Serena Williams, a former professional tennis player and managing partner of Serena Ventures, spoke at the New York Times Annual Trading Book Summit at the Lincoln Center in New York City on December 4, 2024.
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Tennis legend Serena Williams shares the most important value her parents have given, both promoting her success as a tennis professional and being a businesswoman.
exist CNBC interview meets Tania BlairWilliams revealed that one of the values she has maintained throughout her career is to remain modest.
“I think the main value they instilled in me is just humility and I think it’s better than any champion or anything because it makes you a personal root,” Williams said.
She added: “It keeps you respectful and keeps you respectful like everyone else because at the end of the day, we are all the same, right? It’s just that some of us might be better, but we’re all very same.”
Williams won 23 “Grand Slam” singles titles, making her one of the most decorated tennis players in history. After leaving the sport in 2022, she focused on entrepreneurship and focused on her own venture capital fund Serena Ventures.
Asked about her impact on tennis and whether she improved the sport, Williams admitted: “I will never say it.
Williams is currently taking on a new role as entrepreneur in the place of residence of consumer goods group Reckitt, which launched a new program last week called “Reckitt Catalyst” that aims to invest in and support 200 health and hygiene startups established by women. Williams will play a key role in guiding these founders and entrepreneurs.
“You have to be very disciplined”
The 43-year-old mother of two said discipline was the “first thing” she took away from her tennis career, which was crucial to her success.
She said: “Tennis plays tennis every day, you have to do it every day.
“You also have to go through the ups and downs, your determination to keep moving forward. One of the things I’m excited about is to talk to these mentors about so much of my past career and bring it into this new career.”
Williams added that some of her successes and skills are part of her nature, but another part must be cultivated.
“I think a lot of things are nature, but a lot of things can be nurtured, and I know that from experience, a lot of things can be nurtured. I look forward to cultivating them (the founders) and enabling them to be very successful in any aspect of their definition of success because the definition of success is a lot of different ways,” she said.
