From Compton to History
Serena Williams grew up in Compton, California with a tennis racket and a dream that nobody understood. Her father, Richard Williams, learned tennis from a VHS tape and taught it to his wife. Then he taught two daughters with no formal training, no connections, no privilege — just unshakeable belief.
The tennis world didn't want her there. A Black girl from Compton. Too aggressive. Too loud. Her body was wrong. Her style was wrong. She didn't belong.
They said it to her face. They questioned her on every court. They imposed rules about her clothing. They didn't respect her dominance. When she smiled, they said she was arrogant. When she won, they said it was luck. When she returned from giving birth to a daughter with life-threatening blood clots, they said she was "finished."
Serena didn't apologize. She didn't shrink. She didn't play small. She won 23 Grand Slams — the most in the open era. She won 73 career titles. She spent 319 weeks as the world's number one. She dominated for two decades straight. She came back from near-death complications to keep playing. That's not just talent. That's the mindset of a Top Performer.