Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
It's a pity that the tennis is really going down the drain. Every year it's getting worse and worse and worse. There has to be a radical change, and I hope it will be really soon.
The tennis ball doesn't know how old I am. The ball doesn't know if I'm a man or a woman or if I come from a communist country or not. Sport has always broken down these barriers.
But in 2000, the injuries really started to kick in and my elbow gave a lot of problems. At the end of the year I had to take 20 months off before I could come back into the game.
Yes, I hit with heavy top-spin, but when you look at the little rackets I played with, the Maxply Dunlop, you had to hit the very centre all the time. I had my share of miss-hits.
I've done so many interviews over the years in so many different languages. Radios. Papers. Magazines. There's always another interview to do. It's quite something, I have to say.
I'm telling you, it's so exciting playing out there because I'm playing well, you have the crowd behind you, and it's such a good feeling. I'm really having a good time out there.
If there has been any match-fixing then we need to make sure that it's erased from our sport because it's a crime in sports. We have no place for it in any sport let alone tennis.
I have been recently diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome, an autoimmune disease which is an ongoing medical condition that affects my energy level and causes fatigue and joint pain.
The media and press can be relentless, especially with women. Personally, while I take pride in my appearance and enjoy the compliments, when I'm on court, it is all about my game.
Tennis uses the language of life. Advantage, service, fault, break, love - the basic elements of tennis are those of everyday existence, because every match is a life in miniature.
Having grown up in a segregated environment in the south I know what it's like to be stepped on, I know what it's like also to see some black hero do well in the face of adversity.
I try to do something good, but when it doesn't go good, then I go like too much into myself, what I'm doing right, wrong, instead of thinking more what I have to do with the ball.
No, like I said, my dad was never really part of the tennis. His involvement around what I did with the tennis and with my mom and my grandparents was really not a part of my life.
The way I see it, the prize money is a reflection of my on-court performance, but the sponsorships are something more personal, connected more to people and fans, and to my values.
Just by being out you're doing your part. It's like recycling. You're doing your part for the environment if you recycle; you're doing your part for the gay movement if you're out.
Coaches are very important to players. They're people that are mentors, people that are advising them, people that should be their friends and somebody you can rely on on the tour.
It's important for the young players to practice other ball games as well, basketball or table tennis. On the tennis court, you can improve your eye through a kind of overexertion.
I like to be busy. It's not always easy because the schedule gets busy; especially, the more successful you are, the more demands you have. But it's definitely worth the sacrifice.
No TV, no acting for me. I'm kind of a more behind-the-scenes kind of woman even though what I do is very public. I'm really low-key and I don't need to be the center of attention.
When you get told that you have a disease, it's like: 'Really? Nah, it's all right. I don't believe that. It must be something else, I'm just making an excuse, let me push harder.'
You can be careful as far as you can, but you never know when you're going to fall over and break your ankle. It's like when you drive a car, you don't think about crashing, do you?
When I was a child, I had posters of James Dean in my room. I was a big admirer of his work and was fascinated by him living on the edge. Looking back, my life was kind of the same.
It's unbelievable, it never gets too old. The biggest goal in my career is winning Grand Slams. I don't have a great record in finals, but I'm getting closer to .500, which is nice.
True thoughts have duration in themselves. If the thoughts endure, the seed is enduring; if the seed endures, the energy endures; if the energy endures, then will the spirit endure.
It's like one of those dreams you have when someone is chasing you. You're running as fast as you can, and someone's trotting behind you, just out of range, trying to grab onto you.
Well they do have drug testing at all the majors and there will be a lot of speculation about what in the world is wrong with Serena Williams and we will find out as much as we can.
I was a little bit lost in my head after winning a Grand Slam. You're like: 'So what's the next goal? What do you want now? Where do you want to be? It's not a problem if you lose.'
For me, and most of the other players, too, if you had to pick one of the four Grand Slams, you would pick Wimbledon. It's got tradition, it's got atmosphere, and it's got mystique.
Sometimes you can really serve well and win the match because of the serve. I have the opposite thing now, so it's kind of hard. I can just really play with my forehand and backhand.
There's no such thing as an open draw. At least for me - I mean, obviously for Roger Federer, I think every draw feels open for him - but for me there's no such thing as an open draw
To be a winner, you've got to be an appraiser. You've got to be able to play at your best under pressure. And more money creates more pressure. Money is the finest fuel in the world.
Being able to speak to all my fans is really cool - you always hear people cheering for you on the court, but to have messages of support in between tournaments is really motivating.
I can play on grass - when I won Junior Wimbledon, that was an unbelievable feeling, I could not believe that I had won the tournament, as Wimbledon is like the holy place of tennis.
Federer said something interesting once. He said that he was watching Rod Laver, and me, and he said he was trying to copy us and to be like us. And that’s a great compliment for us.
Many tennis coaches are enablers. They need the job more than the player needs the coach, and if the coach needs the job more than the player needs the coach, he can't effect change.
I started when I was 8 years old, which is obviously nowadays pretty late, but I guess in my generation it was all right. I had plenty of other interests and I didn't do only tennis.
When you play against Roger, it's always special. First, because you play in a big area, in a big stadium anyway. And every time the crowd is for him, so it's quite a good sensation.
Rather than just mimic processes in nature, I think we can harness the powers of nature itself and allow it to help us create. That, in a way is what the 'Dune' project is all about.
The mentality, that's something you should be able to control. Whether you are healthy or not, how fast you can run - they aren't things you can work on, but the mentality should be.
I think I could look back through the past few years at missed opportunities and stuff, but one thing I have learned is not to dwell on missed chances or times where you have failed.
When I committed to playing a little tennis in some exhibitions, it was the best thing for me. It got me in shape. It got me out of the house. It got me doing something I love to do.
Tennis is a funny game, and it takes a life-time of keeping one's eyes open on the circuit to have any chance of understanding the strange phenomena that exist in our exciting sport!
My father was a footballer. I used to play a lot as a kid, but not like a team or something, just with my family having fun. It makes your legs stronger and helps your co-ordination.
I think there's a connection with what you wear. If you don't feel good about what you're wearing, you aren't going to feel confident, and you aren't going to be able to concentrate.
First of all, let me say, 1:15 in the morning, for 20,000 people to still be here, I wasn't the winner, tennis was. That's awesome. I don't know if I've ever felt so good here before.
I'm a believer but to reach the top I have to believe more, endure more. When I do two hours of practice, I need to add 30 minutes more. I need to feel something inside to go further.
It's great, but there is one problem. She doesn't sleep. At night she seems to turn into a vampire. She wakes up every night five or 10 times, asking for things, singing, calling out.
For me, I like that, how do you say, bohemian sort of look. Baggy sweaters to really fitted pants - I love Rick Owens's stuff, for example. I am really into that kind of grungy style.
I think the most important is to remain as stable and consistent as possible in terms of emotions, because when you're working, if you work well, you're always rewarded at some point.
When I was eight and a half, my parents moved to a part of Queens where there was a club nearby. We joined, and if you believe in someone up above, I think I was meant to play tennis.