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Derek Jeter became the epitome of success on the baseball diamond. His glorious playing record made him a role model for the younger generation. But like many other legendary athletes, he had a love for sports other than his specific field. In an interview, Jeter once expressed his desire to play tennis by revealing his inspiration.?

Derek Jeter is a baseball stalwart, who had a stellar MLB career playing for the New York Yankees. He stayed a loyal Yankees’ shortstop until his retirement. The 14-time All-Star, Jeter, honorably won five World Series championships. Thus, he established himself as an iconic ambassador of the sport.?

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Jeter has always portrayed a passion for learning the tricks of other sports. He used to play basketball while studying in high school. Whereas, post-retirement, he tried his hand at playing golf. He once also spoke of wanting to play tennis someday, being influenced by the legendary tennis star, Serena Williams.?

Derek Jeter: An interest in the tennis court?

Derek Jeter’s towering achievements in baseball made him a national sporting treasure. He was once a part of an interview involving various other accomplished athletes. Among them was the tennis champion, Serena Williams.?

Serena displays a mighty record of 73 career total singles tournament trophies. That tally consists of 23 grand slam titles. She reached the top seed of women’s global tennis rankings in 2002.?

via Reuters

Praising Serena in the interview, Jeter said, “Serena makes tennis fun. I wasn’t a big tennis fan. You know, I dabbled in when I was younger. But I’ve really enjoyed watching her play tennis. And I mean this, the power. I would like to play sometime.”?

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Jeter added by saying, “I mean you see because we hit 90-mile an hour fastballs. But I can’t compare to these serves. I mean she’s moving around power game, speed. She just blows people away.”?

A brief note on the two legendary athletes?

Jeter bid adieu to baseball in 2014. He stayed connected to the sport by becoming the CEO and joint owner, of the Miami Marlins. Taking up administrative duties in 2017, he retired from the post in 2022. Now he lives a happy family life. On the other hand, Serena pulled down the curtains on her epic tennis career in 2022. She now spends time balancing life between her entrepreneurial setup and family.?

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Do you think Jeter would have been a successful tennis player?