Serena Williams on the Double Standard in Athletics

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR: But you did, and I’ve watched many of your matches live in various different tournaments. You have borne the brunt of audiences, your father has as well. Occasionally, he’s being booed. You remember, I guess, it was Indian Wells, and there was, you know, a horrible incident and you didn’t play at Indian Wells for a good 14 years or so. And sometimes you have shown anger on the court, and you have, you know, you’ve had to — well, you have had booing on the court as well. And I just wonder what you think about that. Not just as a black athlete, but also as a woman and whether you think some of the others have, you know, had the fines and punishments that you have had. For instance, we just seen Zverev, I mean, literally with his racket banging the umpire’s chair to the point that the umpire had to move his legs out of the way.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

AMANPOUR: How do you — talk to me about that. What happens? What cracks?

WILLIAMS: What cracks an individual or —

AMANPOUR: Yes, that. And then, the difference between maybe how you were treated and how some others were treated.

WILLIAMS: Yes. I think everyone is different. Like Venus is so frustrating playing her because she’s like so even keel. She’s just like — I’m like, why aren’t you angry, and me, I’m total opposite. I’m just like, ah, you know. It’s just my personality. I think everyone is different. And it’s not necessarily about cracking. I think it’s just more about passion and it just boils down to your personality, like I am who I am on the court and off the court, I’m very passionate about what I do. I’m passionate about everything. And so, that answers that side. But there is absolutely a double standard. I would probably be in jail if I did that, like literally, no joke. So, yes. I mean, I was actually on probation once. What’d I ever do to get on probation.

AMANPOUR: What incident was that?

WILLIAMS: Yes. You know what, we’re not going to go there.

AMANPOUR: OK. We won’t go there.

WILLIAMS: We’re not going to go there.

AMANPOUR: But there is a double standard and you felt that through your career?

WILLIAMS: It absolutely is. Absolutely. You know, you see that when you see other things happening object tour, you’re like, wait, if I had done that. But it’s OK. At the end of the day, I am who I am, and I love who I am, and I love like — I love the impact that I’ve had on people. I love the impact that I continue to have on people. Now, the impact I can have on people through companies that I invest in and having an opportunity to invest in women and people of color and that, like, that is, if I didn’t have the passion that I have on the tennis court, I wouldn’t have passion for what I do now. And I accept it, and I’m excited to continue to have that passion and, yes.