Recently, Naomi Osaka decided to forgo the press conference and was fined $15,000. She then quitted French Open altogether, citing her mental health. I remembered that she describes herself as an introvert.
Funny, in one of New Yorker’s recycles, I saw this one, “Now when people tell me, ‘Hey, you’re kind of an asshole,’ I can just smile and respond, ‘No, I’m an introvert, and that means I can do whatever I want.'”
Perfectly fitting.
Venus Williams responded to the topic by saying, “For me personally how I deal with it was that I know every single person asking me a question can’t play as well as I can and never will. So no matter what you say or what you write, you’ll never light a candle to me. That’s how I deal with it.”
Well said, with one correction: it should be hold the candle to me, which means you’re not as good.
Below was a 1995 or 1999 interview of Venue (1980-) who was only 14 at the time. There are video clips on the Blavity, text are repost below:
Venus Williams’ 1999 Interview Is A Reminder She’s Always Been The S**t And She Always Knew It
The game may have changed, but not Venus’ confidence.
by DeMario P. Smith
June 02, 2021
Tennis star Venus Williams entered the limelight of the athletic world as a young girl, breaking barriers as she and her sister Serena dominated the sport. Venus, however, is no stranger to the demands and rigors of being a young athletic star, consistently expressing her confidence in her winning ability.
In a resurfaced clip from a 1995 ABC News interview, an adolescent Venus is drilled with questions about her views on her competition by a reporter. After Venus shares that she feels “very confident” going up against a competitor, the white reporter asks her where her confidence might come from.
“You say it so confidently, why?” He asked.
“Cause I believe it,” Venus responded flatly.
Her father Richard ultimately stepped in and checked the reporter about trying to jeopardize the image of a 14-year-old girl.
“What she said, she said it with so much confidence the first time,” he began. “This child is going to be out there playing when your old ass and me are gonna be in the grave.”
“You’re dealing with a little Black kid and let her be a kid, leave her alone! She done answered it with a lot of confidence. Leave that alone!” Richard added.
With her father handling the ABC reporter, one Twitter user said Venus is shown on the video diverting her attention away from the conversation as if to express “daddy’s got this.”
Another user wrote that situations like the one shown in the clip happen far too often for Black youth, many of whom do not have the constant protection of their parents.
“The subtle pathological questioning, undermining, and demeaning of black children goes unchecked far too often. Too many parents can’t be there to do just this. How fortunate they were to have such a fierce and competent protector.” they wrote.
Venus echoed her confidence yet again during an interview after a first-round loss at Roland Garros.
The 40-year-old former No. 1 WTA player was asked by reporters how she copes with the media, to which she emphasized her greatness and purpose. She said that the people who critique her will never be as good as her on the court.
“For me personally, how I cope, how I deal with it, was that I know every single person asking me a question can’t play as well as I can and never will,” Venus said. “So no matter what you say, or what you write, you’ll never light a candle to me. That’s how I deal with it. But each person deals with it differently.”
Venus made the remark following fellow tennis star Naomi Osaka’s announcement to boycott media interviews at the French Open, which she has since withdrawn from.
Seeing Serena by Gerald Marzorati, published on June 15, 2021.
He also wrote about the Belgium player Justine Henin’s hand job at 2003 French Open. (reporting on the case, from Tennis and Greg Couch @ 4:25 mark.) Henin did put her hand up and caused Serena to miss her first serve but the chair umpire didn’t see the hand job, denied Serena’s first serve. At that point, Serena was leading … but ended up losing the match. (Head to head, Williams leads 8-6.) Very, very unsportsmanship.
