14 Nov 2011
13 November 2011 - One of the truly global sports ambassadors, Venus Williams took an engrossed audience at Aspire on an intimate journey into how success in tennis and subsequent fame has shaped her personal and professional lives.
Speaking as the main guest of the ‘Stars on a Stool’ session held as part of the Aspire4Sport, the sports congress and exhibition event underway at the Aspire Dome from November 12-15, Williams, who dominated the most high-profile female sport in the world for years, was both candid and up front in talking about her personal and professional experiences in Doha – a venue she described as her favourite.
“People assume its Wimbledon, but Doha is my favourite tournament. I had the chance to play here twice and I won once. I enjoyed playing here,” said winner of 21 grand slams and one of the most successful players of her era.
“I turned pro at the age of 14, which actually changed a lot in my life as it helped me to go to upper high school and practice tennis as well. It was so good to have this balance. I always believed in myself that I was a good tennis player and had a lot of desire,” recalled Williams.
“Growing up having all these (sic) training every day is a privilege.”
On her diet regime, Williams said she underwent a lot of therapies and is currently on a new personal adventure: cooking.
“My goal is to work out a lot and get my body to its normal state,” said Williams, while adding that the “ultimate goal is to get back to championships again”.
During the live interview, Williams also paid rich tribute to her sister, Serena Williams, calling her a “great player”.
“It’s very challenging to play with Serena because there is great respect when playing against her. Even with all the health issues that Serena went through, I still think she’s one of the best players.”
Williams said yes when prodded whether she has applied what she learned from tennis.
“There are so many lessons… how to adjust your game plan, how to quickly adjust if you are losing, how to change marketing and approaches, and how you can be prepared better and come back stronger. So many things that came to me because of the sport.”
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