Serena Williams Reveals the Biggest Unresolved Trauma of Her Career

Serena Williams has written tennis history, in a profound way. I have always said: as far as I’m concerned she’s the GOAT of women’s tennisthe best tennis player ever, the Queen. A deadly mix of power, technique, mental fierceness.

But even the former American superstar has had dark moments in her career. More than one, to be honest, but maybe there is one in particular that she has never overcome. A trauma so strong that her psychotherapist has advised her to stop talking about it, as revealed in her docuseries In the Arena: Serena Williams.

It is the semi-finals of the 2015 US Open; the unpredictable defeat against Roberta Vinciwhich she led to the first historic all-Italian final in a Major. Serena was working towards completing the Grand Slam that year, having won the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon. And New York seemed the perfect opportunity to make history, in front of her audience.

In the semi-final against an outsider, with a possible final against another outsider. Vinci gave Serena an invaluable tennis lesson that day (also invaluable for the ticket holders for the final…), which sent the nervous system of the legendary American into a downward spiral. Serena who, at least until the first set, seemed like an incoming lioness on her way to history and the record she deserved.

That was the biggest sports trauma the American ever experienced, who said in a passage from In The Arena: Serena Williams:

“I don’t think I’ve gotten over that loss at the US Open. I was so angry, so sad, so disappointed in myself. There was no one with 21 Slams at that point, but that wasn’t enough for me. It doesn’t end like the movies. And as much as I think it could have and should have happened. Whatever I could have done differently, it wasn’t my story. Winning is so glamorous and everyone loves it when you win. It is, it really is. But the more you win, the harder it is to lose,” she said.

Serena Williams’ shock defeat to Roberta Vinci in the 2015 US Open semifinals (two wins shy of the Calendar Grand Slam) was so traumatic that her therapist told her never to speak of it again.

For her documentary ‘In the Arena’ she broke this rule in an exceptional way:

(@espn) photo.twitter.com/hbBclo8g5B

— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) August 9, 2024

We also remember that in one of the key passages of In the Arena, Serena also talked about the death of her sister Yetunde, revealing what was the most difficult part.

“I think the hardest part was telling the kids. I remember one time we were in an apartment and we were playing a game. We’ve become so close over the last six months. We’ve been able to spend so much time together and it’s a time I’ll never forget. When I went to Australia, I was in a really bad place emotionally. I was dealing with a lot of things and I wasn’t dealing with it well. I just remember being in Australia and playing and playing and trying not to think about Yetunde, but you can’t not think about her because she’s always on your mind,” she said.

The American also spoke about how difficult her career was and how much prejudice she faced.

“It just makes you a girl with a butt and a tiny waist. The consensus was that I was a big fat cow. They were used to seeing women who didn’t have a body, and I was a black woman with a body, and that doesn’t make you bad, or that doesn’t make you good,” she explained.

The American recently revealed in an interview with ET that she has always been in the spotlight and is only now trying to understand who she really is outside of the court.

“I was so intense on court, I always wanted to be perfect, which of course is not possible. If I could go back, I would tell myself to take a deep breath and relax more. I think that would have helped me a lot. The journey has been incredible, but I was so young when I started playing tennis on the big tour and turned pro. I don’t know if that changed me or shaped me as a person,” Serena said.

“Now I’m trying to figure out who I am off-camera. I’ve been in the spotlight 24/7 for 27 years. It’s different now, but it’s time to figure out how that has affected me. Most people only see the Grand Slam wins, the finals, but they don’t see the training and everything that goes behind it. All that intensity that I’ve always brought to the court is now focused on my daughters,” she added.