Serena Williams - On the Line

Copyright 2009 by Serena Williams

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Grand Central Publishing

Hachette Book Group

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New York, NY 10017

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First eBook Edition: September 2009

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ISBN: 978-0-446-56402-1

In her memoir, ON THE LINE, Serena shares with us her evolution from a girl to a woman to a world champion. From the first time I met her, when she was very young, to watching her capture the U.S. Open, Serena has always amazed me with her ability on the court, her curiosity away from it, and her overall love for life.

Billie Jean King

Ascending from nowhere to the top of the world, she has run an exciting zigzag course transforming darkest days into bright victories on her way to the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Bud Collins

On the court, Serena is the most challenging opponent Ive come up against, and off the court, she is a loving sister and a true friend. Serena has been a role model for me and an inspiration.

Venus Williams

This book is dedicated to my daddy. Your vision
and undying dedication made everything I do possible. I love you.

When people congratulate me after Venus and I win a doubles championship, I always tell them I didnt do very muchexcept for pick the right partner and then stand back and let Venus do all the work.

Thats how I feel about this book, because from the very beginning I was blessed to work with good, creative people. First and foremost, I have to give glory to Jehovah God for allowing me to have this opportunity. My momthank you for your support, your unconditional love, your strength, and your smile. Without you this book would not have been possible! Daddyyour confidence in me has led me to become a champion not only on the court but off. I love you both!

This couldnt have been done without my sister and business advisor, Isha. When I wanted to give up on this project she urged me on, kept me motivated, and saw this project through from beginning to end, never missing a beat. Isha, I cant say thank you enough!

I would also like to thank my agent and friend at the William Morris Agency, Jill Smoller. You have been in my corner for both the ups and downsthank you for seeing me through this project. You mean so much to me! Also thanks to Evan Levy; he is invaluable to my team.

I also owe thanks to Suzanne Gluck, the head of the William Morris literary department. I couldnt be Serena without my lawyer, Keven Davis, his colleague, Theresa Simpson, and my business manager, Larry Bailey. Theyve all taken turns keeping me on track since I was nine years old.

Of course, I cant accomplish anything without the endless support of my other sisters: Yetunde, the worlds best big sister; Lyndrea, my heartbeat; and Venus, my best friend! Yetunde, you live forever in my soul and youre in my thoughts every day. My sisters keep me grounded and love me no matter what, even when they found out I broke their piggy banks!

I am indebted to my coauthor, Dan Paisner. Dan ended up chasing me all over the world to put my thoughts on these pages. Yeah, we did it, Dan!

At Grand Central Publishing, I am grateful to Karen Kosztolnyik, our editor, who did a great job helping me and Dan shape and polish our manuscript. Karen, your insights really helped make this a fun yet empowering book. I want to thank all the amazing people at Grand Central who helped behind the scenes, including Karens assistant, Celia Johnson; publisher Jamie Raab; editor-in-chief Deb Futter; associate publisher Emi Battaglia; production editor, Tareth Mitch; director of publicity, Jennifer Romanello; publicist, Jimmy Franco; publicist, Linda Duggins; art director, Claire Brown and everybody else who had a role in turning me into a real author.

Finally, I want to thank all my readers and supporters for traveling on this journey with me through these pages. Go forth with an abundance of courage and the confidence that you can do anything you set your mind to.

When you fail, you fail alone.

Sign posted on a public tennis court by
Richard Williams to inspire his young daughters

September 3, 2008

Arthur Ashe Stadium. U.S. Open. Head-to-head against Venus. Under the lights in front of a packed house. I hate that its just the quarterfinals, but its always a battle when we meet. Last time we played was in the Wimbledon final just a couple months back. Venus got the better of that one, but I came out strong. First two or three games, I was dominant. Fearless. Thats how you have to play it on grass. You have to go for those winners early, but then I started thinking too much and the match got away. That happens sometimes, especially against a tough player like my Big Sis.

Thats what I have to keep reminding myself going into this one: how good Venus is. How strong Ill have to be to counter. How carefully Ill have to defend. All week long, since I first saw the draw, I had this quarterfinal matchup with V in my head. Shes the best player on the tourwith a huge serve. When shes on her game, no one can touch her. Well except for me.

Weve gone back and forth in these matches. In the beginning, V beat up on me pretty good. Then I beat her up in the finals of four straight majors. Now were back and forth again. Weve played against each other so many times, we know each others games so well, there arent too many surprises. Venus tends to strategize a lot more than I do before a match, so I know shell mix things up; shell go another way with her shots; shell work a new set of angles; shell show me something different on her serve, some new disguise. I tend to react more than V, so I plan to be ready for whatever she throws at me.

Warming up, Im thinking shell have to completely reinvent her game if she hopes to win. Ive been playing so well. All year long. Solid. Consistent. No, I havent won a major, but Ive come close, and Ive won a bunch of tournaments along the way. I even won a gold medal in womens doubles with Venus at the Beijing Olympics. And Ive been healthy. This is key. This appearance at the Open is the first time Ive played all four majors in back-to-back years, so Im happy with my fitness and my energy and my focus. It spills over into my game, because the more I play, the better I play. Venus knows that about me, too. She knows she has to bring something. And I know that she knows. And she knows that I know. Like I said, there are no surprises.

My plan is to start fast, maybe catch Venus before shes locked in. A lot of times, even top players fumble through the first few games of a match. Im guilty of it, too. Its like were sizing up our opponents, afraid to make a mistake, so we play tight until things loosen up. These early games are a little like a boxing match: two fighters circling in the ring, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Its a tentative dance, but my thing is to pounce. Doesnt always work out that you get that chance, because sometimes the game doesnt give you what you need, but thats the idea.