Venus Williams, In Her Own Words
Venus Williams shares her reflections, ideas, and personality with us. Check out today's feature.
In Her Own Words is a series where I share the ways Black sportswomen are telling their own stories. In the last edition, we focused on Medina Dixon.
Today we're highlighting Venus Williams. I won't even explain all that she's done on and off the tennis court – check out her Wikipedia page to get started.
The focus of today's newsletter is her YouTube channel. I love it when athletes share with us what they want us to know, and her channel is a mix between personal storytelling and athletic/tennis tutorials.
Venus Williams posted her first YouTube video in July 2019, and it was a vlog-style documentary of her career and preparation for her 22nd Wimbledon tournament (yes, number 22!). The video displays what seems like her signature humor, and her entire channel is a chance to see more of her personality.
"I earned my way in this draw, doesn't matter how old you are from the youngest to the oldest," she said in 2019. "If you earn your way into the draw, guess what, you have the option to play, if you so choose. I have so chosen to play, so I shall choose to play as long as I like. Crazy logic, right?"
The Venus Williams channel has so many different types of content, so check it out:
- Discussions about life with chronic illness: My Life with Chronic Illness, My Life with Chronic Illness Pt. 2
- Reflections on her experiences, including: My reaction to my US OPEN debut, Wimbledon 202 Insights, Here's my US OPEN Tennis 2023 experience
- Injury updates
- Thoughts on the King Richard movie
- Reviews of matches (including footage) and years in review
- Tutorials (ex. backhands, footwork, fitness exercises)
- Random travel vlogs
- Favorite snacks and smoothie recipe
- Her most recent video is a part 2 of on her most viewed videos: My Life with Chronic Illness Pt. 2.
I know there are plenty of Black women athletes telling their own stories in different formats. If you have any recs, email them to bria@theblacksportswoman.com, and I’d love to include them.
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