Bonus fun fact: Serena Williams does not watch Game of Thrones.
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As the great Wimbledon tennis tournament fast approaches, premium television outlet EPIX today televises the debut of an EPIX Original Documentary, Serena, an intimate portrait of four-time Olympic Gold Medalist and worldwide tennis icon Serena Williams.
“I have nothing to lose”. As they walk away, King reminds her: “Pressure is a privilege”.
But before she hits the grass, tennis ace Serena Williams made a decision to hit the red carpet, turning up and turning out at Delta Airlines’ Baseline Sessions karaoke party at the W Leicester Square hotel in London.
Even now, she’s not saying much, only explaining her presence by stating, “I’ve known Bey for a long time”.
History, unfortunately, robs the ending of Serena of some of its suspense, at least for tennis fans. And while she didn’t achieve the coveted Serena Slam, the doc does manage to touch upon Williams’s other triumph in 2015: returning to Indian Wells after a 14-year boycott. Thus, one can imagine his relief in discovering Williams is a lot more easygoing than her public persona has revealed. Speaking about this aspect, she shared, ‘Off-court I am attracted to a classical style, a way that is not out of fashion and that I love to combine with more trendy objects keeping the elegance.
If Serena Williams get scared, that bodes pretty well for the rest of us. “Who says 34 is too old for tennis?” she asks. “As Jehovah’s Witnesses, we don’t get involved in that”.
What happens next is, of course, well documented: Williams is shocked in the semifinals by Italy’s Roberta Vinci and fails to win the Grand Slam. She hasn’t been as overtly political as Ali, but as Ryan White’s documentary makes clear, Williams is also a bona fide celebrity. “He was someone that every single athlete in the world wants to be like”.
The Saginaw-born stunner wore her left strap off-the-shoulder, exposing the lacy black bra that supported her ample assets, adding even more sensuality to an already sensual look. A ideal day off, she says, would be sitting at home on the couch watching Netflix and Investigation Discovery, and maybe taking a dance class. My sister and I are not world-class tennis superstars, but it’s easy to understand what she means.
Given Williams compiled a remarkable 53-3 match record in 2015, even she had to concede 2016 has been a disappointment by her sky-high standards.
Throughout Serena, though, I felt myself soaking up some of Williams carefree self-acceptance.
That’s what makes the upcoming film “Serena” just a bit different and certainly worthy of a view when it premieres on EPIX Wednesday night at 8:00.
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16-year-old Martina Hingis became the youngest Wimbledon victor since Lottie Dodd in 1887, but did so at the expense of good friend and doubles partner Jana Novotna, who was playing her first major final since her heartbreaking loss to Steffi Graf in 1993 at the All England Club.
