"It was hard because when I was playing in the beginning - the first 15 years - my body was different. I had big boobs; I had a big butt. Every athlete was like super flat, super thin and beautiful, but in a different way. And I didn't understand as an athlete how to deal with that. It does affect you mentally. Absolutely."
"I didn't look like these other girls but not everyone looks the same."
""I don't hear the noise," she said. "Everyone is entitled to their opinion. How am I going to sit here and change someone's thought? If [you] don't like me, you don't have to.""
Serena Williams experienced body-image struggles early in her 27-year career, comparing her physique to slimmer athletes and feeling different because of her larger chest and hips. She began her professional career at 14 and won her first Grand Slam at 17, eventually compiling 23 major singles titles. Those insecurities affected her mentally during the first 15 years of competition. Williams credits being Black in tennis with helping build resilience and now blocks out negative opinions. Since her last match in 2022 she has focused on motherhood, business and acting, and has reentered the ITIA drug-testing pool.
Read at Bustle
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