Serena Williams is back at Wimbledon: Five lessons in resilience, confidence and grit

The regal comeback

Serena Williams, the tennis great, the 23-time Grand Slam winner is gearing up for a triumphant comeback to Wimbledon singles after she received a wildcard. The All England Club on Sunday announced that Serena will be returning to competitive tennis after her long break since 2022.The seven-time Wimbledon singles ‌ champion was already assured of a return to the championships for the first time in four years after accepting a doubles wildcard with sister Venus according to Reuters.Here are five important life lessons that one can learn from the tennis icon who has acquired unparalleled success that has reshaped women's tennis.

Taking a stand for yourself

It was the 2018 US Open women's final between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka when the chair umpire Carlos Ramos made a coaching violation after William’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou made some hand gestures, a “thumbs up”.

William in response said, “If he gives me a thumbs-up, he is telling me to come on”. She highlighted her treatment to be different from others where her integrity was challenged.The second violation followed her when she broke her racket to channel her furry after the fifth game in the second set. According to her, many players, especially men, break their rackets which too violate the code-of-conduct. Serena demanded Ramoz to apologize for staying, “You stole a point from me.

You’re a thief too.”The third violation came from Ramos because what she called him seemed like verbal abuse to him.In that match, Osaka won and William lost the game, but throughout she was vocal about all the biases and wrong ways by which she was dealt with as reported by Forbes.

Losing focus is not an option

Williams was born in Saginaw, Mich, but she along with her family went to settle in Compton, Calif. At that time she was 3 years.Compton was a notoriously dangerous neighborhood in the 1980s and 90s as it struggled with unemployment, drugs and gun violence.In 1998, when Williams qualified for the Australian Open, she matched with Irina Spîrlea. She lost the first set of the match, but her zeal refused her to down without fighting.When I go down a set, I have to forget it. ‘OK, it’s not over, you’re still in it, you have to fight for it. Stay present,” she told GQ Sports. It was the first “Serena comeback,” and she went on to win the match 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1.

Being yourself is a lonely business

After giving birth, her fans doubted whether Serena Williams will have a comeback again or not.

In many interviews, Serena had reflected light on her post-motherhood journey. In 2018, she shared an Instagram post, announcing her comeback after giving birth to her daughter.A happy Serena captioned it, “It's official. My comeback is here. This Thursday I will start playing tennis again professionally for the first time since giving birth to my daughter. This whole month I am playing tournaments in California and Florida- both my home states.

Thursday, the day I play my very first match, marks international women's day. My comeback could not have come on a better day and I decided I wanted to do something different let you all be apart of my long journey back (if you want of course!! ) So I created my Serena Gold toned "S" pin.

”This marked the tennis star’s enthu and admiration towards her sports. Highlighting this fact she once said, “You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.”

Giving up is not an option

Tennis is a physically demanding sport, but mentally demanding as well: losing a point, a game, or a set you should not have, a poor hit, a double fault, etc. can alter your mindset and impact your quality of play.Serena believes 70% of the game is mental. But the most important part of it is “never giving up” no matter what.“I just never give up. I fight to the end”. You can’t go out and say, ‘I want a bag of never-say-die spirit.’

It’s not for sale. It has to be innate,” Serena added.

Be carefree

In a white dominated game, being a black woman, Serena Williams had to remove a number of obstacles on her way. It required enormous relience, power and dedication. She had gone through a lot of sexism and racism. She has been criticised for her staunch physical strength which although has acted as a dominant factor in her tennis career.Addressing to this Serena had said, “Think of all the girls who could become top athletes but quit sports because they’re afraid of having too many defined muscles and being made fun of or called unattractive.”Serena will always stand as an emblem and epitome of inspiration, especially to those women who are aspiring to make their career and win the world by playing tennis.