27 years of a successful career in tennis, with 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by any player in the Open Era, and the second-most of all time behind Margaret Court. The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) ranked her world No. 1 on eight separate occasions between 2002 and 2017. 

By her sixth occasion, she held the rank for 186 consecutive weeks, tying the record set by Steffi Graf. In all, she has been WTA No. 1 for 319 weeks, which ranks third in the Open Era behind Graf and Martina Navratilova.

That being said, it’s only natural we take a look into her life to draw a few lessons from Serena Williams’ stellar career which can be applied on and off the court. 

 Here are our five life lessons we think top the list.

 You’re only as limited as your mindset.

According to Serena in an interview she said “I think in life you should work on yourself until the day you die”. As most of you might know by now, she’s one of the only few players to have won a championship from their teenage years till their forties. 

Most tennis players are known to retire in their early thirties but not Serena, she keeps showing us that with the right mindset, things like your age might not be a major limitation. 

Never Give Up 

A wise woman once said; “I just never give up. I fight to the end. Yes, that’s the same woman that just advanced to the third round at the US Open at 41! 

So if you need life changing advice to take you to the next level, remember this, “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”.

Stay Focused.

We’ve all heard her story on how she came from a tough community in Compton in the United states, and despite that, she kept her eyes on the prize. In an Interview Serena’s father, Richard once said the goal was to win the US Open at the time and boy did they hit the mark. 

Be yourself and Love Every Second of It. 

We can’t think of any other tennis star whose personality shows up and shows out on the court, from her outfits to how she plays the game. You can see how true she stays to herself. She once said; “I love who I am, and I encourage other people to love and embrace who they are. But it definitely wasn’t easy—it took me a while”.

 Work Work Work 

As you could’ve guessed it was not easy for Serena to be the GOAT without putting in the work, and by work we mean,sleepless days and nights on the court and at the gym. According to her “Everyone’s dream can come true if you just stick to it and work hard”.

So while you piece all of these lessons together, it would never be complete without the hard work. 

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