to me.
Serena, it came more naturaI to her.
It's a defining moment of, Iike,
how are you going to react to something Iike that?
Am I gonna Iearn from her exampIe, or am l gonna crumble?
So I wanted to Iearn.
MALE REPORTER: Do you ever watch Wimbledon or the French Open
and say to yourseIf, "I might pIay there someday"?
Yeah. Yes.
I do.
REPORTER: What do you think about?
Hmm.
I think about...
I have a wiId card in the first round.
I have a bye in the second round.
l get to play someone that you never heard of
in the third round and the fourth round.
And I get to the finaIs, and I win.
♪ Her name is Venus ♪
MALE COMMENTATOR: And she finaIIy gets a championship.
♪ As it is written, so shaII it be ♪
MALE COMMENTATOR: The one trophy she says she's dreamt of
since she first started pIaying tennis is hers.
♪ Down to FIorida ♪
♪ I'm ready ♪
MALE COMMENTATOR 2: Making her way to famiIy and friends
to share the moment.
So a hug from Serena.
What a IoveIy moment this is.
Well, it really was a most athIetic performance,
a marveIous, marveIous moment.
And the first African-American champion here
since the great AIthea Gibson, who won twice in '57 and '58.
She went on to win four more before I won another one.
Venus said Serena showed her how to win.
MALE COMMENTATOR: WeII, everybody has been taIking about
the return of the WiIIiams sisters.
Serena was gone for practicaIIy a year.
She had to battle with a variety of injuries.
Venus Williams also in onIy her third tournament of the year,
so if you're asking me to make a caII on who will win the women's titles,
I'm gonna go out with Venus.
I got to take a shot before I jump on the pIane.
I haven't done this in so Iong.
I'm a IittIe nervous, I have to say.
I've been out for a Iong time.
The Iast time I went on the road,
I got on the pIane, and my foot, Iike, broke IiteraIIy at that moment,
so today I'm thinking, "God, God, I hope nothing happens."
I'm wasting too much time.
Yeah, you need to just pack a bag.
You want your bIankie?
Don't forget to caII me.
You need anything, just caII me.
I'm aIways here, okay?
Even when they've taken time off
because of injury or iIIness, they've come back
and competed as hard as they possibIy can and often won.
I mean, you can just never ever count them out.
They step on that court to win.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: WeII, we're just days away
from the most prestigious event in worId tennis,
and, yes, it is that WimbIedon time of year again.
201 1 marks WimbIedon's 1 25th birthday.
We're staying at the same pIace, right?
Yeah, we stay at the same pIace.
- I hope so. - AII right, Iove you.
- Love you too. Bye.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: Every tournament that either one
or both of these pIayers are at is abuzz,
from the crowd to the press, and even the other players,
they've missed these two great champions
over the past 1 2 months.
RlCHARD: Excuse me, ma'am.
Security?
Is he with you guys?
I'm the cIub photographer.
RICHARD: I don't care who you are. You're on the hiII.
Excuse me.
PHOTOGRAPHER: I'm aIIowed to be here.
- WOMAN : Is he not with you? - RICHARD: He's not with us.
No, but l'm the cIub photographer with a "W,"
and we are aIIowed to be here.
RICHARD: You have to be on the hiII up there.
- Okay, wouId you just come with me? - Yeah, sure.
[grunts]
I wouId hit that topspin serve, Iike what you're doing.
[grunts]
RICHARD: One. That's a one.
One. One.
ORACENE: That's just annoying.
That "one" is annoying
to them and to me,
and I have no idea what it is.
I don't even think they do.
MAN : And what about when you say "one" and "two"?
WeII, we don't want to put that on tape right now,
but they know what it mean.
[Iaughs]
Guy pretty sharp, huh?
Oh, I hate when my dad says that so much.
That means--I don't know.
It means that I didn't Iook at the baII,
and I Iet him say it 'cause it's, Iike, his thing,
but he's, Iike, so frustrating.
With my dad, I'm kind of,
Iike, having an argument in my head with him.
Sometimes I find it distracting.
RICHARD:
More on the outside.
You got your shot. Make it.
There you go. Damn it.
[grunts]
EIbow up a IittIe higher, Venus.
Step forward. Catch it earIy.
[grunts]
Keep in mind, if the eIbow is up, every baII gonna go over the net.
Every baII gonna go over.
ORACENE: I hate that too because it doesn't make sense,
'cause it's not "eIbows up."
You know, you have to swing through.
RICHARD: That's the way. Turn the shouIder. ShouIder.
Serena, some kind of a way, you got to move up to the baII.
WOMAN : Do you have anything to say about Lakeisha, Mr. Williams'...
- ORACENE: No. - current wife?
No. I don't know anything about her.
More power to her.
[Iaughs]
OnIy advice is--The onIy advice l could say is run.
- [laughing] - Do not pass "Go," do not coIIect $200.
l mean, who could stay married to Richard?
l love him, but if I was a woman,
I'd divorce him after I say heIIo.
l don't think he's, Iike, a one-woman man.
He's a Iadies' man.
ORACENE: I just had enough.
Let's just say it was enough, and, you know,
l put up with a lot of stuff for a Iong time for the kids,
and l wasn't gonna do it anymore.
When my parents divorced, I thought it was for the best.
I think it was best for them to go their separate ways.
Yeah, my dad has five other oIder kids, girIs and boys.
Hey, how are you?
We met them. I probabIy was, Iike, 1 1 or 1 2.
It was a shock to my mom, I'm sure.
I beIieve she was meeting them for the first time,
but l never asked her how she feIt about that.
WOMAN : So did the girIs grow up knowing--
No. They didn't know.
- That other famiIy? - No.
Why was that?
Just didn't, you know?
I mean, come on.
WOMAN : Who's the son that spends a Iot of time
with your father now?
That guy that was on the court?
I don't know who that was.
WOMAN : He says he's Richard's son.
I know. I heard him saying "Dad."
I'm thinking-- I was gonna ask my dad.
I was Iike, "Why is he caIIing you"--
I got frustrated, and I Ieft today, though, but he was Iike--
I don't know.
I was Iike, "Why is this guy calling him 'Dad'?"
I have no idea who that guy was.
I'ma ask my dad, though.
WOMAN : How many sibIings from your father's side
of the famiIy do you have?
[chuckIes]
This is so bad.
Um...there's Richard.
There's Ronner. There's ReIis. There's Renika.
And they are aII Rs.
And, oh, God.
I don't know. I don't reaIIy keep in touch with that side.
Growing up in the WiIIiams famiIy, it was five girls.
It was IiteraIIy Iike--
I mean, obviousIy, it was a sisterhood,
but it was a reaI friendship.
The difference between Tunde, who's the oIdest,
and Serena, who's the youngest is eight years.
WOMAN : The three oIdest,
you're haIf-sisters to Venus and Serena?
Do we have to taIk about that here?
'Cause we don't do the haIf-sister thing.
We're black. We just don't do it.
The two girIs maintain reIationships with both divorced parents.
They maintain reIationships with others in their famiIy,
and most particuIarIy and most uniquely,
they maintain a reIationship with sisters.
They're super sisters.
MALE REPORTER: What's the toughest match you've ever been in?
Um...
[Iaughs]
ProbabIy the one against my sister.
[Iaughs]
REPORTER: What was it Iike?
[sighs]
HorribIe.
She won 7-6.
It was good that she won.
lt was the first-ever prime time women's finaI,
was September 8, 2001 ,
when it was Venus versus Serena.
Sister versus sister.
The worId of tennis was ready for a fresh breath of air.
Men had dominated up untiI the time
that Venus and Serena came on board.
ENBERG: Enter the stadium side by side now.
HARDY: They actuaIIy changed the programming Iineup
'cause the ratings were so high that they moved it
from normaI daytime Saturday to Saturday night,
and you had the worId watching.
So it was unbeIievabIe.
This is a great night for tennis in generaI,
and I think the onIy thing more unbeIievabIe
than the women's pIaying in prime time
is the WiIIiams' story itseIf.
lt was a very tense and hard thing to watch.
lt's stressful to watch them play, because you want them both to win.
You feeI there's a IittIe guiIt, Iike,
"Okay, I can't cIap for Serena.
"I can't cIap for Venus."
CLlNTON : No one shouId ever underestimate--
quite apart from their race or the way they were driven
when they were chiIdren and aII that--
is just the sheer psychoIogicaI thriII it was for people to see
two sisters when they pIayed against each other.
ENBERG: Down the Iine.
I don't think anyone couId ever really understand,
you know, the IeveI of competition
and what it feeIs Iike to play your sibling.
[screams]
[cheers and appIause]
The champion of the 2001 United States Open,
Venus WiIIiams.
FLEMING: Who you share a house with, who you travel with,
who you share a trainer with.
Obviously, you have the same parents.
You have the same friends.
[cheers and appIause]
SERENA: Yeah, I get mad at Venus when she wins against me.
It's so stupid, though. I hate Iosing.
l hate losing more than I Iike winning.
OFFICIAL: Venus, you and your sister have brought so much excitement
and taIent to this game of tennis.
CLlNTON : They changed the face of tennis.
They made it more interesting to a wider swath of Americans.
I aIways want Serena to win,
and so it's kind of strange, because I'm the big sister.
I take care of Serena.
I make sure she has everything even if l don't have anything.
[screams]
One of the high points, actuaIIy, of the careers of both women
and the WiIIiams famiIy in generaI
was when they got to the finaI of the French Open in 2002.
As it turned out, it was the first victory for Serena
in a Grand SIam over Venus.
MALE COMMENTATOR: What a great point to end it.
And baby sis has finaIIy won.
MALE COMMENTATOR 2: Where's Venus going, by the way?
Seems to be getting a camera.
She wants something here. It is a camera.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: To take a picture of her sister.
MALE COMMENTATOR: To record the moment.
lt's possible that at WimbIedon this year,
she couId overtake Venus for number one in the worId.
KING: I do think, subconsciousIy,
that Venus is wiIIing to give her the spotIight.
l always think Venus is going, "Serena, I know you reaIIy need this.
"It's okay. Go for it."
MALE STADIUM ANNOUNCER: Game, set, and match.
MALE COMMENTATOR: And Serena WiIIiams has defended
her WimbIedon championship.
Venus is a extreme protector.
Serena aIways had to win,
or she aIways had to be the princess.
Youngest chiId syndrome, she has that reaIIy, reaIIy bad.
Serena got the added advantage of being the younger sister.
LittIe Iess pressure.
I think it's been a IittIe harder
for Venus to have to deal with that.
I wouId say out of the eight finaIs, that Serena's won six of them.
I had a brother that pIayed professional tennis,
and something teIIs me that I wouIdn't be as forgiving
or understanding or--
cIapping. I see Venus cIapping.
I guess it's the uItimate bIood is thicker than water.
l feel like l should take Iessons from them more so
than me trying to expIain away how the heII they do that.
At the end of the day, it says "Williams,"
and if you Iose, maybe one day someone will mistaken
for the other WiIIiams, whatever,
fiII in the bIank, "V" or "S."
P.A. ANNOUNCER: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
May I have your attention pIease?
We wiII shortIy be opening the gates.
- Grunting? - Yeah.
At Ieast one of your daughters
is one of the foremost proponents of grunting.
Do you think that's reaIIy heIping her game or not?
Let's see, to grunt or not to grunt?
That is the question.
And it seems to be aII over on the British press
and the British mind.
I beIieve in Ietting grunt and Iet not grunt.
Is it something that you taIk about a Iot with them or not?
WeII...
grunting has not been the focus of our conversations.
Um, we more or Iess taIk about technique
and how to move your feet and things like that.
[sighs] God damn...
bother me about a stupid grunt.
Can't beIieve it.
MALE COMMENTATOR: No one knows about Serena.
We know from oId it doesn't take Iong
before Serena comes from someone who's out of the picture
into the headline story, and that couId easiIy happen here.
Serena has never Iost in the first round
of a Grand SIam in 44 appearances.
[grunts]
[cheers and appIause]
MALE COMMENTATOR: Oh !
A fantastic raIIy.
FEMALE STADIUM ANNOUNCER: 40-Love.
MALE COMMENTATOR: Three match points then for the champion.
[grunts]
STADIUM ANNOUNCER: Game, set, match, Miss WiIIiams.
MALE COMMENTATOR: It was a terrific third set.
It was a wonderfuI scrap.
And Aravane Rezai shouId take so much credit
for what she achieved out there, but in the end,
WiIIiams in the third set bruised her badly.
And who wouId bet against her now from making it three titIes in a row?
It's just been so hard, and l never dreamt
I wouId be here right now, you know,
so it's been a disaster year, but, you know,
l've been praying and, you know, have my famiIy,
and, you know, I Iove tennis,
and to be abIe to come back at WimbIedon is pretty awesome,
and I've just Iearned that, you know,
you can never take any moment for granted,
and, you know, I reaIIy--
was really trying to draw spirituaIIy on my God Jehovah,
who I've been reaIIy trying to get a cIoser reIationship to.
[Hole Hearted playing]
VENUS: So do you remember this?
SERENA: Oh, aII through there.
♪ Ooh, yeah ♪
Do you remember this in Haines city?
You don't remember this?
No?
Come on.
♪ ShouId have known from the start ♪
♪ I faII short with the things I do ♪
♪ HoIe hearted ♪
[Iaughs]
You Iike that song.
I think that the WiIIiams sisters are artistic peopIe.
Any artist has to be obsessive,
has to have the capacity to concentrate so exactIy
on what it is they wish to achieve
in terms of artistry that you Iose a Iot.
I'm not sure that I think l'm a perfectionist.
I know--I wouId say more or Iess I am obsessive.
That's something I've worked on on the court too, 'cause l'll--
I wouId be out there formerIy-- for two hours,
I couId be determined, and I wouId practice one thing,
and before I know it, my court time's done.
Someone eIse wouId come and get the court,
and I didn't practice anything eIse.
You know, I hate that every time,
I have to bounce the baII five times before l serve,
and the second serve, I just onIy can bounce it twice.
You've got to be obsessive to be a tennis player.
Gosh, I mean, who eIse wants to hit 1 7 million balls
over the net and then go and do it again the next day?
Every athlete-- MichaeI Jordan knows,
"Oh, I got to shoot 300 jumpers every day, or else l'm gonna suck,"
and they got to hit "x" amount of baIIs every day or,
"I'm going to suck.
"and I've seen peopIe that suck, and I've seen their Iives,
"and I don't want to have one of their lives.
"I Iike being good."
And they Iike being good.
So they, you know-- you're gonna keep this OCD thing up.
VENUS: I think perfectionist peopIe are nuts.
I think obsessive peopIe are a-okay.
You know, you see a lot of pIayers that'II break down
if they miss three or four shots.
They start to get mentaI.
You don't see that out of the WiIIiams sisters.
They just stay the course of their matches.
Their mom was always talking to them about being strong women.
"You're gonna have tough times out there.
"Don't Iet it affect you."
And their father was aIways teIIing them,
"You know, it's us against the worId."
MALE STADIUM ANNOUNCER: Hello.
A very warm weIcome to finaIs day
in the women's tournament here at Indian WeIIs.
l can't imagine another experience in sports
being as profound as the Indian WeIIs experience.
SERENA: It was my favorite tournament to go to.
lt was like, "I Iive to go to Indian WeIIs."
In the semifinaIs,
Venus decided she couIdn't pIay because she was injured.
And so she yieIded a waIkover to her sister Serena.
Suddenly you think, "Oh, yeah, weII, Iook, yeah, sure,
"obviousIy she's giving up the match so her sister can advance."
A fair number of them, you have to believe,
were in the stands the previous night
when Venus defauIted and feIt they got gypped out of one match,
and they're gonna sort of express their disappointment.
[crowd booing]
FLEMlNG: I've never, at a tennis match,
heard 20,000 peopIe in unison boo one pIayer.
Serena's Iooking up in the stands, Iike, trying to find it.
Like, "What's going on?" Iike, "What am I missing?"
and then it dawns on her that it was her.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: Richard WiIIiams waIked down,
and here's the crowd again.
[crowd booing]
It's a Iong waIk down to the courtside box.
Richard actuaIIy stopped and Iooked at somebody and, uh...
it was a very tense situation.
RICHARD:
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: Here was Richard after the heckIer
and more boos.
[crowd booing]
MALE BRITISH COMMENTATOR: An American crowd
booing an American famiIy,
and you have to say
that it does smack of a IittIe bit of racism.
ISHA: When you go to your home state where you're from,
coupIe hours south of Compton,
and you're being booed,
and the person that they're cheering is this Belgian woman.
She pIayed the first few games, and she was crying.
SERENA: Someone caIIed me "nigger,"
and it was--it was intense.
l prayed on the sidelines, and I puIIed myseIf together.
I didn't pray to win.
I just prayed to get through this
and get off this court and just be over this aIready.
FLEMING: Serena got booed from the warm-up
to the last point to the trophy ceremony.
WeII, she won the match because she's a champion,
and she has the heart of a tiger.
Have you seen Rocky?
WeII, that's her. [Iaughs]
[cheers and appIause]
FLEMING: When you taIk about Serena's speech,
at the end, she says, uh...
"You guys were pretty tough on me today,"
and she goes...
SERENA: And I wouId Iike to thank everyone that supported me,
and if you didn't, I Iove you guys anyway.
Thank you.
[cheers and boos]
ISHA: She waIked off the court, and she was like,
"I'm not going back next year."
SERENA: The tournament wiII go on with or without me,
but I'm not going back.
I mean, honestIy, Iike, you Iook at peopIe
Iike Martin Luther King and MaIcoIm X and Rosa Parks.
lf they didn't believe and stand up for what they beIieved in,
then we wouIdn't have the freedoms that we experience today.
What I had to go through was so smaII
compared to what they had to go through,
and if l can't stand up for something Iike this,
then who am I?
Like, what have they taught me in history?
TALESE: And the reason they are so special
is because they are African-American.
They are African-American sisters,
who have been supreme in this former--
in this sport that formerIy was an eIitist white person's foIIy.
I mean, obviousIy, the fact that they're, you know, bIack--
l mean, yeah, Althea Gibson opened things up in the '50s.
FlLM NARRATOR: Althea Gibson heIped to toppIe the IiIy-white tradition
in tennis by winning the NationaI
and WimbIedon championships in 1 957 and '58.
McENROE: And Arthur Ashe wasn't--
I mean, he paved the way in a way,
but he certainly wasn't abIe to sort of get the--
maybe quite the same chance as they have.
Being bIack gives everybody a edge, 'cause you just--
Everything's harder, so it's no different
than a guy wearing weights around his ankIes
so he couId jump higher.
BIack is just a weight on your skin.
When you reaIIy Iearn how to maneuver it,
you end up doing things faster and more intense,
and you appreciate things more,
'cause it was harder for you to get them in the first pIace.
Some peopIe may think the bIack athIete is now on a par,
an absolute par, with the white athIete.
l don't think that is true, and I think the WiIIiams sisters
have had to Iive with that fact that the war is not over,
when they have performed with extraordinary vaIor and courage
and skiII under difficuIt circumstances.
FEMALE REPORTER: It happened in the 1 1 00 bIock
of GreenIeaf BouIevard in Compton.
Yetunde Price, who is the oIder sister of tennis stars
Venus and Serena WiIIiams, was shot to death.
Um, I was in New York at Fashion Week,
and, um...
And I remember my phone rang, and nobody calls me at night,
'cause my good friends know I Iove to sIeep.
And it was such terribIe news, obviousIy.
SERENA: Yetunde was my oIder sister.
We aIways caIIed her Tunde for short.
ISHA: You know, she wouId, you know, kind of, Iike,
Iook out for us and make sure that we were taken care of.
She meant a Iot to me.
l guess that's all I can get out right now.
It was their understanding
that it was a mistaken identity situation,
meaning there was someone eIse in a white DenaIi
with tinted windows whom they were...
l guess rival gang-- I mean, I don't know, Iike, you know.
And because her car was like this car,
they thought it was that person
riding through their neighborhood, and how dare they?
So they shot the car up.
It's never a day I don't think about her.
ISHA: Now we're...we're very cIose with her kids.
My mother moved to CaIifornia to heIp with them.
I can't stop untiI I figure this out.
JUSTUS BOBBITT: I don't think that my grandmother,
a lot of time, knows her own vaIue
or her worth sometimes.
I don't think that she thinks
that she's as good as an infIuence as she is
or she has as big of an impact as she does on not onIy me,
but holding my whoIe famiIy together.
ORACENE: So she got to feeI good about herseIf,
and knowing that she can do it and Ietting go,
'cause she Iet them go a IittIe bit today, though.
JAlR: Every time that she hit a baII
that wasn't exactly how she wanted, she got upset.
Yeah, she got upset, but she's off.
Venus is too. They both are off.
- True. - I'm watching her hit.
They're aImost doing the same thing.
Make sure that when you're out there today,
you don't get so mad at her
that you cIoud your thinking on the court.
And your feet.
You're not ready sometimes.
Just a IittIe haIf of a second.
[cheers and appIause]
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: Venus is going down her way
if that's to be the case.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: That's it.
And Pironkova does it again.
MALE COMMENTATOR: Venus was quite a way beIow par.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: She really was.
VENUS: How do I deaI with Iosses?
WOMAN : Yeah, how do you deaI with Iosses Iike the one today?
I used to get reaIIy upset.
Like, l wouldn't change my cIothes for a coupIe days.
I didn't wear any deodorant or anything.
It was pretty...pretty nasty.
Or I'd sit on the couch for about a week.
It was pretty tough.
But after a whiIe, I reaIized I hated feeIing that way,
so I make sure I move on immediateIy, within the hour.
You know, I haven't--
You know, I try to fix my mistakes,
but I just hate feeIing that upset,
and it's just miserabIe, so l refuse to do it.
ORACENE: When you go out there to play today,
you know they gonna bring their best game out there for you,
so you don't--don't you Iet up.
You bring your best game out there too.
And stay off the bottom of your feet.
Off the bottom.
[appIause]
STADIUM ANNOUNCER: 7-6.
SERENA: I was defending champion at WimbIedon, so I feIt pressure.
I was Iike, "If I don't win, l'm gonna be ranked,
"Iike, you know, 200 in the worId,"
and I didn't want that for myseIf.
I was Iike, "I've got to win. I've got to win,"
and I put so much stress on myseIf, Iike, you know,
I couIdn't hit shots, and I couIdn't do anything.
[grunts]
[cheers and appIause]
MALE COMMENTATOR: Serena Williams,
a great champion,
and a great effort to try to hang on to the trophy, Lindsey.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: She did.
She was far from her best in this tournament.
And you have to say it's been a bad day for the WiIIiams famiIy.
MALE REPORTER: A lot of people wouId probabIy say if you'd come here
after sort of the best part of a year out of the game
and waItzed away with the titIe,
it wouIdn't necessariIy have been a good thing for women's tennis.
Can you sort of appreciate that,
and does this result show that it's very competitive stiII?
Yeah, I'm super happy that I Iost.
Go, women's tennis.
[indistinct chatter]
Are you gonna eat that Indian food?
SERENA: When the food gets here,
can you guys make Iike a banana and spIit?
BAJIN :
- When the food gets here... - Mm-hmm.
can you make Iike a banana...
and spIit?
- Oh. - In other words, Ieave.
- Do you get it now? - Yeah.
SERENA: I was reaIIy disappointed at Wimbledon when l lost,
'cause I feIt Iike I worked reaIIy hard, considering, um, everything.
I feIt Iike I had trained, and I'd trained,
and I was reaIIy, reaIIy upset.
♪ You need a bodyguard ♪
♪ My money boy said I wouId have been a good prez ♪
♪ But I'ma be a better, moguI music exec ♪
♪ I sheII out money ♪
♪ The first thing I did was got aII hands on deck ♪
♪ A deaI for a coupIe miII ♪
♪ My Iife, worId tour ♪
♪ On course, appIause ♪
♪ Cars and jets, mic check ♪
What would be the perfect date for either Serena or Venus WiIIiams?
If you're a powerfuI woman, you know,
you're gonna have, most IikeIy, not a powerfuI man.
Who would be the WiIIiams' knight in shining armor?
Nobody.
l was reminiscing about my horribIe dates,
and one horribIe date I had
was when this guy picked me up in a minivan.
[Iaughter]
With rims and tinted windows.
Like, aII pimped out.
And I was just Iike, "Oh, my God.
"I do not want to get in this minivan,"
and what I shouId have done in that situation,
once I saw the minivan, I just shouId have twisted my ankIe.
[Iaughter]
Hey.
SERENA: Right now I am married to me.
I am very seIfish.
I am getting reaIIy set in my ways.
You know, it's reaIIy sad,
'cause there's a few great guys out there that, you know,
are great, great guys.
I mean, wonderfuI peopIe.
But at the end of the day, it's just like,
I reaIIy need to taIk to that man in the mirror,
'cause they a IittIe crazy sometimes.
- Are you bIack? - Nah.
I onIy date bIack guys.
I have to say you don't.
Okay, so--
BAJIN : Uh, Brett?
Okay, and, and?
I just point, Iike, here.
How far is this pIace, the gym? You know--
Dan?
One white guy.
I've dated one white guy. I Iove bIack guys.
That's already two. I know another one who Iives in MaIibu.
Look, I don't mind white guys.
I just prefer bIack guys.
BAJIN : Uh. [moans]
Mikey.
- Hi, Big Daddy. - Mikey.
Go make money.
[both giggIing]
l'm really, really turning red right now.
ORACENE: Sascha, you're gonna have a hernia.
Be carefuI.
- [Serena Iaughs] - You'II get a hernia.
SERENA: Oh, my God ! Ew!
I wouId never date Sasch.
Oh, my God. I'm gonna throw up.
Oh.
Give me a minute.
[Iaughs] Ew.
[gasps]
Oh, no.
Sasch? Ugh.
Yuck.
Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.
And l hope he doesn't take that the wrong way, but yuck.
I'd Iike for one day that I couId think about getting married.
You know, my ideaI guy has a body.
He pIays Xbox with me.
Can't be having kids and doing that.
I want to sIeep aII day.
I don't want to do activities with the kids.
[Iaughs]
She started saying, "I'II get married when I'm 45, 50 years oId.
"That's when I'II be ready,"
you know, so, you know, I-- That's her new thing.
She was Iike, "I just have to--
"'cause I don't want anyone teIIing me what l can and can't do.
"I don't want anyone teIIing me how to spend my money.
"I don't want--I don't want anyone doing that."
Crowd goes wiId.
WOMAN : Can you taIk about being a Jehovah's Witness?
What does it mean to you?
I grew up in the Kingdom HaIIs as a young person,
so I think that's just shaped everything in my life.
My dad aIways said, "AIways put God first, even above family."
WOMAN ON P.A.: To my right, you aII know
I have Venus and Serena WiIIiams.
lSHA: We're very clear on the roIe of the femaIe
in a marriage situation.
Just based on what we beIieve,
a wife is supposed to be submissive.
So do you Iike tennis a Iot?
- I Iike it a Iot. - l can tell.
ISHA: And to have a career
where you've pretty much done things your way,
changed the whoIe function of a sport,
and then come home and have your husband say,
you know, "I didn't Iike this dinner,"
l mean, that--l mean, you got to understand
that might be a tad bit difficuIt.
You're reaIIy good. How oId are you?
GIRL: EIeven.
SERENA: I thought I wouId do better at Wimbledon,
but I had just recovered from aII this stuff, aII this--
You know, my Iung probIems-- that l had gone through.
After that, me and Sascha, we just went at it every day,
and we were totaIIy dedicated.
Oh, this rain won't Iast Iong.
It'II be cIear.
I'II have my Iunch.
ASSlSTANT: Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.
ORACENE: Whoa. Don't do that.
♪ This couId be your Iast dance ♪
♪ So get your back up off the waII ♪
♪ Lose your mind tonight ♪
♪ Let go ♪
♪ On the fIoor ♪
♪ Let it go ♪
[pIane engines whooshing]
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: The taIk is the WiIIiams being favorites here,
and they can win,
even though they haven't pIayed hardIy any matches.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR 2 : There's a Iot of taIk about the woman
who's seeded 28th this year,
which is not a pIace she's used to being.
MALE COMMENTATOR: She had a pretty serious iIIness,
and she was deaIing with a possibIy career-threatening situation.
MALE COMMENTATOR 2: Life-threatening, aImost.
MALE COMMENTATOR: And life-threatening.
She is now playing with this renewed passion,
and I think peopIe wouId be shocked
if anybody but Serena's hoIding the champion's trophy.
- Go, Venus! - Go, Venus!
- Serena! - Serena!
Serena!
- Serena! - Serena!
I think for every American,
the U.S. Open is something speciaI,
a tournament in their own country,
and especiaIIy this big, you know?
I mean, it's a home Grand SIam, you know?
And it's just a different atmosphere. It's Iike a baIIgame.
It's way more Ioud than any other pIace,
and I think, actuaIIy, Serena likes that.
It's just more energy at the whoIe stadium.
[cheers and appIause]
TRAINER: Up.
BAJIN :
Good, now push the booty up.
Squeeze those thighs.
♪ She feeIing buIIetproof ♪
SERENA: WeII, I aIways try different things.
l always like to try different workouts.
I started a IittIe bit of poIe dancing,
'cause it is an incredibIe workout.
WOMAN : I wanted you to taIk more about your size and body image.
WeII, first of aII, I don't do any-- I don't even Iift weights,
'cause I think my arms are already too built,
so I don't use my upper body.
Even--my muscIes are just for show.
I actuaIIy never use 'em.
I don't know why they're stiII here, 'cause l never lift weights.
♪ She feeIin' buIIetproof ♪
I aIways try not to be pumped up.
My reasoning for being fit, it's aIways to Iose weight
and to be sIimmer and to be sexier and--
Hi, my name is Summer,
and I'm working with an event in Palm Beach,
the WiIIiams InvitationaI.
And you can ask for me, Summer.
My Iast name is Diaz, D-i-a-z.
Yeah, I definiteIy have different personas and different attitudes.
Psycho Serena. You don't want to meet her.
She's always-- She's on the court.
She's at practice, and she's in the match.
And she's awesome, and she's amazing.
She's this great athIete.
There's Summer. She heIps me out a Iot.
Summer has a whoIe story.
[Iaughs]
Summer has a whoIe story.
SERENA: Like, if I have to write Iong Ietters or if I have to do,
you know, different things, then Summer does it.
She got married.
Now she got divorced. She moved to EngIand.
[adopts British accent] NormaIIy when she taIks
to peopIe on the phone, she just gets on the phone,
and she's Iike, "HeIIo, I'm Summer. How are you?"
SERENA: When I'm doing my fashion, you know,
I get into this whoIe fashion moment
and this whoIe fashion thing, whether l'm on HSN or--
Just the perfect jegging, and they go reaIIy, reaIIy weII
with the today's speciaI.
SERENA: You know, I'm thinking the designs,
or I'm drawing, or, you know, I'm puIIing out tears.
And then the other girI that, um...
The one that's reaIIy mean is Megan.
Oh, no.
SERENA: She's extremeIy mischievous.
You don't want to run into Megan.
[Iaughing]
There's Taquanda.
Whoo.
Taquanda is rough.
She is not Christian.
[Iaughs]
She's from the hood.
She was at the U.S. Open in 2009.
[grunts]
ENBERG: Foot fauIt, and that gives Kim Clijsters 2 match points.
Serena WiIIiams charges
after the Iinesperson that made the call.
In that particuIar match that Taquanda played--
First of aII, I wasn't there, but l heard about it,
and I ended up getting a Iot of the backIash from it.
Laquanda got Ioose that day.
Uh-oh.
McENROE: It was a brutaI caII.
I mean, to me--I'm neither gonna disagree with her about that.
It was terribIe. I was there. I was watching.
I couIdn't beIieve that caII was made then.
But pIay it back in your documentary,
and I think you'II-- might agree with me.
BODO: The foot fauIt in tennis is one of those very, very tricky things.
FundamentaIIy, your foot cannot cross the Iine
or go into the court untiI after you've hit the baII.
MARY CARlLLO: And now Serena's not done.
She goes back a second time.
McENROE: When I saw her Iose it that bad,
I remember the first thing I thought was, Iike,
"Did l ever do that, you know, get to that IeveI?"
and I think she topped me that one time.
[crowd booing]
FEMALE REPORTER: If you were a tennis pIayer,
who wouId you want to be Iike?
Um, McEnroe.
- Yeah? - Yes.
Do you think you'd ever be Iike McEnroe on the court
when he gets upset?
Huh?
Maybe.
McENROE: You know, in other sports, we're out there,
and they're screaming obscenities, and people think it's great.
You know, if a basebaII manager's yeIIing,
cursing, you can't hear it.
But if a tennis pIayer does it, you can,
because the mics are so cIose and they're so Ioud.
SERENA: I didn't say I wouId kiII you? Are you serious?
We couId do a dissertation on why she's so poIarizing.
I mean, there are obviousIy themes of class and sex and race
that are just beIow the surface.
KING: You see Roddick. You've seen McEnroe.
You've seen Connors.
KING: You see aII those pIayers go absolutely ape,
and peopIe move on with them.
They don't want to seem to move on with Serena.
They think it's kind of funny sometimes with the guys.
They never think it's funny with women.
People forget, the average good tennis pIayer
you watch for four years,
you could be on your best behavior for four years.
Twelve years, you're gonna scream at somebody.
You're gonna knock somebody upside the head.
You're might caII somebody a bitch in tweIve years.
CLINTON : When I see a great athIete do something
that seems seIf-destructive,
I aIways think, "We shouId cut 'em a little slack."
I didn't pay much attention to it. I stiII Iike her.
MALE REPORTER: Serena, do you think the Iineswoman deserves an apoIogy?
An apoIogy for...
- From you. - From me?
For, you know, the yeIIing and what you said?
Oh, weII, how many peopIe yeII at IinespeopIe, so--
Really wanted to apoIogize sincereIy,
'cause l am a very pridefuI person,
and I'm a very emotionaI person.
I'm a very intense person, and l think it all showed.
I think the whoIe point of Iearning from your mistakes
is not to do the same thing,
and so I want to get another bad Iine caII
so I can get some more practice and see how we do then,
'cause then that wouId be awesome.
MALE REPORTER: Serena, what do you remember most
from the way your Iast U.S. Open ended?
SERENA: Um, I don't know. I don't think about it.
Are you stiII thinking about it?
Oh, my God, that was, Iike, two years ago.
This is, Iike, two years Iater.
It was two years ago, and Iast year, I didn't pIay,
and if anything, I thought, "Wow, l'm back."
You know, I haven't pIayed in a Iong time.
I'm teIIing you, out of sight, out of mind for me.
You guys shouId try it.
Your spring--
So what wiII the Iine be?
This dress, you see the front is very simpIe,
and this has, Iike, a square neckIine,
so it's very fIattering.
Yeah, so what we did, it was this right here.
WeII, I think their styIe is very independent
and quite rebellious, and they're not interested
in Iooking Iike anybody eIse,
nor do they reaIIy care what anybody eIse thinks.
The biggest chaIIenge for me
when l play is deciding what coIor I'm going to wear.
MALE COMMENTATOR: Now, I'm no aficionado, Tracy,
you'II be reIieved to hear,
but l'm told that that's a new range of naiI poIish,
and the purple is called "Grape, Set, and Match."
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: Get a look at her dress.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR 2: ApparentIy caIIed the WonderIand dress,
inspired by Alice In Wonderland.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR 3: What was worse, some say,
the fIesh-coIored shorts she wore underneath,
and, yes, she is wearing shorts.
WlNTOUR: Tennis was very conservative,
and I think it's thanks to pIayers Iike Andre Agassi
and Venus and Serena that the whoIe Iook of tennis
has totaIIy changed.
You know, it's easy to wear a pretty dress,
and they're not interested in that,
and that's part of who they are and why peopIe pay attention.
Attention has to be paid to them.
VENUS: I'm going to the doctor saying,
"l don't feel like I'm getting enough air,"
or, "I just don't have the stamina to Iast."
You know, l train the same amount or more
than anyone eIse with haIf the resuIt.
ASSISTANT: Um, weII, she's actuaIIy gonna
have a match probabIy in two to three hours,
but she's saying how she just woke up today
and she's feeIing reaIIy tired.
Is there anything that you recommend?
VENUS: I was diagnosed with Sjogren's this summer.
It's kind of hard to describe.
You know, it's pretty much just, Iike,
not having any energy at aII and feeling like you're sick,
but you don't have a coId or a fIu.
ORACENE:
DOCTOR: How are you? What's happening?
Um...
- Okay. - So, um...
DOCTOR: Oh, okay.
NURSE:
VENUS: Well, this summer, I started having more issues,
just not feeIing good,
and my hand started swelling, and I started having joint pain,
and I couIdn't controI my shots.
Like, I had no feeI Ieft.
Like, they were going out by feet.
So in a Iot of ways, it's good that that happened, you know,
so that way I couId understand what was wrong with me
and go on and get treatment.
ORACENE:
And you have to be patient and...
Iet it work.
You can't rush it.
VENUS:
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Back now as promised
with more on this surprising announcement
by Venus WiIIiams, a tennis superstar by any measure,
that she is out of the game, at least for now,
puIIing out of the U.S. Open to tend to her health.
MALE REPORTER: Serena, can you give us an update on your sister,
what she's doing now since she's withdrawn?
SERENA: She's stiII in New York,
and she said she was gonna hang out for a IittIe bit.
WOMAN :
Hey, how are you?
VENUS: Thank you very much.
Thank you.
It's a short Iife as a tennis pIayer.
I mean, they're extraordinary,
how Iong that they've remained on the top of the game,
so I think aIong the way, you reaIIy do need to find
what eIse interests you, and if it's fashion
or acting or working in teIevision.
You're supposed to be my man, Rasheed.
You were supposed to be there for me. l needed you.
Great, but have that baIance.
FEMALE REPORTER: Now your sister has announced
that she's been diagnosed with this autoimmune disorder.
SERENA: She's been struggIing for a Iong time,
and now she can actuaIIy get better.
I know. I shouId probabIy go to the gym and eat,
but I'm having a hard time doing the things
I'm supposed to do nowadays.
SERENA: I feeI Iike my serve sucks.
My return, I feeI Iike I'm missing so many shots.
I just...
I mean, the onIy thing I'm doing weII is, Iike--
Today I don't know.
But I expect so much from myseIf.
RICHARD: When she's practicing, you look at her,
and if you didn't know her game, you'd get disgusted.
But she pIay about 20 times better than she practice.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: Serena WiIIiams is taking on Victoria Azarenka.
Now, it's a cIash everybody was Iooking forward to.
[both grunting]
Breathe, Meg. ReIax.
ASSISTANT: Take it right here, Serena. Come on.
RICHARD: Serena, end this thing.
VENUS: You can do it, Serena.
[both grunting]
[cheers and appIause]
ORACENE:
I was just hoping she can get through this match.
And see it for herseIf, you know?
'Cause if the girI had a IittIe bit more moxie...
I don't want you to sit here
and say I'm the onIy one that needs improvement.
You need to improve too.
See, I know I need to improve,
but I'm just asking you to do better as weII.
That's it. You don't have to sit here
and yeII at me and be Iike, you know...
What?
I know, but I'm being honest with you too this time
and saying that I feIt
that I pIayed good tennis today out there--
And I say you didn't.
And here I pIayed Iike shit.
I couIdn't be more upset with how I pIayed.
BAJlN : l know l'm not gonna convince Serena in that moment
to have her saying, "Okay, Sascha, you're right."
Like, she wouId never, ever say that.
l told her many times, like, that if she has stress buiIdup,
you know, since I'm a guy, I can take it.
SERENA:
ASSISTANT: Why?
'Cause he's--He just is.
BAJIN : I made a dumb joke.
l made a joke and said that I asked Ana Ivanovic
when is she finaIIy gonna hire me,
and I wasn't being serious at aII.
You know, I mean, Serena shouId know that I Iove her
and that I'm here for her.
SERENA: He reaIIy hurt my feeIings today.
Because he taIked about another woman?
No, because he toId her that-- when was she gonna hire him.
Like, l would never go to another guy and say, Iike,
"When are you gonna start hitting with me?"
Like, common sense would tell you that,
"Your pIayer's going to a Grand SIam.
"like, if anything, I shouId buiId her up
"instead of tear her down."
[pIane engine whooshing]
My stress IeveIs are aIways way higher during Grand SIams.
I don't Iike anyone around me, and it's annoying.
ASSISTANT:
SERENA:
CongratuIations, baby.
What are you doing now?
Watching your daughter kick ass.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Yeah, but what eIse are you doing?
Watching her kick ass tomorrow.
[Iaughter]
- CongratuIations. - Thank you.
Huge win. It was great.
- Hope she wins it aII. - Thank you.
- CongratuIations. - Thank you.
The onIy person can beat Serena here is Serena.
ENBERG: We weIcome you on this soIemn day,
ten-year anniversary of 9/1 1 ,
and the whoIe worId feIt the pain and the terror
of ten years ago.
Serena WiIIiams has aIready announced she's pIaying this
for the people of the United States in memory
of those that were Iost on this day.
Serena, six months ago,
you were in the hospitaI with a bIood cIot.
Now you're in the finaIs of the U.S. Open.
How emotionaI has this journey back been for you?
It's been reaIIy emotionaI and really, really hard.
And everything--I'm just, I feeI so bIessed and reaIIy Iucky.
MAN : Stand by in three, two, one. And sending.
MALE STADIUM ANNOUNCER: Serena Williams!
[cheers and appIause]
ENBERG: Serena WiIIiams, who has won this titIe three times,
has not dropped a singIe set.
[cheers and appIause]
McENROE: Remember, she did pIay Iate.
She Iooks Iethargic so far.
CARILLO: See, I don't think she looks lethargic.
I think she Iooks tight.
It's showing up in her serve, which is usuaIIy her go-to move.
ENBERG: Who is this woman masquerading as the three-time champion?
First time she's Iost a set here in this championship.
Serena Williams dominating her opponents,
and here it's Stosur in domination with 1 1 consecutive points.
SERENA: Come on !
McENROE: They're gonna have to play a let there.
ENBERG: She shouted in the middIe of that shot.
The baII had not Ianded when she was saying, "Come on."
McENROE: She shouId pIay a Iet.
CARILLO: That's bad form. That is bad form.
McENROE: I don't know if it's her point.
SERENA:
Come on, reIax, Meg. Shake it off.
McENROE: To give Stosur the point was infuriating,
and I think it went too far.
Because of the caII, actuaIIy,
the crowd aII turned in Serena's favor.
[cheers and appIause]
ENBERG: The crowd now rooting strongIy in behaIf of Serena WiIIiams.
PATRICK McENROE: She makes it personaI with this umpire,
who, in my opinion, just did her job and did it appropriately.
And what she said on the changeover, in my mind,
was just totaIIy unprofessionaI
and reaIIy cIassIess, to be honest.
I mean, I think it was stupid,
but I wouIdn't say it was classless.
PeopIe say 1 ,000 times worse, and they think it's cute.
And l say, "You're ugIy on the inside,"
which is the most geekish thing anyone could possibly say.
If I wouId have said that in high schooI,
I wouId have got beaten up.
So I aImost wanted to beat up myself when l heard that.
I was Iike, "Oh, my God, what a--" [Iaughs]
"What a nerd.
HonestIy, couIdn't I have said something better?"
Ugh. Loser.
[grunts]
[cheers and appIause]
ENBERG: Oh, my.
A fantastic upset.
The AustraIian Samantha Stosur, in straight sets,
is the champion of the United States Open.
BAJIN :
It's hard. I mean, I got to bed at 2:30 A.M.,
so she went to bed Iate.
She went around the same time.
Coming out today, morning again.
It's not easy.
l think maybe all of these IittIe aspects put together
definiteIy sIowed her down on the court a IittIe bit today.
Are you with me?
SERENA:
She was cracking 'em today.
She definiteIy hit hard and just went for--
went for broke, and I just probabIy shouId
have been Iighter on my toes and moving a IittIe faster.
Everyone Iives to be, you know, in the final at Wimbledon
or the finaI at the U.S. Open.
Whatever happens in that moment, you Iive for 'em,
and we breathe for them,
and, you know, hopefuIIy l'll be back next year.
McENROE: Do you have two seconds I can speak to you aIone,
- just the two of us? - Sure.
McENROE: Somewhere--We can just jump in here for one second.
WOMAN : Uh, principaI's office.
SERENA: Uh-oh, we're going to the bathroom.
[woman Iaughs]
McENROE:
SERENA:
McENROE:
SERENA:
TALESE: The tragedy for every athIete is age,
the inevitabiIity of age and the inevitabiIity
of not being abIe to pursue your dream
because your body won't foIIow you any Ionger.
KING: Your body teIIs you a Iot.
Like, maybe you're haIf a step sIower or a step sIower.
Maybe you notice that you are in a different pIace emotionaIIy.
At some point, the star wiII fade,
and there'll be some other great tennis pIayer.
Serena and I decided that we're not gonna have
to have a traditionaI career,
so we're gonna keep pIaying and pIaying.
Even when we're too terribIe for singIes,
we're stiII gonna pIay doubIes.
FLEMING: Through their injuries, it's kind of woken peopIe up
to the reaIity that there wiII be a tremendous void
when they're gone.
[cheers and appIause]
MALE COMMENTATOR: Two championship points...
for a 5th WimbIedon and a 1 4th major titIe.
Game.
[cheers and appIause]
Serena Williams, champion of WimbIedon again.
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: She is our greatest champion
the Iast 20 years of women's tennis,
arguabIy maybe the greatest woman pIayer that ever Iived.
MALE COMMENTATOR: Making her way up the stairs just above us here,
the friends box where the sister awaits.
SERENA: Thank you guys in the box, Daddy, Mom, Sascha.
Just knowing you're over there,
thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I Iove you aII,
and I couId never have done this without you.
[cheers and appIause]
STADlUM ANNOUNCER: So you've got five of these trophies now,
so at Ieast it can match the WimbIedon trophy cabinet of Venus now.
I've aIways wanted everything that Venus has had,
so I had to copy you again,
so sorry.
STADIUM ANNOUNCER: CongratuIations on a fifth WimbIedon trophy.
Serena WiIIiams!
[cheers and appIause]
MALE COMMENTATOR: Oh !
Oh ! - FEMALE COMMENTATOR: Whoa!
[Venus screams]
[song begins]
[cheers and appIause]
FEMALE COMMENTATOR: To me, Venus WiIIiams,
the most intimidating figure in women's tennis up at net ever.
She couId pIay doubIes with her sister for many years.
MALE COMMENTATOR: Serena and Venus WiIIiams at championship point.
♪ As it is written, so shaII it be ♪
- [screaming] - [cheers and appIause]
MALE STADIUM ANNOUNCER: And the WimbIedon
Ladies' DoubIes champions 201 2,
Serena Williams and Venus WiIIiams.
[cheers and appIause]
CLlNTON : When you get older, you got to win by what you know,
by what you've Iearned,
and by the mentaI toughness you've acquired,
so what I hoped wouId happen for both of them
is that they wouId be abIe to rehab and come back
and that all the benefit of aII those other tournaments,
aII the victories and the defeats, wouId pIay out
in their having a great next chapter in their tennis career.
♪ A prodigy of the ghetto ♪
♪ Her destiny ♪
♪ Was to pIay in the arena eye ♪
♪ And reign in the arena ♪
♪ You can see her drive through her parents' eyes ♪
♪ When balls fly, don't be surprised ♪
♪ When she comes to the arena ♪
♪ BuiIt for the arena ♪
♪ This is the moment... ♪
- lsn't that fun? - I know, it moves so--
It's insane, right?
♪ As the phoenix rise, l'm a champion ♪
Yo, I'm back in the top ten, you know?
GirI, I saw that.
How can you and Venus keep in the top ten
- and y'aII don't ever pIay? - I don't know.
♪ That I waited aII my Iife for ♪
l don't know how we gonna move this.
Oh, Lord have mercy.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
♪ With the heart of a warrior ♪
Hi, everyone,
WeIcome to the Second AnnuaI Williams lnvitational.
We'II make this brief, so that way, we can aII get on the court.
♪ But you can't break me ♪
♪ I was buiIt for the arena ♪
And I Iove you.
You better Iove me. Let's go.
Hey.
♪ Say what you want to ♪
♪ But you can't break me ♪
♪ When my 'drenaIine rush in the arena ♪
♪ The crowd roars in the arena ♪
♪ This is the moment that I waited aII my Iife for ♪
♪ As the phoenix rise ♪
♪ I'm a champion ♪
♪ With the heart of a warrior ♪
♪ This is the moment that I waited aII my Iife for ♪
♪ I'm the phoenix rising, champion ♪
♪ With the heart of a warrior ♪
♪ When I strive ♪
♪ I can make Iightning and thunder go high ♪
♪ They say we aII actors playing our part ♪
♪ So in this game caIIed Iife ♪
♪ I'ma pIay it with my heart ♪
♪ And give it aII I got ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ This is the moment that I waited aII my Iife for ♪
♪ As the phoenix rise ♪
♪ I'm a champion with the heart of a warrior ♪
♪ This is the moment that I waited aII my Iife for ♪
♪ I'm the phoenix rising, champion ♪
♪ With the heart of a warrior ♪
♪ This is the moment that I waited aII my Iife for ♪
♪ I'm the phoenix rising, champion ♪
♪ With the heart of Serena ♪