RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – With just two days to go until the start of the Olympic tennis event in Rio de Janeiro this weekend, Serena Williams met with the press along with the rest of Team USA at the group’s press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Serena is the top seed in both women’s singles and doubles (along with older sister Venus Williams) as well as being the reigning gold medalist in both events. All eyes are on the WTA No.1 as she readies for her quest to add another Olympic gold medal to her already impressive haul.
Here are the highlights from Serena’s Team USA press conference.
Serena holds 22 Grand Slam singles titles and has four Olympic gold medals (one in singles, three in doubles). Here’s how she described the unique feeling of winning in both competitions:
“All our lives, us tennis players dream of playing in Grand Slams, winning Grand Slams, having the opportunity to hold that trophy.
“And then there’s the Olympics. Playing the Olympics, it’s totally different. You’re really playing for your country. When I held my first gold medal, it was a feeling that I never expected. I had the opportunity to truly enjoy and appreciate my gold medal probably more than my other trophies.”
And this is what keeps her motivated to keep winning even after earning so many gold medals and Grand Slams titles:
“I love what I do, I do it every day and I enjoy being out on the court. I enjoy competing and right now I just don’t see a time where I say, ‘I don’t want to do it anymore.’
“As long as I’m doing anything – whether I’m playing tennis or doing something else – I always give my maximum effort. That’s just what I bring to the court every day.”
On teaming up again with her older sister Venus for doubles, where they’re vying for a fourth doubles gold medal together:
“We have the opportunity to have someone on tour who completely understands what you’re going through. There are some brothers and sisters on tour. It’s a great experience, it’s a lot of fun. We enjoy it – I don’t think there’s anything out there like it.”
On being back in Brazil for just the second time ever:
“I had so much fun in Sao Paolo a few years ago [for an exhibition match]. It was a great time, and that was my first time here in Brazil.
“I’ve never been to Rio, though. The team actually all just got here today, so we haven’t had too much time to experience it but everything looks really nice and we look forward to spending a long time here, having a long tournament and having wonderful experiences.”
Here’s what she thinks of the much discussed health and safety concerns in Rio:
“I weighed it very heavily. I think everyone here [on Team USA] did as well and we were able to educate ourselves on what to do and how to prepare and how to deal with everything here. If you educate yourself and have preparation, then you can really be ready for anything. And then I think we all had the confidence that we could do it. We’re all prepared. We’re ready.”
She also reflected – kind of – on her historic Wimbledon win a few weeks ago:
“I don’t reflect so much, actually. I usually just move on and focus on the next big event. Especially with Rio being so close, that was my main goal, to make sure I’m ready and prepared to play in the Olympics. The way I see my season hasn’t changed. My season has been, for me, it’s been ok.”
