Serena Williams finds tennis inspiration in the strangest of places
John McEnroe’s hopes for Ben Shelton
By Lee Vowell | 6:00 AM EDT
Serena Williams at Wimbledon 2022
Serena Williams at Wimbledon 2022 / Clive Brunskill/GettyImages
Serena Williams is a GOAT. There is no real dispute about that. With her powerful forehand, overpowering serve, and excellent athletic ability, she is likely the greatest women’s player ever. Heck, she could simply be the best player of any gender ever. Her 23 Grand Slams are difficult to argue with.
But like all top athletes, Williams used to find inspiration for greatness in sometimes odd places. She didn’t like a certain player then of course she was going to be motivated to destroy. What if the foe was a friend, though? Sure, she was going to want to win but the rage to do so might be a bit more diminished.
In ESPN’s new series about the icon, In the Arena: Serena Williams, Williams discusses the time when she was in her 20s when she was in Washington, DC, met a man who she shared some time with, and then he ghosted her. That seems foolish for many reasons, of course, but at least it caused Williams to give tennis fans a lot of joy.
Serena Williams discusses rage and John McEnroe talks about Ben Shelton
Williams said on the series, “A few days after the US Open final, I’m in DC with my sister. I see this guy that I’m dating and I stayed at his house for a couple of weeks. It was the first relationship I ever had…I go home. He ghosts me. I got ghosted. It wasn’t even that serious, but it was like I used that and I made it way more serious than what it was. So when he ghosted me I used that as an opportunity to say, he’s going to regret this for the rest of his life.”
A lot of players can seemingly blame an unnamed person for their losses when they may not have had any idea that was happening. Rage can tear people apart. In the case of Serena Williams, it did the opposite.
Speaking of rage, John McEnroe certainly played with some. Since then, however, he has become a fairly good observer of tennis. Does he not know as many players as he should? Definitely; he could be better prepared for matches. That does not mean he does not know what he speaks about the sport.
Next. ESPN ranks Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer where exactly?. ESPN ranks Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer where exactly?. dark
On a recent episode of Nick Kyrgios’ awesome podcast, Good Trouble with Nick Kyrgios, McEnroe discussed who he thought might make up the new Big 3 now that Roger Federer is retired and Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are not far behind. There might be a Big 2 developing with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, but who might join them to form a trio?
McEnroe thinks Ben Shelton might have a chance. The big-serving American still needs to develop some of the grayer areas of the sport, but he is still only 21 years old. He might not have the touch of Sinner or Alcaraz ver, but he might overpower a lot of people.
According to McEnroe, “You look at the level and the depth of the modern-day tennis game and you look at the modern ‘Big 3’ now…Who’s that next guy? Who will be the next member of the ‘Big 3’ moving forward in the next 10 years? Well, I was hoping it would be Ben Shelton. He’s made some great advancements and for us, in America, it’d be huge. He wasn’t just focused on tennis at 10 years old, he played American football. He’s a hell of an athlete.”
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Related Topics
Serena Williams
Tennis News
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