IFWT_Serena Vogue cover

Legendary tennis champion Serena Williams is the cover girl for the April 2015 edition of Vogue.  Donning a sheath dress, a diamond bracelet, big curly hair and barely there makeup, Williams rocked the cover.

Shay Marie

Fresh off her nineteenth Grand Slam, Serena Williams talks to Rebecca Johnson about fitness, forgiveness, and her friendship with tennis rival Caroline Wozniacki.  Here’s a few of the quotes.

“On the court, I am fierce! I am mean and I am tough. I am completely opposite off the court. My confidence just isn’t the same. I wish I was more like I am on the court. Nobody would know that I am constantly crying or complaining.”

In order to beat her sister, Serena learned early on how to disconnect her emotions from the person on the other side of the net. “I don’t look at Venus on the court. I can’t,” she said. “If I am winning, I might feel sorry for her. If I’m losing, I will want to knock her out.”

“It is unbelievable what Serena is doing right now,” says Brad Gilbert, a former professional player who is now a top coach. “She won her first major at seventeen, and now she’s winning at the age of 33? That’s a range of sixteen years. Whether for men or women, that kind of longevity in tennis is unheard-of.”

Read more on Vogue.