Serena Williams is an icon of resilience and indomitable spirit. But that only came after a period full of challenges. The queen of tennis has faced her share of challenges. Surprised? Yes, the WTA legend once faced serious mental health challenges, driven by external pressures. However, true to her spirit, she fought back like a queen. Now, in a recent discussion, she reflected on her journey, sharing how things were different during her era.

Known as a woman of spirit and strong resilience, this former WTA number one has been subjected to criticism many times, especially around her weight which she believed impacted her self-image negatively. However, Williams fought back and came up with a personal method which is known as “Shut down.” In one interview with the NY Times in 2022, she talked about it in detail and said, “Mental fitness, for me, is just really learning to shut down. You know, I did this years ago, even before mental health was like a topic among everyone’s mind. It was like, all right, I’m shutting myself down today, just subconsciously, and it is something I’ve always done.”  Her words highlighted how intensely she focused on her well-being which helped her build her phenomenal career.

In an Instagram live session, Williams talked about many topics including mental health. Reflecting on how media had been a huge pain in her back, she said, “When I was growing up, it wasn’t necessarily the public, it was actually the press that did awful things that ‘Serena cheats, ‘Serena uses all kinds of stuff that other people aren’t using.’ People that just get caught all the time and you know I never did this stuff but it was a really different world.”  Serena Williams highlighted how the media often said she cheated even though she never used any banned substance or did anything against the rules. “Talk about mental health, there was zero mental health when I first started. But I love that we have that now – we can protect our women, we can protect our girls.” she said. Williams’ words referred to how mental health has become an important topic now.

In her autobiography,  Serena Williams revealed how she was generally described as “a big fat cow” or someone “more than a few pounds overweight.” Remember how Stephen Roderick wrote in the 2013 Rolling Stone article that Williams was “black, beautiful and built like one of those monster trucks that crushes Volkswagens at sports arenas.” These derogatory remarks impacted the former WTA star’s mental health but she refused to let it take control of her. So what did she do?

Serena William revealed her lessons on mental health highlighting a great remedy

In an interview with the NY Times in 2022, Williams talked about her struggles with mental health but she also dished out some great methods that helped her to overcome this. “I have serious boundaries and I don’t let anyone cross those boundaries with time. I’ve said it time and time again, I’m working on it. But more or less, at least prioritizing what I need to do. And then when I’m turned off, I’m turned off,” she said. Her words echoed how she learned to prioritize her well-being by switching off the things that trouble her mind. Although she accepted that she couldn’t master the skill by that time, she showed great dedication to coming out stronger.

Serena Williams’ journey is nothing less than an inspirational story. Throughout her career, she faced many criticisms and encountered her step-sister’s death but nothing could stop her from getting stronger mentally and physically. After retirement also, she showed an impeccable dedication to her entrepreneurship showing that she is a real queen who is unbeatable on and off the court.