Serena Williams’ Gladwellian Success
10,000 hours, extraordinary opportunities, meaningful work.
By Gabby Stellpflug | Biokinetics Major and Psychology Minor at Bethel University (St. Paul, Minnesota)
Serena Williams looks around the tennis court becoming queasy with nervousness, or was it her seven hour practice from the day before that made her feel sick? Fourteen years earlier, Serena Williams was supposed to play against her sister, Venus Williams, in the Indian Wells Tournament semi-finals in California. The crowd became angry when Venus had dropped out minutes before the match due to her tendonitis. The outcome of this match determined who was better of the William sisters, and their father chose Serena as the likely winner. Serena, at the age of 19, won the Indian Wells Tournament. Fans responded with “boos” and her father claimed to hear racist slurs being thrown in Serena’s way. Serena struggled as she explained,“In a game I loved with all my heart, at one of my most cherished tournaments, I suddenly felt un-welcomed, alone, and afraid” (Price). This led to 14 years of boycotting from the Williams family. Serena had sworn to never go back to Indian Wells again.
This was until Serena thought she had to go back to make a point that she was stronger, braver, and more determined than when the crowd last saw her in 2001. Serena walked onto the court on March 9th, 2015. It was 87 degrees, sun blazing down on the tennis court, music blasting in Serena’s headphones as she walked on the court with high nerves, questioning if this was the right thing to do. As she looked up, the crowd was in a standing ovation, and they continued to stay in a standing ovation throughout Serena’s warm-up. Serena, overwhelmed with emotion, knew that this had been the right decision and she was ready. She ended the 2015 tournament in a forfeit due to a knee injury. Serena was not disappointed, she said “I may have lost, but I still consider this as one of my biggest wins in all my tennis career” (Price).
Serena Williams has won 23 grand slams and is ranked ninth in the world in 2020. She was ranked as first for a total of 123 weeks for her professional career. She claims these victories were from hard work, dedication, and by working through the ups and downs (Being Serena). Serena is an example of success in the book Outliers: The story of Success author Malcolm Gladwell writes, “A world where man’s reputation is at the center of his livelihood and self-worth” (167). This is not about winning or losing, it’s about making a difference. Serena Williams exemplifies Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers theories about 10,000 hours, meaningful work, and extraordinary opportunities to work her way up to a “success story” of her own.
Serena took training very seriously “When I was a kid, I trained really, really, really hard. And I think that’s so important for kids out there that want to grow up and be the best. Ask any professional player. You train really hard. You train for hours” (Williams, Training like a Pro). Serena talked about how her typical day for practices would start around 9 a.m and go till about 11 a.m, then she would have a break for lunch and to stretch and do what she needed to get done. She would then practice from 1 p.m. till about 6 or 7 p.m. Williams mentioned how important it was to build a foundation including strength, conditioning, and mindset when being young, so your body doesn’t break down once older, this helps maintain a healthy body and mindset.
By the age of 14, Serena had gone pro. Gladwell mentions in Outliers, “The closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play” (Gladwell 38). Serena was able to go pro at such a young age because she had the skill set to do so and the mental maturity to make it happen. Her first professional tournament was in October 1995 at the Bell Challenge in Quebec. Williams lost in the first round to eighteen year old, Annie Miller. After this loss, Serena did not play in another tournament till 1997; she made the most of her time and practiced twice as hard because she needed to feed her eagerness to win. In 1999, Serena won her first major championship, and then in 2003 she won her first career grand slam. Serena made her way to the top Gladwell believes that “The one thing that distinguishes one performer from another is how hard he or she works. That’s it. And what’s more, the people at the very top don’t work just harder or even much harder than everyone else. They work much, much harder” (Gladwell 39).
Just like Serena Williams, Michael Oher from The Blind Side also had to do what he had to do to work his way up to Gladwell’s definition of pro “Ten thousand hours of practice is required to achieve the level of mastery associated with being a world class expert […] It seems that it takes the brain this long to assimilate all that is needed to achieve true mastery” (Gladwell 40). Michael Oher started later than Serena and had to be taught from square one, he had a lot of catching up to do; but he had an advantage similar to Serena. Raw talent. Michael put in his hours through practices, camps, games, and took any opportunity to play football whenever he was given the chance to. He worked hard, to prove to everyone that his hard work was going to pay off. In The Blind Side Michael Lewis quotes “Everyday he felt a little bit less a lost boy and more a man with a mission” (Lewis 328). Michael Oher’s mission was to be the best, as is Serena Williams. Both these athletes bring to the table their hunger for success and a dish of work ethic to fill their stomachs with 10,000 hours of hard work and dedication.
It all started when Robert Williams and Oracene Price (Serena Williams’ mother and father) stopped their normal everyday lives to learn how to play and teach tennis after learning that African American women were winning large sums of money for winning in tennis tournaments (Roenigk). They then started coaching their daughter Venus and Serena at a young age on how to play tennis. They were fortunate enough to have daughters that had a natural ability from such a young age and eagerness to never stop. “The longevity exhibited by the William sisters is directly attributable to their parents and the way that Richard Williams and Price have helped them manage their careers and lives. They wanted what was best for them” (Being Serena).
Williams woke up each morning at 6 a.m to start her day with a tennis practice most likely coached by her father, alongside her sister Venus. Their father said, “hard work and dedication, this makes champions” (Being Serena). Serena went pro at 14 years old, with the help from her father, her coaches, the endless days of practices, the many tournaments she had competed in, as well as having her sister Venus be by her side throughout this all. Not only did Serena want to win, she wanted to make a difference. She wanted to be a role model for other aspiring women and athletes and to prove to the world that anyone could do what they want, and to be the voice for others.
When Serena was four, and Venus was five, they first started experiencing what they called “tennis boot camp” (Being Serena). This first started when the Williams family had moved to Compton, California. Robert Williams, the sisters’ fathers would get them up every day, sometime during the early morning and have them practice throughout the day; he knew his daughters were going to be champions. Serena and Venus had endured these practices everyday, for 3–5 hours. Robert even homeschooled the girls so he could make most of their time in both school and their training. It didn’t matter what the weather was, rain or shine, these girls were out on the court doing conditioning or working on their different swings. At the age of four and a half, Serena entered into her first tennis tournament and over the next five years, Serena had won forty-five out of the forty-nine tournaments she had entered… This was just the start of her blossoming career. In 1992, Robert had invited teaching pro Ricky Macci to watch the two daughters play. Amazed with this raw talent these girls showed, he invited them to go and study at his tennis academy in Florida, both with full-ride scholarships. In 1993, Robert had packed up the family and moved to Palm Beach Gardens in Florida. When Serena was ten, her father took both her and Venus out of junior tennis tournaments so they could take things more slowly and focus more on their education. From there, these sisters competed both together and against each other.
In an interview Duluth Sportscaster Kelly Hinseth talks about when you’re given an opportunity when nothing else is available, take it; and once you do, you can build up from there. She talks about how you have to be okay with failing; being rejected from one or even maybe ten jobs, maybe even from your dream job. But, learning from those fails, and moving forward will help you on to the next task (Hinseth). This relates to Serena Williams and her sister Venus. These two were each other’s most extraordinary opportunities. They trained together, played and competed in the same tournaments, sometimes together and sometimes against. But what they both did was learn and build from each other. “I felt motivated. Now I know what to do. Serena showed me what to do. That was crucial in my success in winning big events. It was a turning point in my career. At the time, I didn’t think to say that to her, but over time, I’ve told her, ‘if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have done anything” (Roenigk). Together these sisters have won twenty-two titles which include fourteen grand slams as well as three gold medals (Lisanti).
Gladwell states “Outliers are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others can not” (19). Serena Williams had her family as her extraordinary opportunity, this resulted in years of training, natural ability being perfected, and a powerful determination to win. This was just the base from being coached by her mother and father at first and having Venus as a sister, and a competitor.
In 2018, at the French Open, Serena walked onto the court for her first-round against Karolina Pilskova. Everyone was stunned as they paid more attention to what Serena was wearing. Serena wore a black catsuit with a red waistband, this was for medical reasons to prevent blood clots. This sight was shocking and seen as “disrespectful” through the eyes of the French tennis committee. Not only did she get a dress code violation, but also the request for the ban of catsuits which was made by the French Tennis Federation president Bernard Giudicelli, stating that it won’t be back. After this incident, Nike made the statement “You can take the superhero out of her costume, but you can never take away her superpowers” (Rhoden).
This has always been an issue for Serena Williams. Not only was she discriminated against because she was a black woman playing/succeeding in a white dominant sport, she was discriminated on how she looked: her hair, her body, and fashion choices. This demonstrated that tennis was a very strict and unfair game for any one of a different race, sex, and class bias (Martin). But Serena never let any of this get to her, “I love when fashion becomes a vehicle for sharing a powerful message […] She learned long ago, along with her sister, that people were going to pay attention to what players wore” (Oprah).
Serena Williams attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale for fashion and design. She claims that she wanted to still be able to do something with her life once her tennis career was over. By doing this, she still could make an impact on the lives of others (Rhoden). Serena recently just launched her first clothing line called “Serena”. This clothing line was to make women feel more body confident; the catchy slogan to this line is “Dress is for ‘everybody and every BODY’” (Rhoden). Serena wanted to make sure everyone felt comfortable wearing these articles of clothing from her fashion line, she even turned the size “plus-size” to “great-size.” Small acts such as clothing portray a large message across the surface. “We are not allowed to have emotions, we are not allowed to be passionate, she wrote. We are told to sit down and be quiet, which frankly is not something I’m okay with. It’s shameful to penalize women just for being themselves” (Martin). Serena wants to include her help in the process of being bold, confident, and comfortable, a “normalized” thing from athletes to mothers, and everyone else within the mix. This is just one act of meaningful work Williams accomplished, other acts include building schools in developing countries, raising awareness for black culture and women, donating large amounts of money to multiple charities, as well as continuing to be a role model for others around the world (Martin). She makes this possible by working hard on the court, so she can provide many meaningful attributions on the outside of the tennis court.
William might not have been able to make this happen if she wasn’t able or willing to put in the work. Gladwell writes, “Working really hard is what successful people do, and the genius of the culture formed in the rice paddies is that hard work gave in those fields a way to finding meaning in the midst of great uncertainty and poverty” (239). Rice paddy farmers knew the relationship between effort and reward, that’s why they worked year-round to make their farming results prosperous. They managed small business, juggled a family, got seedlings ready, organized complicated irrigation systems and so much more; all in hope for a successful crop growth. As did Serena, she juggled a family, practices, tournaments, charity events, and everyday life but she still managed to put in all of her effort. With this effort, she is able to get meaningful work as a reward; which included being an inspiration, an icon, and a role model.
Serena Williams versus Naomi Osaka, September 8th, 2018 4:00 p.m (New York time) U.S Open final. Serena, ranked at 17th was determined to defend her grand slam title against Naomi who ranked 20th. (Griffith). Within the first few points, Serena had been called for a violation by the head umpire for looking back and “getting coached” by her coach Mouratogin on the sideline. With that being said, Serena looked at the umpire and said “I don’t cheat to win, I’d rather lose” (Griffith). Breaking Osaka’s serve, Williams made an unforced error by swinging a backhand right into the net giving Osaka back the control, this could have been a turning point in the match (Waldstein). This error led to Williams being outraged and hitting her racquet against the court out of frustration, another violation was given for abuse of racquet and a penalty point was awarded to Osaka. This event led Williams to become emotional and insisted on an apology from the umpire calling him a “thief” for stealing away her point. With this comment being made, the umpire had given Williams a third violation for verbal abuse. Williams claimed that this umpire had been sexist against her and other women and she swore that he would never be able to umpire on her court again. In an hour and twenty minutes, Osaka had beaten Williams and received the title as the grand slam champion for women’s singles in the 2018 U.S Open.
At the trophy ceremony, Osaka hid her face with her Adidas visor so the crowd who were all booing wouldn’t see her tears running down her face. At that moment Williams had stepped up and told the crowd that they should be showing Osaka praise for winning and how this young woman deserves it fair and square. Williams then comforted Osaka throughout the rest of the ceremony, and told her that the crowd wasn’t booing at her, they were booing at what had happened. Osaka deserved to win.
With a career record of 834–144, twenty three grand-slam wins, and four gold medals, Serena Williams is known as one of the best tennis players of all time. Willams will forever be known as an influential icon among many “It’s not about quitting when someone presents you a challenge; it’s about getting up when you’re down, dusting yourself off and asking, ‘Is that the best you got?’ Because I have God with me, and I can take whatever comes my way” (Waldstein). Having this mindset can relate to Gladwell when he says “It is grounded in a web of advantages and inheritances, some deserved, some not, some earned, some just plain lucky — but all critical to making them who they are. The Outlier, in the end, is not an outlier at all” (Gladwell 285). Serena Williams proved to everyone that she used her extraordinary opportunities to work harder and to put in more effort in reaching her way to 10,000 hours. With these 10,000 hours, she included her influential power and did meaningful work on and off the court. She made it a point whether she knew it or not that to make a difference, it all starts with putting in the effort and the work and it goes from there.
WORKS CITED
Cohen, Aaron.“Being Serena.” Performance by Serena Williams, HBO: Being Serena , HBO, 2018. Web
Gladwell, Malcolm. Outliers: The Story of Success. New York: Little, Brown and company, 2008. Print
Griffith, Janelle. “Serena Williams Talks about 2018 U.S. Open Loss and Her Apology to Naomi Osaka.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 9 July 2019. Web. 10 May. 2020.
Hinseth, Kelly. Interview. Conducted by Scott Winter, 2020.
Lewis, Michael. (2006). The blind side: Evolution of a game. City, State: W. W. Norton and Company.
Lisanti, Jamie. “Serving Notice.” Sports Illustrated 29 July, 2019.307–328. Print.
Martin, Lori. (2018). “Double fault”: Serena Williams and tennis at the intersection of race and gender. The Western Journal of Black Studies, 42(3–4), 88–95.
Rhoden, Williams. “Tennis, Race, and Much More.” New York Times, 2001,Vol.150: D1 Web.
Roenigk, Alyssa. “Road to 23: The Story of Serena’s Path to Greatness.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 27 Mar. 2020. Web. 10 May. 2020.
Price, S. L. “Serena Williams is Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year 2015.” Sports Illustrated. 14, Dec. 2015: 68–87. Web.
Waldstein, David. “Serena Williams vs. Naomi Osaka: How the U.S. Open Descended Into Chaos.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 9 Sept. 2018. Web.7 May. 2020.
Williams, Serena. Interview. Conducted by Oprah Winfrey, 2003.
Williams, Serena. “Training Like a Pro.” MasterClass, MasterClass, 19 Dec. 2018. Web. 10 May. 2020.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gabby Stellpflug, a freshman from White Bear Lake, Minn., seeks a biokinetics degree from Bethel University to someday work with a professional sports team as a team doctor. Stellpflug likes taking long walks along the lake with her dog, having 2 a.m. dance parties with her cat, and playing nap roulette (naps can range from twenty minutes to four hours; it’s a game of luck).
WHAT I’VE LEARNED
The yelling of the word “go” meant it was time for awkwardly speaking out loud, or having to write really fast for a certain amount of time.
Jada Probasco, Stephen Powell, and Trevon Couser were great book group members who made reading The Blind Side a much better experience (including our talks about daily lives, telling jokes, and talking about current topics).
Re-reading your conclusions are important, in case you forgot to delete some unnecessary sentences…
You can find out more information about a person (i.e. a guest speaker) than what the person expects from a quick or in-depth Google search on them.
Taking group selfies is awkward when trying to figure out how you're supposed to pose.
Naming the dog doesn’t mean you’re actually naming a dog (or any animal).
Making eye contact with random people during in class while speaking makes it much more fun than looking at a wall or looking down (you can see the confusion/fear/uncomfortableness of making direct eye contact in the other person’s eyes).
Making FlipGrid speeches at two in the morning works in my favor more than sleeping does.
Reading and writing about sports was something I find an interest in and the idea that journalism may be an option for me down the line.
I walked into Scott Winter’s Inquiry Seminar class after a three-week leave of absence and had to tell seventeen people I didn’t know what deodorant and tooth paste I used, as well as my major. I knew this was going to be the class I would make the strongest connection in as well as many memorable moments that I will take with me as I transfer to the University Of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
